My boyfriend stood up my parents five times for his childhood friend. I'm calling off the wedding.

I dated Ethan for eight years. Eight years of missed birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays because his girl-best-friend always had some kind of emergency.
Dinner can wait! Jessica's completely wasted, and who knows what could happen to a girl like her alone at a bar? He'd said, time and again.
I looked him straight in the eye, trying to keep my voice calm. "If you ditch my parents again, we're done."
He hesitated, his departure momentarily stalled. Then, he scoffed. "Seriously, Chloe? Are you always going to resort to ultimatums every time you dont get your way? I can't keep putting up with your drama!"
And with that, he was gone.
The door slammed shut, and I numbly called my parents to cancel. This wasn't working.
This was Ethan's apartment. I splashed some water on my face in the bathroom and started packing. I didn't have much to take C a single suitcase would do. Ethan always acted like I was a spoiled heiress who had no concept of money. Hed given me the cold shoulder, turning me into a ghost in his apartment, when I bought designer things; he once said he couldn't afford someone like me if I wanted to marry him.
But I was only buying my daily necessities. After that, I started keeping my expensive stuff in my own house C a villa downtown C and only kept the cheap things here. I stood in the living room, suitcase in hand, and glanced back at everything I had known.
Ethan was right C he couldn't afford me. Even though he seemed like some hotshot, young assistant professor, he wouldn't have been able to afford this place if I hadn't pulled some strings and secretly covered most of the down payment. I couldn't even brag about it. I was afraid hed reject the apartment and accuse me of being pretentious. My eyes started to sting, and a wave of hurt washed over me.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed down the tears and started for the door. Just then, click-clack C the front door opened from the outside, and a singsong voice chirped, "Ethan! I saw the code you punched in. Next time, I'm just coming right in!" She was being playful.
Ethan's voice, normally so casual, was low and serious. "Come whenever you want, it's my place anyway..."
He didn't finish the sentence because he saw me. "Chloe" He frowned slightly, as if about to say something, then noticed the suitcase. "Traveling for work?" His face was flat.
"We broke up," I said. "So I'm moving out."
Jessica's face was comically exaggerated, and her mouth drooped into an exaggerated frown. "No way! You're breaking up with him just because he picked me up?"
I didn't want to waste energy on her. Jessica's act was so transparent. Even the worst "pick me" girl Id ever met had better acting skills. But it didn't matter. Ethan always sided with her, and I always lost. I started pushing my suitcase towards the door.
Jessica, ignored, gave Ethan a pointed shrug. Ethan's face instantly darkened. "Who are you giving the stink eye to? When are you going to get over your spoiled rich-girl attitude, Chloe? You can't always run away when things don't go your way!"
I gripped the suitcase handle tightly, barely managing to hold back the tears. I forced my voice to stay even. "You don't have to put up with me anymore. Goodbye."
Terrified he'd see me cry, I practically ran out the door.
Behind me, Jessica's voice was shrill. "Seriously, what's her deal?"
"She leaves behind a house full of stuff. She's overreacting, right?"
"Bro, I feel so bad for you. Working your butt off all day and coming home to deal with a diva, how miserable."
My pace quickened until their voices faded away entirely. Back at my house, I saw that Liam had texted.
[I land tomorrow at 3 PM. Dinner?]
The next second, my mom called, thrilled that Mrs. Thompson told Liam that I was going on a date, and Liam booked a flight home, and made his mom tell my mom to not let me go out with anyone else.
Liam and I were close growing up. The year I wanted to bring Ethan home to meet my parents, he left for Europe. We never spoke again. I didn't know that...
I replied. [I'll pick you up tomorrow.]
2
I had trouble sleeping. I didnt wake up until 11 AM because the doorbell was ringing. Annoyed, I ran a hand through my hair and headed downstairs.
It was Ethan. I was completely awake now, all the sleepiness evaporated. I stared at him, a strange buzzing feeling in my arm. "What...what are you doing here?"
Ethan's expression softened when he saw my disheveled appearance. It looked like he wanted to judge me. I expected him to call me lazy. After a moment, he said, "I came to take you to lunch."
He paused, his tone a fraction gentler. "I was out of line yesterday. I made things difficult with your parents. It won't happen again."
"There won't be a next time."
I stopped myself. Saying anything felt useless. I'd said everything I could say. I'd said it a million times. If it made any difference, we wouldn't be here.
"I'm having lunch with a friend. I can't."
I started to close the door, but he pushed against it. "I thought I told you to stop hanging around with those deadbeats. All they do is drink and party. They're parasites. Hang around them too much, and youll end up just like them!"
His contempt stole my breath, but I laughed. "Drinking and partying is what your best friend does, right? And you're around her all the time."
His face went cold instantly. "Don't you dare compare Jessica to your lowlife friends, Chloe!
I laughed. "Fine. Get out of the way. I'm closing the door."
He pressed on. "It's almost noon, and you're still sleeping. You need to be on my watch all the time or else you slack off, you don't have goals. What's the difference between that and walking dead?"
"Ethan!" I snapped, my voice shaking. "It's none of your business! We broke up!"
He was silent, looking at me as if he couldn't process what I'd said. After so many years, I'd never said the word "breakup" and never moved out. I'd always been the one on the defensive. Seeing that lost look on his face was something new.
He looked at me, then softened his tone. "Just come to lunch. It's not good to skip meals. We can talk it through."
