Chapter 4

Maya blinked, her eyes struggling to focus on Ethan.

A flicker of lucidity crossed her face.

"Ethan? Oh... I'm so drunk," she mumbled, waving a dismissive hand. "Don't listen to anything I say."

Just then, Chloe and Zoe appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Maya! There you are! We're heading out."

Maya pushed herself off the wall, offering Ethan a quick, wobbly smile.

"Gotta go, babe," she slurred, patting his cheek before stumbling off with her friends.

Babe. The endearment felt like another twist of the knife.

Ethan retreated to his quiet corner by the window, the party's noise a dull roar in his ears.

He stayed there, lost in a fog of pain and humiliation, until he heard voices nearby.

Leo and his musician friends were gathered around a table, drinks in hand.

"So, that Ethan guy," one of them said, a smirk in his voice. "What's his deal? Maya's little charity case?"

Ethan's blood ran cold.

Leo chuckled, a dismissive, arrogant sound.

"Something like that. She's got a soft spot for strays, I guess."

He took a long swig of his beer. "Seriously though, you think Maya would ever actually be with a guy like that? Stable, boring tech drone? Please. She needs excitement. Someone like me."

Another guy chimed in, "She's been obsessed with you for years, Leo. Everyone knows it. Ethan's just... experience. A warm-up act."

The casual cruelty of their words was devastating.

Leo leaned back, looking pleased. "Remember that time in junior year when those seniors were giving me crap? Maya went ballistic. Total tigress. She'd do anything for me."

He paused, a smug look on his face.

"Actually," Leo continued, lowering his voice conspiratorially, "I heard she's planning to make a big move. Tell me how she really feels at her birthday bash next month."

One of his friends raised an eyebrow. "And? You gonna let her down easy?"

Leo shrugged, a picture of nonchalance.

"Why would I? It's flattering. Besides, a girl that devoted? Could be fun for a while."

Ethan felt a bitter, twisted smile form on his lips. The humiliation was complete.

He stood up, his legs unsteady, and walked out of the party, out of the building, into the cold Chicago night.

He pulled out his phone and dialed his boss.

"Mark, it's Ethan... Yeah, I know it's late... I'm resigning... Effective immediately... No, I can't. Personal reasons."

He hung up before Mark could protest further.

He'd moved to Chicago for a great job opportunity, but he'd stayed, truly stayed, for Maya.

He'd built his life here around her, around their secret world.

Now, it was all ashes.

It was time to leave. Time to give Leo back his "position."

Maya was unreachable for the next few days. Not that he tried to contact her.

But her life, and Leo's, played out on social media.

Pictures of them at trendy restaurants, at concerts, Leo's arm casually slung around her shoulder.

A shot of them laughing, heads close together, captioned: "Reunited and it feels so good #ParisToChicago #DreamGuy."

Ethan watched it all with a numb detachment. Each post was another nail in the coffin of his five-year delusion.

He packed his few belongings, his expression blank. His loft, once a haven, felt like a cage.

His phone rang. Chloe.

"Ethan! Thank God I reached you! It's Maya... there's been an accident. A car accident. It's bad."

He hesitated, his hand on the doorknob, his suitcase by his feet.

Every instinct screamed at him to walk away, to leave this mess behind.

But then he thought of Rick. Rick, who was his best friend, who knew nothing of this.

Rick would be devastated if something happened to Maya and Ethan hadn't at least tried to help, or been there.

"Where is she?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

He arrived at Chicago General to a scene of controlled chaos.

Nurses and doctors rushed past. He saw Maya on a gurney, pale and still, an oxygen mask over her face.

Leo was on another gurney nearby, his face bloody, moaning in pain.

Chloe and Zoe rushed towards him, their faces tear-streaked.

"Ethan! It was awful!" Chloe sobbed. "Maya was driving Leo's convertible... she's always so reckless... they got T-boned. Leo... he was messing with the radio, distracted her..."

Zoe cut in, "Leo's mostly okay, cuts and bruises, maybe a broken arm. But Maya... they said it's critical. Internal bleeding. She needs surgery, now."

Chloe grabbed Ethan's arm, her eyes desperate.

"But she's refusing! She's insisting they treat Leo first! He's conscious, he's talking, but she won't listen! You have to talk to her, Ethan! Make her see sense! She's losing too much blood!"

He walked over to Maya's gurney. Her eyes fluttered open, focusing on him with difficulty.

"Ethan..." she whispered, her voice weak.

"Maya," he said, his voice surprisingly calm. "You need this surgery. Now. Think about your family. Think about Rick."

She shook her head weakly, her gaze shifting to Leo.

"Leo... he needs... help first... It's my fault..."

"Maya, he's stable! You are not!" Ethan's voice rose, a hint of desperation creeping in. "You could die if you don't let them operate!"

A nurse approached with a consent form. "Ms. Rodriguez, we need your consent for surgery."

Maya reached for the pen, her hand shaking.

She didn't sign her own consent. She scrawled her name on a form prioritizing Leo's non-critical treatment, a waiver of sorts.

"My... decision..." she gasped, as a doctor tried to argue.

Ethan tried to grab the clipboard, but she clutched it tight.

"You... have no say, Ethan," she whispered, her eyes surprisingly fierce despite her condition. "You're... not... family."

The words, a final, brutal dismissal, echoed the ones from the rooftop party.

Not family. Not even after five years of her calling him babe, her love, her future.

He was nothing.