Chapter 2

The key scraped in the lock of our small apartment.

It felt different now, tainted.

Tiffany was already there, pacing. Her "disappointment" act was gone.

"Ethan, what the hell was that?" she demanded. "Walking out? Accusing Blake?"

"You know that was my project, Tiff," I said, my voice flat.

She stopped pacing. She wouldn't meet my eyes.

"Okay, fine," she finally said. "I gave him the files."

My breath hitched. "You what?"

"Blake needed this win, Ethan. His family, his career… this prize sets him up."

"And me?" I asked. "What about my career? My work?"

"You're talented," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "You can always design something new. It' s not a big deal for you."

Not a big deal? Seven years of my life, I' d poured into her, into us, into my work.

"That project, Tiff… The Phoenix Initiative… I was going to propose it to your father. To help save Vance & Son Construction."

Her father' s company was struggling. I knew it. I' d designed it with them in mind.

She looked surprised for a second, then her face hardened.

"Don't be dramatic, Ethan. Dad' s company needs real help, not some student project from you. You' re still just a student, remember? A poor one."

She still thought I was nobody. Just a scholarship kid.

"You need to apologize to Blake," she said. "And help him refine the design. He doesn' t understand all the technical parts."

I stared at her. The audacity.

"He stole my work, with your help, and you want me to apologize and help him more?"

"Don't be so petty, Ethan!" she snapped.

Petty. That was her favorite word for me.

Whenever I stood up for myself, whenever I questioned her spending, whenever I pointed out she was taking me for granted. "You're being petty, Ethan."

I remembered all the times. The expensive dinners she "forgot" her wallet for. The "loans" to her friends that were never repaid from our joint savings. The way she' d talk about her future with Blake, even when we were engaged, calling him her "dream guy."

"We' re done, Tiffany," I said. The words felt heavy, but right.

"What?"

"The engagement is over." I pulled the simple ring she' d given me off my finger. It wasn' t expensive; she' d said we' d upgrade when I "made something of myself."

I placed it on the table.

"You can't be serious!" she shrieked. "Over this? You' ll regret this, Ethan! You have nothing without me and my family' s connections!"

I didn't say anything. I just started packing a bag. My laptop, a few clothes.

The truth was, her family' s connections were limited and failing. My family… she had no idea.