Our Three – Person Chat Only Had Two Speakers Chapter 03
Ryan shut up, looking annoyed.
As we got out, he quickly came around to my side, reaching for my hand.
I sidestepped smoothly and shoved my hands into my coat pockets.
A second later, Chloe squeezed in.
She linked her arm with his affectionately.
Ryan didn’t pull away. He even instinctively shielded
her from the car door.
I saw it all but said nothing.
Just walked ahead.
As soon as we stepped into the new house, Chloe’s
stomach pain seemed to vanish.
She dragged Ryan around excitedly, pointing at everything and commenting.
“Ryan, didn’t I say I hated the curtain color in the guest room? Why haven’t you changed it?”
I heard her and stopped.
“I told the workers not to. The color you picked is ugly.”
“Since this is Ryan and my wedding home, you have no say.”
Chloe’s smile froze. She didn’t expect me to put her on the spot.
She paused for two seconds.
Then rushed over, grabbing my arm and acting cute.
“Mia, don’t say that. Are you still mad we didn’t take you to Tuscany?”
“I’m sorry. I just thought you were busy and needed a weekend to relax. That’s why… We’ve been friends for
eighteen years. What’s mine is yours.”
I kept a straight face and pushed her hand away.
“What’s mine is yours? Then how about you marry Ryan instead? Chloe, precisely because we’ve been friends for eighteen years, I know exactly what you’re
thinking.”
“Stop pretending.”
Chloe was speechless, then her eyes reddened and tears fell.
“No, no, that’s not it. Mia, don’t think that of me, I really just…”
I took a deep breath.
Since we’d gone this far, there was no point in keeping up appearances. Time to lay it all out.
“My messages in the group are always ignored. You
chat with him late into the night right in front of me, but won’t reply to me privately.”
“And you use the ‘best friend‘ excuse to go to movies,
dinners, and trips alone with my fiancé. Ask any random person on the street, and ten out of ten would
say it’s not normal.”
“Chloe, do I need to make myself clearer? You know this situation isn’t right.”
Chloe was left without words, just covering her face
and crying harder.
Ryan couldn’t stand it anymore.
He walked over and stepped between us.
“Mia, what are you saying?”
“Chloe and I have nothing going on! We’ve known each other for years. If anything was going to happen, it
would have. Stop overthinking. I brought you here to comfort Chloe, not to yell at her!”
I stepped back and hit the wall behind me.
I winced.
Ryan instinctively reached out but stopped mid–air.
Then he turned to hold Chloe’s shoulder and soothe her.
“Mia, apologize to Chloe.”
“Let this go. Stop making a scene.”
I looked into his blaming eyes. My heart had already
hurt past the point of feeling.
Just numbness.
I steadied myself against the wall and looked up at Ryan.
“It’s not going away.”
“There are things I want to discuss with you alone. I’ll be in the master bedroom. Don’t bring anyone else.”
I walked past him.
But Ryan dawdled, comforting Chloe for a bit, handing her a gift box and a key.
Then he came to find me.
“Mia, this is for you.”
“Chloe and I picked it out together in Tuscany. We
thought of you too. Don’t be mad. I’ll be careful from
now on. Won’t upset you again.”
I glanced at the box and didn’t take it.
Instead, I held out my hand to Ryan.
“I don’t want a gift. Where’s the key to the new place?”
“Weren’t there two keys when the locks were changed?
One for you, one for me. Perfect.”
Ryan looked away, guilty.
“I… I’ll pick you up from work every day, so you won’t need it. Easy to lose if you carry it.”
“Gave it to Chloe?”
I scoffed. It was truly absurd.
“Ryan, as your fiancée, the future lady of this house, I don’t even get a key?”
“Does that make sense to you? Knowing I’m upset and
bothered, you still gave the key to someone else. Is this our wedding home, or yours and Chloe’s?”
Ryan was speechless.
After a long pause, he muttered,
“I’ll get you another one.”
“You know Chloe’s family isn’t well–off. I gave her the
key to make her feel secure. As her friend, don’t you want her to be happy…”
I couldn’t hold back and shouted,
“Whether you’re friends or not, you know better than I do!”
Before I finished, the master bedroom door burst open.
“Ryan, this gift’s wrong.”
“I should’ve taken the cheap one. How did you give me
this four–thousand–dollar bracelet with my name engraved on it? Give it back to Mia!”
Ryan glanced at it.
“It’s right. You said you’ve never worn such an expensive bracelet, so I thought I’d get you one.”
Then Ryan turned and shoved the box into my hands.
Afraid I’d get mad, he softened his tone.
“I don’t have that much cash right now. Just take this for now. When I get my year–end bonus, I’ll buy you a better one. You know Chloe, she’s not well–off, doesn’t earn much, and you even helped her get her job.”
“Just have some sympathy for her. Don’t be mad over small things. Okay?”
Chloe looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Mia, please forgive me.”
Thinking Process: