I Won't Settle for Less Anymore

The next morning, I scrolled through Instagram and saw Victoria's story.

"Had to take care of a certain doctor who drank too much last night. I'm exhausted!"

The picture showed her in her BeaconHill mansion bedroom, with Ethan in just a white T-shirt, sleeping on her bed.

He'd actually gone to Victoria's house and stayed the night. He'd even slept in her bed.

It hurt. I felt like my heart was being cut with a dull knife. But it was better than before. Maybe it was because my heart was already hollow that it stopped hurting as much.

I got up, washed up, changed my clothes, and headed out to the store to buy some storage boxes and tape.

As I carried my bags inside, I opened the door and immediately heard Victoria's soft laughter.

In the living room, Victoria and Ethan were sitting side by side on the couch, both holding a tablet, looking at something.

At the sound of the door, they turned to look.

Ethan glanced at me, then quickly looked away with complete indifference. The way he looked at me was as though he was looking at a stranger.

But Victoria stood up and walked toward me with a gentle smile. "Leah, welcome back. You bought so much stuff. Do you need help carrying it?"

As she said that, she reached out to take my things, but I moved my hands away.

The next moment…

"Ah!"

Victoria lost her balance and "fell" to the floor.

It was the same old trick again.

Ethan shot up and rushed to her. As he helped her up, he glared at me with fury. "Leah, what are you doing? Why did you push Victoria?"

"I didn't." My voice was calm.

"You're still denying it? If you didn't push her, why would she fall?"

Ethan's gaze was full of anger and accusation. "Is this because I went out with her last night? Because I stayed at her place after drinking too much? If you're mad, take it out on me, not her!"

I hadn't even touched Victoria. She just fell on her own.

I looked at Ethan and suddenly felt it was all so ridiculous.

"If you don't believe me, you can check the security footage," I said quietly.

Hearing me suggest we watch the footage, Victoria, who'd been silently teary-eyed, finally spoke. "It's not Leah's fault. I just lost my balance. It hurts…"

Her voice was weak and innocent, like a hurt little animal.

Ethan's face went rigid the moment he realized he'd wrongly accused me. Yet, the apology never came.

He just helped Victoria while looking at her with a face full of concern. "You've scraped your knee. Let me take care of it."

I saw the smug, triumphant glint in Victoria's eyes. I turned away, grabbed my things, and went upstairs.

Victoria probably thought I would lose my mind, cry, or break down like before.

That was the old me. The new me wouldn't make those same mistakes anymore.