Chapter 1

Tags: Repeated Breakups, Betrayal, Self-Growth, Regretful Ex / Groveling

My boyfriend loved to break up with me.

Take too long to reply to a text? Break up.

Dinner didn't taste amazing? Break up.

So, the ninety-ninth time Ethan threw out those words, I beat him to it: "Okay."

I answered so quickly that he froze for two whole seconds.

"You're... not even going to fight for this?"

"Nope. My takeout is here."

I walked downstairs to grab the food. When I came back up, he was still sitting on the couch.

"That's it?" he asked.

I opened the bag. A single serving.

He stared at the small carton for a long time.

"When did you start ordering food for just one?"

I thought about it for a second.

"Probably around the time you started answering every question with 'whatever.'"

He grabbed his jacket, walked to the front door, and glanced back at the fridge.

Our photo booth strips were still pinned there.

What he didn't know was that three days ago, I had already changed my default delivery address to my new apartment downtown.

Today was the last time anything would be delivered here.

And what he knew even less—

That single meal still had his favorite side order added to it.

I wouldn't be adding it ever again.

"Hey Avery, it's Chloe! Ethan asked me to get the admin passwords for the 'Savor & Spice' channel from you."

The call came barely three minutes after Ethan slammed the door shut.

The takeout container had just landed in the trash can, with his favorite extra toppings still sitting at the bottom.

"He doesn't remember them?" I asked.

"Well, he said you've always handled the backend stuff, so he's not totally sure about the details," Chloe said, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. "Sorry to bother you, girl!"

"Are you with him right now?"

A tiny pause. "Um... yeah. Ethan was pretty down, so I grabbed a drink with him. Don't be too sad, okay Avery—"

Pretty down. We hadn't even been broken up for twenty minutes, and he was already out drinking with another girl.

"I'll email him the passwords tomorrow."

"Awesome! No rush, really—"

"Anything else?"

"Oh, right! The recipe master doc you put together? Ethan said to send that over too. It counts as channel assets, you know."

Those recipes were the result of me hitting over a hundred local spots and testing things at the stove hundreds of times. Ethan hadn't even tasted half of them before filming.

"Later," I said.

I hung up and opened Snapchat.

Ethan's Story was right at the top. Tagged at a local craft brewery downtown, featuring a pint of IPA. Right next to the coaster sat half of a pink, cartoon phone case.

Definitely not his.

Marcus, one of his buddies, was already commenting in the replies: [Finally cut the cord! You and Avery were never a match. She was way too bland.]

Ethan replied: [Yeah. Moving forward.]

I hadn't even taken the trash bag out, and he was already "moving forward."

Chloe hadn't posted anything publicly yet, but she had just reposted Ethan's restaurant review from three days ago on Twitter, captioning it: "Can't wait to collaborate with Ethan!"

Three days ago. The exact day Ethan told me, "We need to talk." Her caption had been ready since then.

Before I could close the app, Marcus called me directly.

"Avery, did you and Ethan actually split?"

"Yeah."

"Honestly? Long overdue. Don't take this the wrong way, but you guys were never on the same wavelength. Ethan needs someone with real spark, someone dynamic. You're just too—"

"Too what?"

"Too plain. You're like plain boiled pasta. It keeps you alive, but nobody walks into a restaurant just to order plain noodles."

That was the exact phrase Ethan used the last time he complained about my cooking.

"Got it."

"Look, I'm just looking out for you," Marcus pushed on. "Think about the last three years. Ethan's been sweating it out on camera, grinding, and you haven't really done much to—"

"Haven't done much?"

"That's not what I meant! Look, the editing, the color grading, anyone can do that. But Ethan's charisma? His screen presence? That's pure talent. You can't replace that. Don't flatter yourself too much."

Our mutual group chat was blowing up too.

[Every time we hung out, Avery barely said a word. Just sat in the corner eating snacks. Ethan had to carry the whole room alone. So exhausting.]

[Chloe is totally different. Funny, quick-witted, plays along with every bit. She and Ethan actually look like creators together.]

At our last party, the jokes Ethan told were from a script I had rewritten three times. The room roared with laughter while I sat quietly eating peanuts.

The next day, those jokes were posted on the official channel, credited entirely to him.

"Marcus, I have things to do."

"Wait—Ethan mentioned Chloe is joining him as co-creator now. If you're feeling bitter about it—"

"I'm not."

Chloe's message popped up on Snapchat again.

[Avery, one more tiny thing! Could you leave that German chef's knife at the studio? Ethan said that line is discontinued.]

I bought that knife with my very first cut of our sponsorship money.

"That knife belongs to me."

[Okay, okay, don't be mad! What about the handmade ceramic plating set? Ethan says he needs it for next week's shoot.]

"Also mine."

[Gotcha! Get some rest, girl. Ethan's heading to the studio tomorrow anyway, so he can pack up your personal stuff while he's there.]

She talked about clearing my life out as if she were doing a casual cleanup job.

Five minutes later, a text from Ethan buzzed in. His first direct contact with me since walking out.

[Make sure you send the recipes. Don't let your feelings mess with work. Those assets don't belong to you alone. Chloe's being really sweet about this, so stop making things hard for her.]

He had already forgotten.

The first time he came to my place, I spent four hours simmering a homemade bone broth from scratch just to make him a bowl of fresh noodles. He devoured three full bowls and swore, "I could eat this every single day for the rest of my life."

Later, that exact noodle dish was featured on our channel, racking up three million views. The top comment read: "Ethan must be an incredible cook."

He never corrected them.

I typed out a single line: "Does the recipe for that broth and handmade noodles count as a channel asset too?"

Three minutes later, his one-word reply came back.

"Yes."