I balled my hands into fists. "There's nothing left to talk about."
He closed his eyes, fighting his irritation. "Chloe, stop acting like a kid. Weve been together for eight years. You're ending it over one fight? How do you think that makes me feel?"
How did he think? He only cared about his "best friend." It seemed like I had to eat lunch, so I agreed to make a point and leave him for good. I got dressed and walked with him to the parking lot. I reached for the passenger door.
Ethan opened the door first. "Sit in the back. Jessica's still learning to drive, so I need to be in the passenger seat to help her."
I froze. Jessica poked her head out, waving cheerfully. "Hey, Chloe! I'm your chauffeur today!"
3
Ethan glanced at me, waiting for me to move. "Jessica's here to apologize."
Jessica giggled. "Sorry, Chloe! I got drunk last night, so Ethan bailed on you. I am so sorry! I'm buying lunch as my way of saying sorry, so don't break up with him."
I took a breath, rolling my eyes as I grabbed my purse and walked towards the house.
Ethan grabbed my wrist. "Where are you going?"
I smiled at him. "Jessica is buying, right? I know a great restaurant, but it's hard to find. I'll drive ahead and lead you. Then, I have to go to the airport to pick up a friend."
He frowned, lowering his voice. "Jessica isn't a spoiled brat like you, okay? Don't pick an expensive place."
I ignored him and looked at Jessica. "Jessica, can I pick the restaurant?"
Jessica agreed immediately. "Sure!"
We stopped at my favorite five-star restaurant. As we got out, I saw Jessica give Ethan a brave, forced smile, before acting defeated. "Let's go."
Ethan glared at me. I ignored him, and when we got inside, a server handed each of us a menu. Before the meal, Jessica and Ethan ordered salad. I ate heartily, ignoring their glares. When the bill came, it was $3,600.
Jessica gasped. "How is that possible?!"
The waiter smiled politely. "This bottle of wine was 0-0,999.99."
She looked pale, slowly pulling out her phone. Her gaze flickered to Ethan.
Ethan sighed and gave the server his card. "I'll pay."
Jessica's face brightened. I scoffed. That explained why she agreed so quickly.
As we left the restaurant, Ethan said to Jessica, "Wait for me in the car."
He caught up to me, grabbing my wrist. "Chloe! Are you only happy when you're flexing? I thought you were different from those losers, but you're just like them!"
I met his gaze. "I'm not trying to flex. This is just my normal. She said she was paying, so I did what I wanted. Don't be bitter."
"Don't you have any empathy? Don't you know her financial situation?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Then why did she say I can pick the place?"
He started to shout. I rolled my eyes. "Sorry, I don't do charades."
I took my arm back and went to the airport. I heard Ethan shouting in the background.
Later, when I arrived at the airport, I hugged Liam hello. We got dinner later. It was still early, so I asked him to hang out because he just came back.
But, suddenly, it turned into me shopping. Liam was following behind, holding all my bags, without complaining. I just entered a store, and I heard shouting.
"I bought it here. The tags are still on. Why can't I return it?"
Jessica?
4
The sales associate kept smiling. "I am sorry, ma'am. Lamerpremen items can only be exchanged within two weeks of purchase. Because you don't have a receipt, we can't return the product. Sorry."
"It's a real product! You can check it!"
Jessica and Ethan were by the checkout stand.
"Sorry ma'am, we don't do returns."
Jessica kept yelling. I was over this and wanted to leave. But she was holding a silk blouse, and I paused. When I packed, I couldn't find this shirt. How did Jessica have it?
I was angry, and I interrupted Jessica. "Can you speak English? They don't do returns, okay? It doesn't matter if it's real or not."
Jessica froze.
The sales associates looked relieved.
Ethan's face was cold. He probably wanted to yell at me, but he noticed Liam. He turned towards me, confused. "Who is this?"
I grabbed the shirt from Jessica's hand. "Jessica, I lost the same shirt. Where did you get this?"
Jessica's breath hitched. She was guilty. She couldn't answer.
Ethan frowned. "Chloe, are you saying she stole it from you?"
Jessica became more aggressive. "Liam gave this to me! He knew this! You're just mad because I look good in it!"
Liam laughed. "Lamerpremen has one of everything."
The sales associate smiled. "Ma'am, this is a real shirt."
Jessica looked pale.
Ethan frowned. "I didn't, I... " She started crying to Ethan.
Liam put the bags down and rapped the counter. "Call the police."
The sales associate nodded, and the phone beeped.
"Ethan!" Jessica cried. "I got drunk and threw up. I took a shower and borrowed a shirt. I forgot about it. There were so many shirts; I couldn't keep track..."
Ethan sighed, looking disgusted. He turned to me. "Chloe, I didn't know she did this. I never cared..."
The sales associate dialed 9-1-1, and Jessica jumped and grabbed the phone. "Stay out of it! We can fix this!"
The sales associate jumped back, shocked.
Ethan's face became colder. He pinched the bridge of his nose, like he used to do when I had no goals.
I said, "The shirt will be paid for. Or go to jail."
Ethan nodded. "She will pay for the shirt. Chloe, I am so sorry."
He looked at Liam, then softened his tone. "Come home. I didn't like the nights alone."
Liam stared at the sales associate, and smiled. "My girlfriend loves your new shirt. Wrap it up."
The sales associate blushed.
Ethan's face flushed. "Girlfriend?

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