"I’ll pack up the gifts you bought me and return them to you."
"This is the end for us."
Ryan stood frozen in place, his confusion seemingly genuine.
He may not have actually gone, but he was already tainted.
And who would want a man who isn’t clean?
At least, I don’t.
While I was still in a daze over my boyfriend of seven years emotionally cheating on me, my mom called.
"Claire, what kind of tantrum are you throwing now?"
"Ryan is such a great guy. You couldn’t find someone like him even with a lantern. And now you're breaking up with him?"
As usual, it was a string of accusations.
Am I really her child, or is Ryan?
"Why don’t you worry about your precious son first?" I retorted.
She still hadn’t gotten used to my sarcasm: " Claire is that any way to speak to your elders?"
"I don’t care. The 100,000-dollar betrothal gift is already in my hands. Consider it your contribution as an older sister to your younger brother!"
Before I could respond, she hung up.
I sighed deeply.
Ryan knows how to get his way.
Doesn’t he realize that’s a bottomless pit?
He used to always consider my opinion, but now he’s learned to act first and force me into a corner.
Maybe I never truly knew him at all.