Chapter 3The Low-Maintenance Ex Paying Me Back In Full

A suffocating silence descended upon the suite.

Serena leaned back against the wall, her brow furrowed in utter turmoil.

Lucas bit his lip, tears already welling up in his eyes. He knew that in moments like this, tears were his deadliest weapon.

"Ethan, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen..." he sobbed, his voice trembling. "That night Serena got really drunk, and I took her back to her room, and then... I really didn't mean to! I was just terrified to tell you. I was so scared..."

"You were scared?" I repeated slowly.

"I was scared you wouldn't want me anymore if you found out! Ethan, you've always been the best to me. You let me have everything since we were kids. I thought... I thought you'd let me have this, too..."

"Let you have her, too?"

Tears streamed down Lucas's cheeks. He stared at me, his lips quivering, unable to say another word.

Because deep down, he knew that was his exact calculation.

Ever since we were children, whatever he wanted, I was forced to give up.

My consoles, my clothes, our parents' attention, my teachers' praise, even my college entrance exam.

When he hid my ID and I scrambled to replace it, I had still comforted him afterward, saying, It's fine, I still made it in time, didn't I?

Every time I said "it's fine," I was silently teaching him: You can push me even further next time.

So when he took my girlfriend of four years, he saw nothing wrong with it.

He genuinely believed that even if I caught them, I would eventually "step aside for him."

Because I was his older brother. The reliable, low-maintenance brother who never caused trouble for Mom and Dad, the brother everyone praised for being so "generous and accommodating."

I turned my gaze toward Serena.

She stood by the window, backlit against the ocean view, her expression indecipherable. This woman had been with me for four years. I had walked through hell beside her. When her startup was on the verge of collapse and she couldn't even pay her office lease, I handed over my entire six years of savings—a hundred and eighty thousand dollars.

Back then, she had said, "Ethan, when I make it big, I'm marrying you."

I waited three years.

I waited until her company reached a valuation of over a hundred million dollars, until she bought luxury cars and penthouses, until she finally had time.

Only for her time to be given to Lucas.

"Serena," I said her name softly, "do you have anything to say?"

She looked up at me, her mouth parting and closing.

"I..."

"You only need to answer one question."

I looked straight into her eyes, enunciating every syllable: "When were you planning on telling me?"

She went silent.

Her silence was the answer.

She was never going to tell me.

She planned to keep stringing me along, leaving me to wait for her replies late into the night, letting me believe she was genuinely busy, letting me live in her lie forever.

"I see."

I turned around and walked away.

I didn't slam the door. I didn't yell. I didn't glance back at the two people behind me.

The hallway was long. My shoes made no sound on the thick carpet, but every step felt like a heavy stomp on my own heart.

As I reached the elevator, my phone buzzed.

It was a text from Lucas: Ethan, please don't be mad, okay? I'll fly back tomorrow and explain everything.

I stared at the message for a few seconds.

Then I replied with one word: Fine.

He didn't text back.

He probably thought the storm had passed.

He assumed that tomorrow, a few tears and a couple of "I didn't mean to's" would make me smile and say "it's fine," just like I had for the past twenty-four years.

I pressed the elevator button, watching the floor indicator drop from 17 down to 1.

When the doors opened, I stepped out into the lobby.

The receptionist still recognized me and asked kindly, "Sir, did you find your fiancée?"

I smiled gently. "Yes. I found her."

I had found someone it took me four years to finally see through.