I didn't go back downstairs. I stayed quietly in my room, packing up everything Ethan had given me over the past four years. I placed them all into a box.

Medical textbooks, a stethoscope, a watch, the lab coat with my name stitched on the tag…

Every piece carried a memory. Every piece once made me believe we would last forever.

How ridiculous.

At dinnertime, my roommate, Emma Whitley, came upstairs to call me.

Victoria still hadn't left and was busy in the kitchen.

When she passed by me carrying a bowl of steaming clam chowder, I instinctively stood up and stepped aside.

It was a reflex I'd developed after being set up by Victoria again and again.

But this time, she'd already predicted my move. The moment I stood, I collided straight into her.

"Ah!" Victoria screamed.

Most of the scalding soup spilled onto her, though some splashed onto my arm as well.

She burst into tears. Her voice was full of pain and grievance as she said, "Leah, I was just bringing you some soup. How could you…"

She'd learned. When framing me for pushing her in the living room failed, she'd staged an "accidental" collision instead.

I had no way to defend myself.

Ethan looked at me with open disappointment. His gaze was filled with disgust as he shoved me hard. I lost my balance and slammed my back into the edge of the dining table. The pain shot through me.

Yet Ethan didn't spare me a single glance. He rushed to tend to Victoria's burns, never once looking my way.

He didn't notice that hot soup had splashed onto my arm as well, leaving angry red burn marks.

He didn't notice that he'd shoved me so roughly that my back had hit the table edge. It hurt so much that I could barely stand.

The burn throbbed, but it hurt far less than the pain in my heart.

After a while, Ethan came out, supporting Victoria, who'd had burn cream applied.

He coldly ordered, "Apologize."

I raised my head and met his eyes.

Four years of depending on each other and being together day and night. Yet, I couldn't find a single trace of tenderness in Ethan's eyes. All that remained was disgust and cold indifference.

He warned me, enunciating word by word, "Victoria is being forgiving and letting this go. All you need to do is apologize, and we'll move on."

I stayed silent for a long time. "What if I say no?"

"Leah, are you really going to blow this up?" Ethan's tone sharpened. "If you don't want to break up, you'd better apologize."

He once promised he would be with me for life. Now, he used breaking up as a weapon.

He was certain I couldn't leave him and that I would give in.

But this time, he was wrong.

I looked straight into his eyes and said slowly, "I won't apologize. Do whatever you want."

Ethan's face turned dark with rage. He grabbed Victoria and stormed out of the apartment.

I left soon after.

My arm hurt badly from the burns. I called an Uber and went to the ER at Estain Medical Center.

The ER doctor treated my burns and bruises, prescribed topical medication, and gave me care instructions.

On the way back, I got a call from Emma. "Leah, did you and Ethan fight again? He just took Victoria and a group of doctors to that rooftop bar to celebrate his promotion."

She sounded furious. "And did you see Ethan's post on Instagram? He said he's thinking about ending the relationship. 100 likes and it's over. It's already at 99."

My chest tightened.

He was doing this again.

I opened Ethan's Instagram profile and saw the post right away. "Thinking about ending my relationship. 100 likes and it's over."

It already had 99 likes.

Scrolling back, I saw that he'd posted the same kind of thing several times before. It was always the same rule. 100 likes meant a breakup.

Every time he did this in the past, I panicked. I would cry and call him right away, begging him not to leave me. I would apologize without dignity, take all the blame, and plead for forgiveness.

Each time, I was no better than a dog wagging its tail for mercy.

And each time, after I apologized, Ethan would archive the post and say coldly, "Fine. I'll let it go this time."

Every time, I swore it would be the last.

But every time, I gave in again.

This time, though, after seeing the post, I didn't spiral into a panic or call Ethan and beg for a reconciliation like I used to.

I stared at the photo instead.

It was taken at a popular rooftop bar in Estain. City lights glittered under the night sky. A group of young doctors stood together, raising their glasses in celebration.

Ethan and Victoria stood at the center. Their hands were tightly clasped.

The night looked beautiful and perfect.

My eyes stung.

I heard Ethan's old promise echo in my head. "Leah, once we can both work at the Redwood General Hospital, I'll take you to the best restaurant and tell everyone we're together."

But he'd already given that celebration to Victoria.

I looked at the post for a long time. Then, I raised my hand and tapped "like".

The breakup post finally reached 100 likes.

There was no future for Ethan and me anymore. This was goodbye.

I took a screenshot and closed the app.

I didn't feel the pain I'd imagined. Instead, I felt lighter, like a weight I'd carried for four years had finally been set down.

Back at the apartment, I stayed up most of the night packing. I boxed up all the gifts Ethan had given me over the years. There were several boxes in total.

Now that we'd broken up, keeping them felt wrong. Before I left, I planned to return everything to Ethan.

I placed a note on the top box. "Ethan, these are the gifts you gave me over the years. I'm returning them to you."

As I finished writing, the tears finally fell.

I was finally free.