Chapter 3The CEO's Free Labor

I locked my phone screen, wiped the tear tracks from my face, and decided to just go home first.

The streets on New Year's Eve were completely deserted.

The subway had stopped running long ago, and the buses were off schedule due to the holiday.

I stood by the side of the road for almost half an hour, my hands and feet numb from the cold, before I finally hailed a taxi.

The driver rolled down his window and held up three fingers.

"Holiday rate. Extra three hundred bucks."

The cold wind bit at my neck. I gritted my teeth and got in anyway.

The warmth from the car's heater brought me back to life a little.

I instinctively reached for my phone, wanting to complain to Ethan like I had countless times before.

But my fingers stopped in mid-air.

Things like this had happened before.

Getting price-gouged by a cab driver, getting rudely cut in line, having my takeout order messed up.

I would always complain to him, feeling wronged.

He would always brush it off with a single, light sentence.

"If you can make do, just make do. You should be forgiving whenever possible."

Back then, I always thought it was because he was broad-minded and didn't like to hold grudges.

Until I saw that woman's profile.

She complained about how hard it was to get a cab; Ethan turned around, bought her a car, and hired a dedicated driver.

She casually mentioned that the wait at an Instagram-famous restaurant was too long; Ethan directly gave everyone in line ahead of her five hundred bucks so she could go in first.

As for takeout...

She never had to eat takeout.

Ethan thought outside food was unhealthy, so he specifically learned how to cook for her, personally making her three meals a day.

All the grievances where he told me to "just make do" became "major issues" that had to be solved immediately when it came to the person he truly loved.

The line between love and not love was so starkly drawn.

I turned my head to look out the window, watching the city lights blur past.

Every household exuded the warmth of reunion.

Except for me, displaced and alone.

I couldn't hold back the tears anymore; they fell silently.

Later, I actually started crying louder and louder, my whole body trembling.

The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror several times. When he finally stopped at the entrance to my apartment complex, he sighed.

"Forget it, miss. It's the New Year... Keep the three hundred. Hurry up and go home."

Pity from a complete stranger.

While the man I had poured my heart and soul into loving for five years, the man I saw as my entire future.

Watched me like a fool, draining my youth for the happiness of him and another woman.

After returning home and haphazardly washing up, I was so exhausted I collapsed on the sofa and fell asleep instantly.

Near dawn, a frantic ringing from my phone yanked me from a nightmare.

I answered groggily, but the moment I heard the voice on the other end, I jolted completely awake.

It was Mrs. Davis, my grandmother's neighbor, her voice trembling with anxiety.

"Chloe, you need to come back right now!"

"Your grandma got up early to use the bathroom, slipped on some ice in the yard that hadn't melted completely, and fell! We just brought her to the county hospital!"

My brain buzzed, and my hands and feet instantly went ice cold.

I didn't have time to think. I hastily threw on a coat, grabbed a few pieces of luggage, and rushed to the train station.

The station was packed with people. I squeezed my way to the ticket gate, but my ticket wouldn't scan at the turnstile.

I tried several times, but the machine just coldly repeated the error sound.

I panicked and turned to the service desk.

"Hello, could you please check my ticket?"

The staff member took my ID, typed on the keyboard for a few seconds, and looked up at me.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I don't see any booking information for you."

I froze, then anxiously leaned in closer.

"How is that possible?"

"Could you please check again carefully? I just changed my ticket a few days ago! It's the earliest train today!"

The clerk checked again, but still shook his head.

"There really isn't one."

My throat tightened, and I asked, my voice breaking,

"Can I still buy a ticket now? Any train is fine!"

"I'm sorry, all trains are sold out."

The people in line behind me started getting impatient and urging me to move.

I shuffled away numbly, getting jostled back and forth by the crowd.

Suddenly, a thought struck me.

I pulled out my phone with trembling hands and dialed Ethan's number.

"Ethan... my train ticket... did you cancel it?"