Signed Out of Love, Into Ownership

For seven years, Liam and Chloe shared a cramped rental, saving for the down payment on a beachfront condo meant to be their marital home. On the day they are to sign, Chloe doesn't appear; she texts that Ethan was in a car accident and she must stay at the hospital, adding that she only sees him as a little brother. Liam replies with a single word and walks into the sales office to pay the full amount himself, putting only his name on the deed.

Ethan posts a photo of Chloe draping a jacket over him, and Liam likes it, telling them they look good together. To his friend Ryan, he admits he is done. A month earlier he had requested a transfer to the European branch, and now he packs Chloe's things. He recalls the honey water she poured him that morning, though honey gives him severe stomach cramps, and the years of quiet sacrifices she never noticed.

When Chloe calls, certain he is only sulking, Liam tells her calmly that he is collecting his property deed. Her anger rises as she insists she has done nothing wrong, and she hangs up, determined to find him.