Chapter 4

Landon didn't answer.

His eyes flicked to the cut on my forehead, and without a word, he turned to find the first-aid kit. He pressed me down into a chair and gently wiped away the blood before treating the wound.

His touch was careful, but his voice was ice-cold.

"What difference does it make?

"Zoe cares too much about your friendship to ever get back together with me.

"I'd also promised her I'd marry you and take responsibility for you for the rest of my life.

"Isn't that enough?"

I stared at him.

So I was supposed to stay in this relationship and keep pretending to not see the way the two of them kept crossing lines right in front of me?

He was careful not to hurt me, but the moment the medication touched the cut, pain shot through my forehead, and I clenched my fists.

When I finally spoke, my voice was hoarse.

"No.

"Because this whole thing disgusts me."

Because the man you are now doesn't deserve my love.

Landon's hand froze in midair, and for a moment, his expression went completely blank.

Zoe opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but Landon stopped her before she could.

"The more you indulge her, the worse she gets!"

He shot to his feet with a cold scoff and looked down at me.

"Quinn, if Zoe and I really wanted something to happen between us, do you honestly think you'd have the chance to still be sitting here, throwing a fit about it?

"Fine. You want to break up?

"Let's see how long you last this time."

With that, he grabbed Zoe and walked out.

The door slammed behind them.

I thought back to the last time I'd tried to end things.

Landon had transferred more than six hundred miles away. For six months, he ignored my messages and refused to take my calls.

I'd even taken time off work and gone all the way there to find him, only for him to start sleeping at the office just to avoid me.

I'd swallowed my pride, apologized over and over, and practically begged him to forgive me.

None of it had worked.

Then Zoe had said just one thing.

"Do it for me, okay?"

And that had been enough.

I wiped away the tears that had already dried on my face.

That was all there was to it.

He simply never loved me.

Landon, this time I'd finally learned how to let you go.

I went back inside, packed my things, and headed to the airport with two suitcases.

While I waited for my flight, notifications kept lighting up my social feed.

Landon and Zoe took turns posting updates.

He took her to the Skyline Tower, the place I'd been talking about wanting to visit for ages. They posed together on the observation wheel hundreds of feet above the city, then jumped from the 106th-floor bungee platform wrapped in each other's arms.

At the revolving restaurant overlooking the skyline, every photo was of Zoe smiling for the camera.

Zoe posted: [Finally got to make good on a promise from years ago, thanks to a certain someone.]

Then Landon posted: [And thanks to a certain someone, I finally got to make up for something I missed out on when I was younger.]

I scrolled through every post and liked them one by one.

Then I blocked them both.

When boarding was called, I got on the plane with no intention of ever looking back.

Third-Person POV

A month later, Landon returned to Quinn's old apartment complex with his parents.

Zoe walked beside them, smiling softly.

"Once Quinn sees you've come here with your family to make things official, she'll understand you're serious about marrying her. No matter how angry she is, she'll have to let it go eventually."

Then she glanced at him.

"You brought the ring, right? Don't mess up the proposal when we get up there."

Landon patted his pocket to make sure it was still there before reaching for the doorbell.

He rang once.

Then again.

No matter how many times he pressed it, no one answered.

Impatience slowly crept across his face.

Eventually, a neighbor opened their door and peeked into the hallway. The moment they recognized him, they called out,

"Stop ringing. Nobody lives there anymore.

"Your girlfriend moved out a month ago. You seriously didn't know?"