Ghost Me Once More And I’m Gone Chapter 03
I had no appetite after dinner.
I went back to the attic on an empty stomach.
After comforting Chloe, Ethan pushed open my door.
“Emma, what you did earlier was way out of line.”
His expression was stern.
I almost laughed.
“Out of line?”
“Ethan, whose boyfriend are you? I’m the one who got hurt. Not her.”
He paused.
“She’s your sister. Can’t you give her a little grace?”
“You know how Chloe gets when she feels left out. Can’t you just let her have this?”
I had heard those excuses for twenty years.
Because she was my sister, I had given in again and again.
If I kept giving in, one day I really would let them push me straight into the grave.
Ethan noticed blood seeping through my bandage.
His voice softened.
“Come on. I’ll help you take care of that.”
He took my hand.
I looked at him.
“Ethan, do you actually want to marry me?”
When I first heard that he was discussing marriage with both families, I’d been happy.
Of course I had.
We had been together five years.
I had imagined getting engaged to him, marrying him, building a life with him more times than I could count.
But how was I supposed to trust a man who had deliberately set an animal trap in my path just to make another woman happy?
Ethan frowned.
“Of course I do. Who marries someone they don’t love?”
“I’m telling you, that camping trip was the last time I’ll ever play the Ghost Game with Chloe. There won’t be another time.”
He looked completely sincere.
Just like every other time he had promised never to let me get hurt again.
And every time, I had still ended up as the joke.
I would never forget that freezing night.
Just then, Chloe appeared in the doorway, visibly annoyed.
“You’ve been talking to Emma forever.”
“There’s a new movie out tonight. Come with me?”
The hand holding mine immediately let go.
Ethan was already walking toward her.
“Take care of the wound yourself. I’ll go pick out your engagement ring tomorrow.”
Their footsteps faded.
I remembered the summer night when I was nineteen.
Ethan had confessed his feelings at the end of our street and promised that no matter what happened, I would always be his first choice.
Five years later, I wasn’t first anymore.
Maybe I never had been.
The house went quiet again.
I went to the office alone and finished all of my handover paperwork.
By the time I got home, it was dark.
I had barely opened the door when I heard Chloe’s excited voice.
“Mom, Dad, Ethan, you have to cooperate with me at the engagement party the day after tomorrow.”
“First, we send Emma to the hotel alone. Then we go hang out at the beach. Everyone puts their phone on silent. Nobody answers her.”
“Especially you, Ethan. You can’t show up. I want her thinking everyone’s coming right up until the last minute. Then we ghost her.”
“With that many friends and relatives there, someone’s bound to post it. She’ll be humiliated.”
Chloe sounded thrilled.
My parents agreed without hesitation.
“Of course.”
“We already talked to Ethan’s mother. She’s in on it too.”
“Emma’s the only one who doesn’t know.”
I stood outside the room and felt the cold spread through my body.
Ethan’s mother had always been kind to me.
She had even said she would treat me like her own daughter after we got married.
Apparently, she was willing to help Chloe humiliate me too.
Ethan hesitated.
“Isn’t that a little unfair to Emma? We already promised we’d be there.”
“And…”
Chloe cut him off.
“You two are getting married. This will obviously be our last Ghost Game.”
“Ethan, you’re not seriously going to deny me one last request, are you?”
A short silence.
Then he said, “Okay.”
I stood in the dark and smiled bitterly.
Of course.
He had broken his promise again.
Before coming home, I had planned to tell him the truth.
I was transferring to London.
There was no need to talk about a wedding anymore.
We were done.
But standing there, I suddenly realized there was nothing left to say.
Fine.
I would play one final round with them before I left.
Exactly the way they wanted.
Then this unimportant person would disappear for good.