Chapter 2: The End of the Act

I reached out and took the candles off the cake.

Cole caught onto my action, standing up and grabbing my wrist.

"Since you're already here, sit down and eat with us. Don't ruin everyone's mood over a few jokes."

"What would I be staying as?"

I swept my gaze over the extra chair that had been temporarily added to the table. "Your ex-girlfriend, or Elise's audience?"

He lowered his voice. "Mara, didn't we agree to play along?"

"Elise's condition just stabilized. Do you really have to bring this up around her birthday?"

I froze for a moment.

"Isn't today your birthday?"

Elise's eyes reddened. She explained softly, "Cole and I have birthdays only five days apart, so everyone just celebrated them together."

There were two cakes on the table.

The one in front of Cole was bought by a friend.

The one in front of Elise was a limited edition he had specially lined up for three hours to order.

And he told me he had a business dinner tonight.

Suddenly, I didn't want to ask anymore.

No matter what I asked, he would have an excuse.

Eating with her was because he was afraid she would overthink alone; picking her up from work was because he was afraid Cody would corner her; wearing matching jackets was to make it look real.

Even going back to her parents' house with her for Thanksgiving dinner was because he was afraid her parents would worry if they knew about her breakup.

Every single excuse was high-sounding and justified.

Only my grievances were always out of place.

I pulled my hand back and pushed my cake to the center of the table.

"This is the last time. Whatever happens to her from now on, you never have to explain it to me again."

Cole's face darkened.

"Are you bringing up breaking up again?"

He used the word "again."

It was as if every breakdown I had over the past five months was just me using a breakup to force him to compromise.

I nodded.

"Yes. This time we aren't acting. We're really breaking up."

Cole stared blankly for two seconds before he suddenly let out a helpless laugh.

"Fine, a real breakup. We'll talk again when you calm down."

After returning home, I moved all of Cole's belongings from the guest bedroom back into the master bedroom, and I changed the locks on the closet and the bedroom door.

He didn't come back until one in the morning.

Seeing the clothes piled on the floor when he turned on the lights, he frowned.

"Do we really have to take it this far?"

"It's inappropriate for an ex-boyfriend to sleep in the same room."

"Mara."

His voice dropped. "Elise did nothing wrong. You don't need to take your anger out on her."

I was cleaning out the fridge. Hearing this, I placed his favorite ingredients into a cardboard box one by one.

"You bought these; take them away. From today on, we split water, electricity, and gas evenly. We'll take turns doing chores, one week each. The lease is up at the end of the month, and I'm not renewing it. Find a new place as soon as possible."

We had lived in this apartment for three years.

He always paid the rent, while I covered the daily expenses and did all the chores.

He was busy with work, and I was willing to take on all the trivial tasks.

The fridge always had the sparkling water he liked to drink, his shirts were ironed and organized by color, and his stomach medicine would be replaced before it expired.

Even for his mother's follow-up appointments, I was the one who helped schedule the times, drove her back and forth, and organized her medication list.

To put it bluntly, I was taken for granted as the person who was supposed to take care of his mother.

Cole had naturally enjoyed this for three years.

Now that I was simply settling the accounts, he acted as if he had suffered some massive offense.

"Do you have to draw such a clear line between us?"

"Shouldn't exes draw a clear line?"

He stared at me for a long time, then suddenly reached out to hug me.

I took a step back and dodged him.

His arms froze in midair, a hint of astonishment finally surfacing in his eyes.

In every argument in the past, as long as he was willing to hug me, I would always soften first.

But this time, I only felt repulsed.

"I'm very tired. Close the door on your way out."

He stood there for a moment, picked up a pillow from the floor, and slammed the door with a cold face.

I unlocked my phone and canceled the two-person hot spring cabin I had booked.

That was the second birthday gift I had prepared for him.

After the refund hit my account, I submitted a transfer application to Lakeside.

My manager had asked me about it a month ago, and I had refused because of Cole.

Now, I wanted to choose again for myself.