She Posted Him, I Posted My Worth - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Panic attacks were usually Lily's department - I was just the spectator.
"Can't we talk this through? Don't do anything rash," he pleaded, desperation written all over his face.
"Like all those times I tried talking before?" I countered.
Ethan looked like I'd slapped him. Silence.
"Time only moves forward, Ethan."
I slipped my wrist from his grip and walked away without looking back.
God knows how many times I'd tried communicating before - met with indifference or outright dismissal every damn time. Now suddenly he wanted to chat? The irony wasn't lost on me.
Back home, I curled up by the window with my psych certification materials, determined to focus.
Ding-dong.
The delivery guy stood there holding a pizza box. "Evening Ms. White! Your order's here."
I blinked. I hadn't ordered anything. Yet there was my name, number, address - the whole nine yards.
Buzz. My phone lit up with Ethan's texts:
[Missing meals wrecks your stomach. Got your usual - pepperoni pizza + garlic knots.]
[Don't pull another all-nighter with those textbooks.]
I rushed to the window. Sure enough - Ethan's stupid BMW idling curbside, the man himself waving up at me like some rom-com protagonist.
Seriously? Did he think this was cute?
First of all - stalker much? How'd he even get my address? Second - since when did he pay attention to my eating habits?
I yanked the curtains shut.
Buzz. [Not your taste today?]
My thumbs flew: [I HATE garlic bread! I crave SPICY food!]
Instant reply: [Since when? You always made garlic bread for us. Never touched spicy.]
I chucked my phone across the couch.
Here's the kicker - I'd pretended to dislike spice because Ethan couldn't handle it. Learned to bake garlic bread because he "loved" it.
Turns out? He only ate that crap because Lily was obsessed back in middle school.
Buzz buzz buzz.
I ignored it and hit the shower. Came back to missed calls and a text barrage:
[Emma, I'm listening now. Really.]
[My bad on the food. Next time I'll get it right.]
[That dating show wants me +1. You in?]
[Sleep tight.]
His sudden attentiveness left me colder than yesterday's coffee.
I left him on read.
This was classic Ethan - temporary guilt, fleeting remorse. By tomorrow he'd be back to being Lily's personal jester.
As for that show invite? Please. He'd done dozens of gigs - always with Lily in tow.
Their excuses still rang in my ears:
"Emma, it's just one spot. Lily needs the exposure more."
"If Lily builds her following, she won't need some soul-crushing 9-to-5!"
Once I'd actually put my foot down. Ethan swore the show got canceled. That night, Lily posted backstage selfies.
Flashback to our worst fight - him slamming out, me chasing him down the street like some pathetic rom-com extra, begging for another chance.
His apology came with roses. Case closed.
Now I see it - I was auctioning my self-respect for pennies.
But here's the epiphany:
Instead of begging for scraps of affection? I'll take myself out for Szechuan hotpot. Invest in the one person guaranteed to stick around - me. Turns out life without Ethan? It's goddamn liberating.