My boyfriend has extreme boundaries. If I take a sip of his drink, he throws it away immediately. He never touches chopsticks I've used. He forbids me from touching his phone or wearing his jacket. I thought he was just a germaphobe with everyone. Until I saw his "bro-girl" wearing his jacket, playing games on his phone, and drinking from his cup. He explained lightly: "She's just one of the boys. Why are you so petty?" One of the boys, huh? Go spend the rest of your life with your "bro." Chapter 1 My boyfriend, Ethan, organized a dinner. His "bro-girl," Sophie, was there too. Sophie wore a pure white strapless mini dress, her long black hair cascading down her back. Ethan teased her: "Why are you dressed like you're going on a date?" She rolled her eyes at him: "It's the first time I'm meeting your girlfriend. I wanted to make a good impression." "Wow, Omakase? This must be expensive. How much? I'll Venmo you half." Ethan smiled back: "What's our relationship? Do we need to split bills?" My hand, holding the chopsticks, froze. A wave of grievance rose in my chest. From the first day I met Ethan, he was obsessed with boundaries. If I bought him Jordan sneakers, he would buy me a bag of equal value. If he bought me a Starbucks, within an hour, he'd remind me of the exact price, down to the cent, and ask me to Venmo him. Once, I forgot my wallet and borrowed $50. The moment we got home, he reminded me to pay him back. Every cent between us was calculated clearly. I thought he had financial boundaries with everyone. I looked up at Ethan's enthusiastic smile and suddenly felt blinded. So my boundary-obsessed boyfriend can be generous. Just not with me. "I heard you're dating someone. Bring him over so I can check him out." Ethan brought up Sophie's boyfriend. Sophie blushed: "Who are you to me? Why do you need to check my boyfriend?" I gritted my teeth and tried to join the conversation: "Ethan, my best friend has been wanting to meet you too. Should we set up a dinner?" Ethan frowned slightly: "Haven't I told you many times? Your social circle is yours. I don't participate. We have separate lives. Don't force me to deal with them, okay?" I deflated like a balloon, pouting silently. He was always like this. Refusing to integrate into my life. But he just actively asked to meet Sophie's boyfriend. Why was he so interested in her social circle? I pushed down the disappointment: "Then can you take me to meet your friends?" Sophie spoke up for me, pretending to be righteous: "Ethan, you've been dating for so long, and she hasn't met your frat bros yet?" I pressed my lips together, unable to speak. Under Sophie's exaggerated gaze, I felt humiliated. Sophie slapped my back heartily: "You don't need to know Ethan's friends anyway. They aren't good people, hahaha..." Ethan retorted: "So you're not a good person either?" They laughed together. My hand under the table clenched into a fist. Is this Ethan's so-called "social boundary"? It doesn't exist for Sophie. Throughout the meal, they talked non-stop. I couldn't get a word in, nor did I want to anymore. Chapter 2 Walking out of the restaurant, Sophie frowned: "Oops, it's late. Uber surge pricing is crazy." Ethan patted his chest: "I'll drive you." I couldn't help but look at Ethan. Sophie and I lived in opposite directions. Who gets dropped off first? Ethan didn't ask me. He turned the car directly toward Sophie's apartment. An hour later. He considerately walked Sophie up to her door before slowly returning to the car. On the way to my place, Ethan lost his enthusiasm. Silence all the way. Near my apartment, Ethan suddenly frowned and clicked his tongue. I asked him what was wrong. He waited a long time before saying: "I told Sophie to text me when she got inside. Why hasn't she texted yet?" I paused: "Didn't you walk her to her door?" "I didn't watch her go in. The hallway is dark. What if something happened?" My heart turned to ice. I had replied late before. Once, my phone notifications were off. I saw his message five hours later. I called him back immediately. He was playing video games and hung up perfunctorily. I asked him: "I was missing for five hours. Weren't you worried?" He replied coolly: "We are adults. We need personal space. I won't pry." