Chapter 3

Blake's POV

My entire body felt cold. Fear still gripped my heart as I sat next to Quinn.

When Seth began crying softly during the second half of the movie, Quinn softened her voice and asked, "Why are you crying so much?"

She sighed as he sniffled, then pulled out a tissue and wiped his tears. "You're going to crush the popcorn bucket from how hard you're gripping it."

Last month, when I started crying while watching a pet movie, she just threw a packet of tissues at me. Her tone was impatient when she told me not to drip my tears all over the leather seat.

The lights came back on after the movie ended. The three of us followed the crowd and left the hall.

Seth's eyes were slightly red. "It's such a shame that the male and female lead weren't able to be together because of the second male lead. It was so obvious that the female lead didn't love the second male lead anymore, but he kept clinging to her like a leech."

"You're right," Quinn chimed in. "It's all the second male lead's fault for not being able to read the room."

"I totally agree with what the male lead said," Seth said, sighing in relief.

"What did he say?"

"The one who isn't loved is the actual other person in a relationship."

Quinn briefly halted her footsteps before saying, "That makes sense. No one benefits when one party insists on holding onto a title."

Seth arched his brow, pleased. He looked at me and asked, "What do you think, Blake?"

"I also think that the male and female leads were a good match for each other," I said, nodding. "The second male lead made the right choice by breaking up with her and vacating the position of her boyfriend."

Quinn glanced at me, frowning. It seemed that she hadn't expected me to agree with them.

But she didn't question me further. Instead, she tugged at her tie in frustration and changed the topic.

"Let's eat. Seth mentioned that he wanted to have wings in the morning."

…

We made our way to a chicken-wings restaurant opened by an influencer on the outskirts of the city. It was located in a remote area about 12 miles away from the city.

Quinn ordered a large serving of spicy wings. She dipped a wing in a bowl of blue cheese dip before placing it on Seth's plate. "There's a little too much sauce on it. I hope you don't mind."

She then grabbed a tissue and put it right next to Seth's hand.

Seth's eyes were crinkled into crescents as he grabbed the spicy wing and said, "Since you messed up the first time, my punishment is for you to prepare another one for me."

Meanwhile, my plate remained spotless. It seemed Quinn had forgotten my stomach had become rather sensitive to spicy food because I spent too many nights staying up to work overtime with her.

"Our anniversary is next month," Quinn suddenly said. "Coincidentally, I'll be on break. I've already booked the flight tickets. We're going skiing in Frestown."

Seth immediately set his wing down and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Skiing? I want to go scuba diving in Tromille. I've already picked out my swimsuit."

"You'll be signing your own death sentence if you go to the beach, considering how bad you are in the water," Quinn retorted with a scoff.

When the two of them couldn't come to an agreement, Seth kicked my chair and said, "You decide, Blake. We'll go wherever you choose."

They were playing the same game again, forcing me to be the decision-maker whenever their opinions clashed. Whenever I sided with one person, the other would throw a tantrum and force me to grovel for forgiveness.

"I want to go to Healwich," I said.

Quinn's expression visibly darkened the moment the words left my lips. Seth rolled his eyes and threw his tissue onto the table, muttering, "What a wet blanket."

He grabbed his phone and started playing a game.

Quinn continued eating her spicy wings with a blank expression. They were waiting for me to fold, just like I had countless times before. They knew that I couldn't endure being given the cold shoulder, so I would eventually acquiesce to their request of my own accord.

They were waiting for me to put on a smile and say, "Let's go to Frestown then," or "Tromille sounds good."

I placed my tissue on the table and said, "Let's break up, Quinn."