"One week of silence means we're done." My boyfriend, Lucas, used that phrase like a weapon for the entire year we dated. Every time we fought, he'd drop that line and ghost me. Until our last fight. He pulled the same stunt—blocked me on everything and walked away without looking back. In that moment, I realized just how garbage this relationship was. I didn't spam him with friend requests this time. I didn't chase him, begging for forgiveness. Instead, I quietly changed my college application preferences and avoided every place I knew he'd be. Seven days flew by. His friends started panicking. "Lucas isn't even mad anymore, he's just waiting for you to apologize." "If you keep acting like this, he's actually going to dump you, and you'll have nowhere to cry." I smiled. "Cool. Let's break up then." "Just like he wanted." 1 The sun was blazing, but Lucas’s face was ice cold. Beneath the coldness was a layer of thick impatience. "I've told you a million times, Mia and I grew up together." "She's like a little sister to me. I just look out for her." "Can you stop being so jealous over nothing? It's annoying." I didn't speak. I didn't cry like I used to, frantically defending myself. I just felt tired. Being unhappy over the same thing again and again was exhausting. Seeing my silence, Lucas softened his tone slightly. "Okay, look." "I know you get jealous easily. I'll try to keep my distance from her." The bitterness in my chest finally spilled over. My eyes stung. Maybe there really was nothing between them. Like Lucas said a thousand times: If he liked Mia, why would he be dating me? But then he added, "But you have to promise me something too." "Because you threw a fit last time, people started calling Mia a homewrecker." "That kind of label hurts a girl. You know that." The cicadas were screaming in the trees, but my heart plummeted into a silent abyss. I looked at Lucas. His face was so familiar, yet so strange. "What do you want?" "Find a chance to clarify things for her. Tell everyone it's not true." "She was crying about it yesterday, her eyes were so swollen..." "No." I cut him off. Lucas froze, then visibly bristled. "Say that again." "I said, no." I dug my nails into my palms to stop my voice from shaking. "Fine." Lucas laughed, a sharp, angry sound. He pulled out his phone and blocked me right in front of my face. "Emily." He looked at me coldly. In the heat of summer, his voice was freezing. "If you have any dignity, don't come crawling back." 2 That night, one of his friends sent me a screenshot of Lucas's Instagram story. Caption: "The neighbor's kid grew up." Attached were two photos. One of them at three years old, holding hands and grinning. One of them now. Not holding hands, but looking at each other with that same smile. Mia commented: "Hehe, am I still as cute as back then?" Lucas replied: "Still as greedy for snacks, little piggy." His friend texted me: "See? Lucas just sees her as a sister." "He posted this to clarify things so people stop misunderstanding." I didn't reply. I just smiled bitterly at my screen. Lucas wasn't clarifying things for me. He was clarifying for Mia. Proving she wasn't the "other woman." While blow-drying my hair after a shower, I remembered all the Polaroids I took with Lucas. I dug the album out from the bottom drawer and packed it up. Tomorrow, I'd find a place to destroy them. Before sleep, my phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number. Just a photo. Two hands, fingers interlaced tightly. I recognized the guy's hand. It was Lucas's. The other hand must be Mia's. Interlocked fingers. Just like their childhood photo. The text read: "Sis, do you really think the new girl can beat the childhood sweetheart?" I stared at it numbly for a few seconds. I didn't reply. I took a screenshot, saved it, and blocked the number. 3 The next day, I went to a recycling center. I destroyed the photos, the letters, the little gifts Lucas gave me. After that, I logged into the college portal and changed my application preferences. Once everything was done, I checked my messages. My bestie sent me the location for a party. Since graduation, everyone was partying every day. Usually at the same old spots. So, of course, the moment I walked in, I bumped into Lucas's crew. They saw me and immediately started winking and nudging each other. "Emily! Here for Lucas, right?" "What a coincidence, he just got here. He's inside." "Told you guys. She couldn't even wait a day, let alone a week." "Lucas is a legend. One sentence and he's got her on a leash." "I'm not here for him," I said, frowning. I'd heard this crap before, but this time, it just made me sick. "Stop pretending, Emily..." I didn't bother engaging. I turned to leave. They paused, surprised. "Wait, you're actually leaving?" "She's just acting tough. Watch, she'll be begging him to take her back by tomorrow." I scoffed and looked back at them. "Sure. Keep waiting then." 4 Lucas glanced at his friends walking in. He looked behind them, expecting someone else. His eyes darkened. He definitely heard Emily's name just now. But she wasn't there. Lucas felt a wave of irritation. Emily's temper had been out of control lately. Making scenes over Mia constantly. Didn't she get it? He and Mia had known each other since they were in diapers. If he wanted Mia, Emily wouldn't even be in the picture. His phone buzzed. He unlocked it quickly. A WeChat message. The corners of his lips quirked up. Finally, the friend request. But when he opened it, it was from Mia: "Lucas, can you come get me?" He frowned, annoyed. "It's close, can't you walk?" "I hurt my leg." Mia sent a photo. Her calf was bleeding. It looked bad. But Lucas's eyes fixed on the bottom right corner of the photo. A flash of a teal skirt. If he remembered correctly, Emily had a skirt exactly like that. He stood up immediately and strode out.
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