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He never voluntarily reported his whereabouts to me. Sometimes he even complained I shared too much: "That's your private matter. I have no right to know." If I hadn't met Sophie today... I would have thought he was just that kind of person. I even felt proud, thinking if he was like this with me, he must be even stricter with other girls. I got out of the car. Ethan sat in the driver's seat, showing no intention of walking me to the elevator. Suddenly, I had an impulse. I turned and asked: "Do you have anything to say to me?" I was unhappy today. It was obvious. He must have noticed. Ethan thought for a moment, then raised his hand with a smile: "Just Venmo me one-third of the dinner bill." I stood frozen, like a bucket of ice water had been dumped on me. Grievance poured out like a flood. I couldn't stop crying: "Ethan, you never let me touch your phone or wear your jacket. But today, Sophie played games on your phone, and you gave her your jacket because she was cold." Ethan paused: "You care about that? Relax, she's just one of the boys. Don't be so petty." Back home. I lay in bed, images of Ethan and Sophie laughing filling my mind. Ding. A notification from Sophie, whom I just added on WeChat. "I tried to Venmo Ethan for dinner, but he refused. So I'm sending it to you." She sent a cute sticker sticking its tongue out. My nose stung. I accepted the money immediately. Then I transferred it to Ethan: "Here is my money. One-third of the dinner bill." Ethan replied with "K" and went silent. With me. His emotions were always cold. Restrained and polite. I couldn't stand his "boundaries" anymore! I wanted to text him, to have a serious talk about boundaries. If we couldn't agree, we'd break up. But the words stuck in my throat. I remembered he told me he had strict "time boundaries." No texting after 10 PM. It was exactly 10:01 PM. I rolled my eyes, threw the phone aside, and went to sleep. I was woken up by my phone alarm. Today was my birthday. I jumped out of bed, afraid of being late. Ethan and I had agreed to go to that French restaurant I'd been dying to try for lunch. It was almost noon. I quickly put on the magenta velvet dress I bought specifically for today, did my makeup, and rushed to the restaurant. Chapter 3 I sat at the table. I waited until the sky turned dark. Ethan never showed up. I texted him: "Didn't you say you'd eat with me on my birthday?" A long time later, Ethan replied: "Sorry, Emily. Can we celebrate tomorrow? Sophie broke up with her boyfriend. She's fragile and heartbroken right now. I want to be there for her. No one else can comfort her but me." I sat there, stunned. The waiter walked over: "Miss, when will your friend arrive?" Embarrassment spread from my feet up. I stood up: "Sorry. Cancel the table. I'm not eating." On Instagram, Sophie posted a photo. Her face was pale, eyes swollen from crying. In the corner of the photo, Ethan was peeling shrimp for her. Caption: Lucky to have you by my side. I walked home alone, soulless. The evening wind was cold. By the time I snapped out of it, I had walked a long way. I sneezed. When I got home, I felt dizzy. I probably caught a cold. I buried myself in the quilt. A thought popped up. If Ethan hadn't stood me up, I wouldn't have walked in the wind. I wouldn't be sick. I shouldn't have waited for him. In my daze, Ethan video called me. I didn't want to answer, but my vision blurred, and I hit the wrong button. "Emily, you're not mad, are you? You didn't reply to my texts." Seeing my face, concern appeared on his face. "Do you have a fever? I'll bring you medicine. Wait for me." "No need. I'll DoorDash some meds." But Ethan shook his head firmly: "No. I must bring it to you personally." I nodded silently and hung up, waiting for him in a daze. I waited and waited. My body burned, alternating between hot and cold. Ethan still didn't come. When I opened my eyes again, I was in the hospital. My landlord had come to collect rent. I didn't answer the door or texts, so he used the spare key and found me unconscious. If he had come an hour later, my brain might have fried. The landlord was shaken: "Why are you so silly? If you're sick, buy medicine." I remembered a sunset long ago. Ethan, tipsy and unlike his usual cold self, stared at