Days passed, and one spring afternoon, I was snuggled against Ethan, still relishing the peace that followed our latest bout of pass-
ion. The tranquility was shattered by a phone call.
On the other end, Chloe’s voice was urgent and anxious: “Mia, are you free right now? I have something really important I need to
talk to you about.”
I frowned. Chloe’s tone made me uneasy. But I knew, as a best friend, I had a responsibility to support her when she needed it.
We met at a coffee shop. As soon as Chloe saw me, she eagerly grabbed my hand: “You know, Ethan and I have been having some
problems lately. He’s not answering his phone or my texts. I haven’t seen him in ages.”
Listening to Chloe, a wave of guilt washed over me.
Chloe continued, “Actually, you like Ethan too, don’t you?”
Chloe’s question stunned me into silence. What exactly were my feelings for Ethan? Was it love, like Chloe’s, right from the start?
Just as I was lost in thought, what Chloe said next left me utterly dumbfounded. She told me she knew everything about my time with Ethan. She had orchestrated that whole situation because she simply couldn’t keep him to herself anymore. But she loved Ethan very, very, very much, and she knew she was almost losing him on her own. So she came up with this plan. And apparently,
there were others before me.
Éthan was a classic playboy trust fund kid with a very broad taste. As long as a girl was pretty and had a good figure, she could become a tool for his release. Love, to him, was utterly insignificant.
And so was I. I shouldn’t think Ethan had any special feelings for me. I was just a novelty, a plaything who could satisfy him. All her previous “best friends” had been one–night flings with Ethan, with no follow–up. Only I had managed to make Ethan neglect Chloe.
The old Ethan used to think Chloe could help him. If one girl didn’t work out, Chloe could help him find the next. But then he met
me, and he stopped bothering with her. She was devastated and desperate. She hadn’t expected that Ethan and I would continue
beyond that one encounter. She thought I had a very loving boyfriend, and that we were good friends. She believed I would just
occasionally help her out, help her keep her boyfriend. And we could all continue living happily.
Her voice became more and more uncontrolled, and tears began to stream down her face.
I stared at Chloe, shocked, unable to believe these words were coming from her. I thought back to everything in the past. In the beginning, Chloe would always subtly bring up Ethan, often inviting me to join them at various events. I had genuinely thought she wanted us ali to be good friends, but I never imagined she had such an agenda.
My heart was a mix of emotions–fury and disappointment. Fury that Chloe had betrayed me, using my trust. Disappointment that what I thought was a strong friendship had been so fragile.
