When He Asked Me to Stay for Her, I Chose Myself Chapter 02
Ethan didn’t pull away from Madison.
He let her stay close to him, and his expression stayed calm as he looked at me.
“Madison invited me over for dinner. Do you want to come?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
No wonder Ethan hadn’t touched his food at the party.
He had been saving his appetite for dinner with Madison.
Madison pretended to be surprised.
“I’m sorry, Vivian. I didn’t even notice you were there.”
Then she widened her eyes and looked at Ethan.
“Ethan, the rain is so heavy. Maybe we should do dinner at my place another day.”
“You should take Vivian home first.”
“I’ll head out once the rain stops.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
She looked so calm and innocent that Ethan couldn’t help feeling protective of her.
“How could I do that?”
“I’ve always kept my promises.”
“If I promise someone something, I keep my word.”
Ethan said firmly.
“But… what about Vivian?”
Madison glanced at me, pretending not to notice my reaction.
“Then she can just run home in the rain.”
Ethan tossed the umbrella toward me, grabbed Madison’s hand, and ran into the pouring rain.
Their laughter disappeared into the roar of the storm.
It pulled me back to a memory from years ago.
On another rainy day, Ethan had said the exact same thing to me.
He had grabbed my hand and run through the rain with me, laughing like we had nothing to worry about.
I picked up the umbrella and walked home alone.
But for some reason, my fingers trembled before I even realized it.
In the past, whenever I went home early, Ethan would always text me to make sure I got home safely, no matter how bad the weather was.
But this time, after I took a shower and checked my phone, there wasn’t a single message from him.
Instead, I saw Madison’s Instagram post.
“People who truly love each other aren’t afraid of anything. Not even storms or heavy rain.”
Someone commented below:
“Wait, are you in love? Who is it? Give us a hint!”
Madison replied:
“Hehe, E.C.”
E.C.
Ethan Caldwell?
I stared at those two letters, letting them sink in.
A bitter feeling rose inside me.
If two people were willing to run through the rain together…
How could that not be love?
Since Ethan and I started living together, we had agreed to be home before ten every night.
But tonight, Ethan didn’t come back until eleven.
He had changed into a new outfit that fit him perfectly, and the scent of fresh laundry lingered on him.
For a moment, I just stared at him.
I took a deep breath, picked up the application form, and handed it to him.
“Professor Williams asked me to tell you to think about it again.”
“This opportunity doesn’t come around often.”
The next second, Ethan grabbed the application form and ripped it apart without hesitation.
I froze.
I couldn’t understand why he had gone this far.
“You know how hard Madison has been working.”
“Why are you still trying to hurt her?”
“Why did you badmouth her in front of Professor Williams?”
Ethan looked up at me, his eyes filled with anger.
“Do you really get some kind of satisfaction from bullying someone who can’t defend herself?”
I was completely caught off guard.
I had no idea what he was talking about.
“Ethan!”
“You’re accusing me of targeting her and saying bad things about her.”
“Where’s your proof?”
“I’ve never done any of that!”