The Plain Jane Everyone Mocked Was Actually the Queen of a Fashion Empire Chapter 03
Ethan rubbed his brow in frustration.
“Nora, are you happy now that you’ve caused all this?”
Without hesitating, he ran after Chloe.
That left me alone with my hair scattered across the floor.
When I checked my phone, I saw that Chloe’s post had received dozens of new comments.
Most of them praised Ethan and Chloe for looking perfect together, calling them a match made in heaven.
A few comments took my side.
“Am I the only one who feels bad for the guy’s current girlfriend? She somehow got dragged into their little game…”
“Seriously, what did regular women ever do to deserve this?”
Chloe suddenly appeared in the thread and singled out the second comment.
Chloe replied: [Why feel sorry for her? A woman like that has no sense of self. She chose to be a spineless doormat!]
Soon, an account with a familiar profile picture liked her comment.
It was Ethan’s account.
My chest tightened.
I’d already made up my mind to leave, but seeing that he’d liked her comment still sent a sharp pain through my chest.
Right after that, Chloe posted a video.
It was titled Our Bet Ends in Three Days.
In the dimly lit bar, Ethan was knocking back one drink after another.
His words were slurred, but I could still hear them clearly.
“Chloe’s mad at me, so I’m doing three shots as punishment. I’ll drink her share too. Please take care of her for me.”
He downed eight shots of vodka without a moment’s hesitation.
All he did was repeat the same plea over and over.
“Chloe, please don’t be mad at me, okay?”
The comments quickly filled with people urging them to get back together.
“OMG, this is so sweet! I’m obsessed with how hard he’s groveling!”
“Can they please just get back together already? He’s obviously acting like he’s still her boyfriend!”
I suddenly remembered our graduation party.
I’d lost a game and had to drink as a penalty.
The problem was that I was allergic to alcohol.
Everyone had teased Ethan, telling him to take the drink for his girlfriend.
He’d only said, “Sorry, I never drink.”
That night, with everyone watching me, I drank it myself.
I’d believed he really couldn’t drink. I’d even wondered if his family had some rule against it.
The truth was that he simply hadn’t wanted to drink for me.
I turned off my phone and began picking up the hair scattered across the floor, strand by strand.
It felt like gathering it might somehow help me reclaim the woman I used to be.
Ethan didn’t come back until late that night, stumbling in drunk.
Chloe was holding him up.
The moment our eyes met, she let out a mocking laugh.
“You saw that post, didn’t you? I saw your name on the viewer list. You really can put up with anything.”
“If it were me, I’d be too humiliated to ever show my face again. You’ve got some seriously thick skin.”
I gave a quiet laugh.
“Sorry, but I’m Ethan’s current girlfriend. Technically, you’re the other woman who’s been trying—and failing—to steal someone else’s boyfriend.”
“When you called me a woman with no identity of her own, did you ever stop to think that you’re the one chasing after a man and fighting another woman over him? Can you really not live without one?”
Chloe’s face went from pale to furious.
After lowering Ethan onto the bed, she gave me a smug look.
“No matter what, I’m the only one Ethan loves. The woman he doesn’t love is the other woman. Do you understand?”
“I cut your hair, and Ethan couldn’t even bring himself to yell at me. He left you behind and drank for me. Why would he ever want a frumpy woman like you?”
Before she could even finish, a completely wasted Ethan suddenly murmured, “Nora… Nora, I want to hold you while I sleep.”
The room went dead silent.
I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Chloe stared at him in disbelief, her eyes wide.
“That’s impossible. He’s drunk. He must’ve said the wrong name.”
She looked me up and down, as if reassured by what she saw.
“You couldn’t look frumpier. The only decent thing about you is your face, and even that’s wasted on you! Ethan wouldn’t be interested in you in this lifetime, the next, or any lifetime after that.”
Her stiletto heels clicked against the floor as she headed toward the guest room.
She turned back to me and said, “Your boyfriend is the one who asked me to stay over. Sorry, but you’ll just have to deal with it.”
“Take good care of Ethan. Tonight might be the last night he’s yours.”
She kept reminding me that the three-year deadline was approaching.
I didn’t even look at her. I couldn’t stand listening to her.
