The Ex I Refused to Recycle

In the sixth year of my relationship with my boyfriend, he brought his first love to live in our future marital home just to make her happy. I angrily tried to throw her out, but my boyfriend stopped me. “Claire, Ava is only like a little sister to me. If you act like this, how am I supposed to feel comfortable marrying you?” I didn’t cry or make a scene. I simply deleted every way to contact him. Six months later, he knelt before me at our college reunion and proposed. In front of everyone, I slapped him hard across the face. “Ethan, let me make this clear. I don’t recycle trash.” When I got home, I found a woman inside. My boyfriend, Ethan, was smiling as he leaned forward and took a bite of cake from the woman’s hand. The intimacy between them was impossible to miss. A woman’s instincts told me their relationship was anything but ordinary. I slammed my purse down on the cabinet by the entrance. The two of them turned toward me at the same time. The woman wore a smile, but her eyes were full of provocation. Ethan quickly stood up and put some distance between them. A flash of panic crossed his face. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Ethan, who is this? Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Before Ethan could answer, the woman came over and hooked her arm through mine. “Hi, I’m Ava. Ethan and my family are neighbors. We grew up together.” I expressionlessly pulled my arm free. “Don’t call me your sister. My mother never gave me one.” Embarrassment flashed across Ava’s face, and her eyes instantly filled with tears. She turned to Ethan and whined, “Ethan, look what she’s doing.” To my disbelief, this idiot actually fell for it. He immediately turned toward me with a reproachful look. “Claire, Ava’s the little sister I’ve cared for since we were kids. You can’t be so harsh with her.” I glared at him, then pointed at the personal belongings scattered across the couch. “You still haven’t told me what’s going on.” Ethan looked awkward as he came over and took the suitcase from my hand. “These are Ava’s things. She just came back from overseas, and her parents are still out of town. She doesn’t know anyone here, so my mom was worried about her. She asked me to bring Ava here for a couple of days.” “Claire, she’s basically my sister. Don’t be so petty.” I was so angry I almost laughed. “So what you’re saying is that because your mom was worried about her, you brought this so-called sister to live in our future marital home?” “You’re being completely unreasonable! She’s my sister. What’s wrong with letting her stay here for a few days?” Ava stepped in as well. “Exactly. I’m only staying for a few days, Claire. Once I find a job, I’ll move out.” “Ethan, this is our future marital home. Do you even understand what that means? I personally oversaw every part of the renovation. We chose all the furniture together. How could you let another woman move in without even telling me?” Ethan looked troubled. “My mom insisted that I take care of Ava. I didn’t dare refuse.” “And as for why I didn’t discuss it with you first…” He hesitated. “I was afraid you’d get angry.” His words made me want to crack open his skull and see what was inside. “So I’m supposed to thank you for thinking of me?” Maybe the anger on my face was too obvious, because Ethan finally realized I was truly furious. He hurried over to placate me. “I’m sorry, Claire. I didn’t know you’d care this much. I promise that as soon as Ava finds a job, I’ll make her move out. So please, don’t be angry.”Ava looked indignant as she watched Ethan humble himself to me. “Ethan, you bought this house. You have the right to decide who lives here. Why are you apologizing to her like this?” Ethan stopped her before she could continue. “Enough. I was wrong about this. Find a job soon and move out.” “Ethan, you don’t want to take care of me anymore? Did you forget what you promised my mom? You said you’d look after me properly.” “Ava, stop. Once you move out, I’ll still visit you often. Don’t worry. I won’t let you suffer alone.” They went back and forth, gazing at each other with deep affection. They looked like a pair of tragic lovers. And I was the stick being used to beat them apart. I couldn’t take it anymore. I stormed over and slapped Ethan across the face. “Ethan, how did I never realize what a shameless jerk you are?” Ethan hadn’t even reacted when Ava screamed. She stroked his face in distress. When she saw the red mark from my hand, she turned around and glared at me. “Claire, what gives you the right to hit him?” “Shut up. Keep talking and you’ll get one too.” Ava looked as though I had frightened her. She burst into tears and hid in Ethan’s arms. “Ethan, she’s so scary.” Ethan looked down at me coldly. “Claire, how long are you going to keep this up? I told you, Ava is just my neighbor’s daughter. Can’t you stop being so unreasonable?” Tears gathered in the corners of my eyes. My angry voice carried a hint of hurt that I couldn’t