Over the years, I’d heard this excuse countless times. I used to think Ethan was simply passionate about his career, which was why I kept forgiving his indifference again and again.

He didn’t even know that I had long stopped liking milk, nor had I eaten breakfast alone in years.

"I see. Don’t overwork yourself and get too tired," I said.

Ethan took my hand and kissed it gently. With a soft tone, he asked if I wanted to visit the set. Since I had already decided to leave, I might as well say a proper goodbye. I agreed and got into the car heading to the set.

It was already noon when we arrived. A scene had just wrapped up and as soon as Linda spotted Ethan, she hurried over.

"Ethan, why are you so late? I miss you!"

Ethan stepped forward and stood next to Linda. "I had something to do this morning so I left for a while. Do you still not focus on filming?"

The eyes of those around us burned with intensity, leaving me trailing behind them. They looked just like a couple deeply in love.

When Ethan turned around and noticed I wasn’t saying anything, he explained, "Don’t overthink it. Linda sometimes can’t keep up with her emotions."

I turned and walked away, signaling that I had heard him. Ethan, seeing that I wasn’t suspicious, walked straight into the makeup room.

Not long after, Linda approached me herself. She put away her usual innocent act and became aggressive. "Ethan doesn’t love you. Besides making clothes, what else can you do? I’m sure you’ve seen all the overwhelming messages of blessings saying me and him are the perfect match, right?"

I didn’t want to argue with her, but unexpectedly, Linda grabbed me forcefully and her strength made me crash into the nearby filming light stand.

A few metal rods fell and struck my calf and the pain hit me instantly.

I saw Ethan rush over, immediately picking up the uninjured Linda. His eyes were filled with fury, as if he wanted to burn me to the ground.

"I thought you’d stopped causing trouble by now. How long are you going to keep this up? I told you, Linda and I are just ordinary friends. Why do you always make a scene like this? Who are you trying to impress?"

After Ethan finished speaking, he walked away holding Linda. The staff around me began whispering and pointing fingers. I looked down at my calf, which had been scratched open and let out a bitter smile.

I used to get injured every time I made clothes for Ethan, either slicing my fingers or bruising the back of my hand. Every time, he’d gently carry me to the couch, tenderly apply medicine to my wounds and say that when I was hurt, it hurt him too.

The memory flashed by in an instant. I leaned against the railing and slowly got up.

I took a taxi to the hospital, trailing behind Ethan's car.

Ethan and Linda made it to the trending topics again. In the photo, Ethan looked gentle, lowering his head to feed Linda water. Linda had a blissful smile on her face, with no visible injuries.

I sat on the cold hospital bench. I got my calf wound stitched up with four stitches, throbbing with sharp, searing pain.

It started to rain outside and I hadn’t brought an umbrella. I walked to the hospital room door, hoping Ethan would give me a ride home.

Before I could open the door, I saw Linda leaning against his shoulder, acting coquettishly. "This jacket is so ugly. Can you use it to wrap a pillow for me?"

Without hesitation, Ethan took off his jacket and folded it into a pillow to place under Linda’s feet. With a look of disdain, he said, "If it weren’t for today, to coax Mia, I wouldn’t have bothered wearing it again."

I felt utterly disheartened. This jacket took me several sleepless nights to finish making. It was the most precious gift Ethan had ever said he received. Today, to appease me, he put it back on, only for Linda to trample on it with her feet.

I finally understood what Linda meant when she said Ethan didn’t love me.

I ran into the rain and took a taxi back home to pack my things.

I was leaving in three days. I hung everything I didn’t need online to sell. When I finished packing, I found only one light suitcase left.

Linda posted on Twitter. It was a photo of Ethan’s back.

"Ethan took care of me all day. Fans, don’t worry about me.. "

I deleted fifty posts from my Twitter account.

Looking at the suitcase, I smiled as I realized I was just two suits short.

If Ethan hadn’t been so indifferent, if he had kept up his lies, maybe we really would have gotten married.

