Chapter 3

After the wedding ended, Claire came to me on her own.

She dropped the act of just playing along with Tyrus.

She said that three years ago, when the whole proxy girlfriend thing first started, it was she who reminded him to change to matching profile pictures.

It was also her idea to extend the proxy arrangement.

She deliberately took over my dates with him, posted suggestive photos of the two of them on social media, and helped herself to my things.

"I just wanted to know whether he'd really choose me if I kept taking your place."

She pulled up a chat record from a few months ago.

[After the thirty days are up, do I still have to give the girlfriend spot back to Lay-lay?]

Tyrus replied, [No need.]

[If she doesn't come back, you stay.]

I forwarded the screenshot to Tyrus.

[You knew she was trying to take my place?]

He promptly called me.

"I knew."

"Then why did you let it keep going?"

"Isn't this better? I'm just making sure you understand that not everything goes your way," he said in a firm tone.

On the other end of the line, I could hear the sound of Claire coughing.

Tyrus quickly hung up, poured her water, then dug out pills and told her to get some rest.

When my stomach hurt so badly I was curled up on the couch, all he told me was to tough it out.

With Claire, even a single small cough was enough for him to spring into action and remember every little thing about her.

He still thought he was using Claire to make me jealous.

But somewhere along the way, he had grown used to taking care of someone else.

After we hung up, I went to the house I had lived in for five years.

It was an old home my parents had left me.

When I was seventeen, I was cornered in an alley.

Tyrus took my hand and ran with me through this door.

That day, it was pouring rain outside.

He draped his jacket over my shoulders and sat with me in the empty living room until dawn.

Later, we painted the walls together, changed the lights, and bought furniture.

We bought the wind chime on the balcony.

The first photo on the wall was a picture of us that we had printed after our first trip together.

Our door lock code was the date of our first kiss.

I used to think that as long as we had this house, we would always be together.

I was wrong.

Today, when I put the key into the lock, it would not turn.

The door opened, and Claire stood inside wearing Tyrus' shirt.

She wore my house slippers and was drinking from my most-used mug.

Every photo of us on the photo wall had been taken down.

The wind chime Tyrus and I bought together was gone, and the curtains had been replaced with light-colored ones Claire liked.

Only her favorite low-sugar yogurt was left in the fridge.

The toiletries in the bathroom had been cleared out and replaced with a matching pair.

My things had been packed into cardboard boxes.

A piece of white paper was taped to the cardboard box.

[Layla's stuff. Get rid of it ASAP.]

I was so angry that my fingers trembled.

"Who said you could touch my things?"

Claire did not back down.

"Tyrus did."

She pointed toward the bedroom.

"He said I'm his girlfriend now, so we're doing things my way."

I had no strength left to argue.

I simply lowered my head and packed my ID, clothes, and everyday things into the suitcase.

Tyrus was still standing in the same spot.

"Lay-lay, just apologize, and I'll change the code back."

I turned and took one last look at this house that had once belonged to us.

His expression darkened.

"You're going to regret this."

"No, I won't."