hide. “I’m being unreasonable? Go ask everyone on the street if they’ve ever heard of a future wife being kept out of her own marital home while a woman with no blood relation moves in first.” “Ethan, I built this place piece by piece according to our tastes. How could you do this to me?” Ethan lowered his head guiltily, but he still stubbornly argued, “You had no right to hit me, especially not in front of Ava. This is my house. Don’t I have the right to let my own sister stay here?” Looking at Ethan’s complete lack of remorse, I felt utterly exhausted. “Fine. You’re right. This is your house, and you have the right to decide who lives here. I don’t want to fight with you. Let’s take some time apart and calm down.” I turned and walked away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ethan reach out to stop me, but Ava grabbed his arm. She held his face in both hands and carefully applied medicine to his cheek, as if she were terrified of hurting him. “Ethan, is Claire always this aggressive? She just starts hitting people whenever she gets upset. She really scared me.” “I’m not upset because I like you, Ethan. I know Claire hates me because of that.” “But you didn’t do anything wrong. What right does she have to treat you like that?” “You’re such a good person. How could she hit you?” “You aren’t even married yet, and she already treats you like you’re beneath her. If I hadn’t come this time, I never would’ve known you were living like this. If your mom found out, she’d be heartbroken.”Ethan enjoyed Ava’s attention while grimacing through her ministrations. “Claire wasn’t like this before. Maybe work became too stressful after graduation and she changed.” “Don’t say things like that anymore. If Claire hears you, she’ll start a fight with me again.” Ava rolled her eyes. “Ethan, stop making excuses for her. Does the way she hit you today look like she respects you at all?” “No wonder your mom never really liked her. If my son brought home a girlfriend that domineering, I wouldn’t like her either.” “She’s always so hostile. Your parents don’t like her, so why not just break up with her and find someone else?” Ethan was silent for a moment before answering hoarsely. “It’s not that simple. We’ve been together for so many years. You can’t just let go overnight.” “Besides, nobody’s perfect. Claire is beautiful, emotionally intelligent, and good at her job. Most importantly, she loves me. Given my options, she’s still the best choice.” Ethan listed every advantage of marrying me, and Ava grew frantic. “But I love you too, Ethan! Our families are a good match, and we grew up together. I’ve always been the person you loved most. Aren’t I obviously the better choice?” She leaned toward him, trying to kiss him, but he stopped her. The two of them began chasing each other around the couch in an absurd little game. I had only come back to retrieve the purse I’d left by the entrance. I never expected to see something so ridiculous. They were so absorbed in confessing their feelings that they didn’t even hear me open the door. Their intimacy sent my heart sinking into an abyss. I suddenly remembered the beginning of our relationship. One day, it started raining right after class, and neither of us had an umbrella. Ethan was afraid I would get wet, so he ran through the rain to a store and bought one. Then he hurried back to campus to pick me up and walked me all the way to my dorm. By the time we reached the building, Ethan was soaked from head to toe. I only had a few splashes of rain on my pant legs. That boy, who had once cherished and protected me so carefully, had eventually been swallowed by time. All that remained was the Ethan who had learned to weigh every benefit and cost. Maybe I really did need to reconsider our relationship. I took a deep breath and forced back the tears in my eyes before leaving the apartment. That night, I poured one ice-cold beer after another down my throat. My best friend, Mia, pushed open the door. She watched me drink with a troubled expression. In the end, she reached out and snatched the glass from my hand. “I don’t know why you’re sitting here drinking alone, but as your best friend, I need to remind you of something.” “Your period is already two weeks late.” Her words made my alcohol-clouded brain freeze for a moment. “What did you say?” “I said your period is two weeks late. We usually get ours around the same time, and mine ended ages ago. You still haven’t gotten yours. Haven’t you noticed anything strange?” I shot to my feet. A beer bottle toppled off the table and shattered on the floor. I irritably ran both hands through my hair. “No way. Ethan and I have always been careful. It can’t have happened this easily.” Mia rolled her eyes. “What if it did? We’ve known each other for years. Your period has always been regular. This is the first time it’s been delayed this long.” Her words sent a jolt through me. I didn’t even bother changing my shoes before racing downstairs to the pharmacy for a pregnancy test.