Ethan came back in the early morning. When he saw the suitcase in the living room, he rushed into the bedroom, shaking me awake angrily. "What are you doing now? Are you running away from home? If you’re really going, don’t even think about me begging you to come back!"

I didn’t understand why he was so angry. If I left, it would be fulfilling his wish with Linda.

"No, I’m just going to talk about a collaboration in a couple of days."

Ethan realized he was gripping me too hard, so he loosened his hand and slowly sat down beside me.

"What collaboration? Don't embarrass yourself by showing your random homemade stuff outside."

He seemed to want to say more, but when he saw the displeased expression on my face, he changed the subject. "Recently, I've been too busy and all those things online are just rumors. I know you're so obedient. So, don’t make trouble for no reason."

He added, "When you come back, I'll take you out to relax."

I could only feel the bitterness in my heart. I subtly avoided his lips that were coming closer, "I want to go out tomorrow to clear my mind."

Ethan hesitated for a moment but still agreed to my request.

He glanced at my calf and frowned. "See how scary it is when you get hurt. You shouldn't have quarreled with Linda today. She was an actress. What if she gets hurt on her face?"

I pushed him away and wrapped myself in the blanket, "I'm tired, I want to sleep."

Ethan took a day off from the crew and waited downstairs with camping gear early in the morning, ready to take me out.

I had just finished packing when I heard Linda's voice, "Ethan, I've never camped on the mountaintop before. Thank you for bringing me here."

I froze for a moment on my way downstairs, setting down the two sleeping bags I had prepared.

Ethan opened the passenger seat for Linda to sit and I sat alone in the backseat. It wasn’t until the afternoon that I realized Ethan agreed to take me out just to fulfill Linda’s small wish.

Ethan sat beside me, his gaze never leaving Linda. When he saw she was cold, he voluntarily took off his jacket and gave it to her.

Linda bit into the grilled meat in Ethan's hand, her eyes full of provocation, not even trying to hide it.

After a while, Ethan seemed to realize something wasn’t right. He turned and took my hand, comforting me, "It’s Linda's first time here, so I'm just looking after her a bit. You're not that petty, are you?"

Linda chimed in, “Linda won’t be mad. Last time, when you took care of me all night, she wasn’t mad, right?"

I was exhausted and didn’t feel like intervening anymore, so I walked alone to the creek to play with the water.

Linda came over, herwearing Ethan's jacket was especially eye-catching.

"Thanks to your suggestion, or else I wouldn't have known that Ethan is such a caring person."

In the blink of an eye, Linda smiled and fell into the creek. Her entire body drenched, tears falling from the corners of her eyes.

Ethan rushed over and slapped me hard across the face, then bent down to pick up the shivering Linda.

"You're so vicious! Is your heart really this fierce? What has Linda done wrong? Why do you keep hurting her over and over again?"

I didn’t have time to respond before Ethan took Linda and went down the mountain.

My feet were immersed in the icy creek water, causing the wound to soak and turn a deep shade of red.

Pain and grievance surged in my heart all at once. I squatted on the spot, watching the sky darken gradually.

I didn’t go anywhere. I just stayed alone in the tent.

Ethan didn’t send me any messages either. Until the early morning, I received four words.

"Take care of yourself."

I bitterly laughed at myself in the past, believing that he truly loved me, believing that he would never give up on me no matter what.

Ethan had once said that he would wear the clothes I made for him when he received the Best Actor trophy.

In the end, such intense feelings turned into a stagnant pool of water.

The next day, I woke up and the message on my phone reminded me that the flight would depart in two days.

The person in charge of Dreamscape called to confirm my schedule.

They had already arranged the signing of the contract and were just waiting for me to land to finalize it.

I composed myself and went back home. As expected, Ethan wasn’t there and all his clothes were gone from the wardrobe.

Linda sent me a text message to lay it all out. [Mia, I will make sure Ethan announces our relationship on the awards stage and you will always be nothing more than a pitiful creature no one notices.]

I typed back, [Then I wish you both happiness.]

Afterward, I blocked all contact with Ethan and Linda.