me with bright eyes. He said he would love me forever. He said we would be together always, have a wedding, support each other. I was so naive back then. I believed him. I smiled bitterly, feeling pathetic. My voice was weak: "I was going to buy medicine. But someone said he would bring it to me." I texted Ethan: "You said you'd bring medicine. I haven't seen you yet." Ethan apologized profusely: "Sorry, sorry! I was helping Sophie move. I got busy and lost track of time." "You know she just broke up. She wanted a new environment to change her mood. The boxes were heavy, she couldn't lift them." "How are you? Feeling better?" I didn't bother replying to his excuses. I sent two words: "Let's break up." Silence for a long time. Then a message popped up: "Don't be petty, okay? She's just one of the boys." One of the boys. Again. Go marry your bro then. I was on an IV drip for three days. I took three days of sick leave. Work piled up. As soon as I got home, I opened my laptop. It auto-logged into Ethan's WeChat. A message from Sophie popped up: "If she doesn't cherish you, you still have me." I clicked on their chat history and scrolled up. Yesterday, after I broke up with him, Ethan immediately went to cry to Sophie. Sophie comforted him: "Why does she care about such small things? Is it necessary to hold a grudge?" "Sigh, don't fight because of me. I'll feel guilty, Oppa." I sneered. Calling him "Oppa" (Brother)? Just be his girlfriend already. I scrolled up further. My eyes locked onto a message. Sophie actually said this to Ethan: "Ethan Oppa, there's something I don't know if I should tell you. I'm not sure if it's true." "I saw Emily on an adult website. I didn't expect her to have a past like a cam girl." She dared to slut-shame me! Chapter 4 At first, Ethan didn't believe it: "Emily's private life has always been clean. She doesn't need to earn that kind of money. Maybe it just looks like her." "No, Emily has a mole under her eye. That cam model has the same mole." Sophie sent an explicit photo. It was obviously Photoshopped. Ethan was furious: "So Emily is this kind of person." "Will you break up with her, Oppa?" Ethan was silent for a long time: "Forget it. I dare not ask her. I'm afraid of the truth. Even if she was a cam girl, I accept it. Because I love her. I don't want to tear this veil. If I ask, we might break up." Sophie sympathized: "Oppa, you bear too much. Emily doesn't know how much you love her. You even accept her dirty past." Blood rushed to my head. Creating rumors about me? I called my lawyer friend immediately. I forwarded all the chat logs. My friend said confidently: "I'll sue her until she's broke." "Your boyfriend believed her so easily?" I corrected him: "Ex-boyfriend." When Sophie received the lawyer's letter, she was stunned. She realized the severity. She texted me frantically: "Emily, I might have said some wrong things, but it was just nonsense. I didn't mean it. Can you withdraw the lawsuit?" Why should I? Did you think about the consequences when you spread rumors? "You want me to withdraw? Sure. Pay me $10,000 for damages." Seeing I wouldn't budge, Sophie called for backup. Ethan came to my door, looking disgusted: "Emily, why are you blackmailing Sophie? She just said a few wrong words. It never caused you any real harm." "I know. You're doing this to make me mad, right? You realized breaking up didn't work, so you hacked my chat and bullied Sophie to make me come to you?" I stared at him defending her. I was blind to ever date him. Seeing my lack of reaction, Ethan got emotional: "Emily, even if Sophie accidentally spread rumors, can't you be the bigger person and forgive her?" "Why be so petty?" I laughed out loud. "Listen to yourself. Is that human language? So this is the real you. Pretending to be a gentleman, but asking me to forgive someone who slandered me." "Emily, don't be unreasonable. I advise you to withdraw the lawsuit, or I really will break up with you. No getting back together." He still thought I was madly in love with him. In reality, once I drop feelings, I never look back. I slammed the door in his face. I recorded our conversation. I wanted everyone to know what he was. Let him and his "bro-girl" rot together!
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