Ava POV
Two weeks later, I was dragged to an engagement party.
"You have to come," Maya had insisted, her tone leaving no room for argument. "You can't hide forever. If you stay home, it just makes you look guilty."
So I went. I wore a black dress that cost more than my rent and applied a slash of crimson lipstick. I wasn't just getting dressed; I was armoring myself.
The moment I walked into the ballroom, the atmosphere shifted. Conversations stalled mid-sentence. Eyes darted in my direction, hungry for scandal.
Ethan was there, of course. He was by the bar, holding court like a king on a throne. Chloe was draped over him like a cashmere shawl.
When he saw me, his spine stiffened. He whispered something to Chloe, and they both turned to look. He wore a smug expression, waiting for the scene. Waiting for the tears. Waiting for the desperate ex-girlfriend he had painted me to be.
I grabbed a glass of champagne and walked right past him. I didn't blink. I didn't pause. I looked through him as if he were made of glass.
From the corner of my eye, I saw his jaw tighten.
Later in the evening, the host suggested a game. Truth or Dare. It was juvenile, but everyone was drunk on open-bar liquor and gossip, so they agreed.
We sat in a loose circle. The bottle spun, scraping against the mahogany table before slowing to a stop. It landed on Chloe.
"Truth or Dare?" someone asked.
"Dare," she said, her eyes locking onto me with predatory focus.
"I dare you to tell the group who here doesn't belong," she said, twisting the rules of the game into a weapon.
The room went deathly quiet.
"Well," Chloe smirked, tilting her head. "Some people are just... leftovers. Like yesterday's meal that went bad."
Ethan laughed. It was a short, cruel sound, devoid of any real humor.
"Chloe," Maya warned, her voice low.
"What?" Chloe giggled, feigning innocence. "I am just playing the game."
Ethan looked at me, his eyes gleaming. "She has a point. Some people don't know when to exit the stage."
He wanted me to break. He wanted me to scream. He needed my reaction to validate his fragile ego.
I took a slow sip of my drink. I set the glass down on the table with a soft, deliberate click.
"You are right," I said. My voice was calm, clear, cutting through the tension. "I don't belong here. Because I don't sit at tables where respect is not served."
I stood up, smoothing my dress.
"Oh, sit down, Ava," Ethan sneered, losing his composure. "Stop making everything about you."
"It isn't about me, Ethan," I said, holding his gaze. "It hasn't been about me for a long time. It is about you needing an audience to convince yourself you are happy."
His face turned a mottled red. The smugness vanished, replaced by raw fury.
"You think you are better than us?" he demanded.
"No," I said. "I just know I am finished with you."
I turned to leave.
Suddenly, Ethan grabbed Chloe's face. He pulled her in and kissed her. It wasn't romantic. It was aggressive. It was a performance. He kissed her hard, making a show of it, his eyes open, watching me over her shoulder.
The room grew uncomfortable. People looked away, shifting in their seats.
He pulled back, breathless, his chest heaving.
"See that?" he challenged me. "That is what passion looks like. Something you never gave me."
I looked at him. Really looked at him. He looked small. Desperate. A man trying to prove he mattered.
He leaned in as I walked by, whispering so only I could hear.
"You are nothing without me, Ava. You are a ghost."
I kept walking. I didn't speed up. I didn't look back.
"Keep telling yourself that," I whispered to the empty hallway, and stepped out into the night.
