Mistaking Him for the Moon Above

As I said those words, my heart was still aching. After all, Evan had been there for me during the toughest times of my life. Cutting ties with him now felt like losing a family member.

After I finished speaking, Nathan guided me out of there. When we got outside the store, my phone buzzed. I quickly pulled it out to check. It was a message from my manager, notifying me that my wages for the past few days had been sent. I felt a wave of emotion, almost laughing at myself. Just moments ago, I still had a tiny bit of hope for Evan.

Nathan must have noticed my reaction because he gave me a disdainful look. "After the way he treated you, you still love him?"

I wasn't sure why, but he seemed angry when he said that. What was he mad about?

"No…"

"Then why the hell were you crying? It's pathetic." His words were harsh, but he handed me a clean tissue anyway.

My vision was blurred, and I could barely make out his face. I choked out a quiet "thank you" as I accepted the tissue.

"Thanks, Miller. And for earlier… thank you too."

If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't have been able to leave so easily.

"A thank you? That's it?"

His words made me look up.

Nathan continued, "I came here for a meeting with a friend. Now I've had to cancel. You owe me."

I froze, instinctively clutching my pockets. I only had about $200 left—my living expenses for the rest of the month.

Nathan noticed my movement and let out a cold snicker. "I'm not after the little amount of money you have."

How did he know how much I had? Confused, I looked at him, but he just gestured for me to hand over my phone. "Give me your phone so we can add each other. I'll need you to explain why I couldn't make it today."

Without a word, I pulled out my phone. When I saw that his phone was the latest iPhone model, Evan's earlier words came flooding back. The old phone in my hand suddenly felt like a burning weight. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bridge the gap between us. While they threw money around, I agonized over every purchase, worried about wasting a dime.

How could I have been so naïve, thinking love could conquer all?

"What are you standing there for? Give me your phone," Nathan said, grabbing it from me. He started messing with it, his brow furrowing deeper with each swipe.

The look of disapproval in his eyes made my stomach drop. A wave of shame washed over me. "It's… it's just slow. My phone's really old."

Nathan didn't say anything and just handed it back to me. But when I saw his profile picture and username, my heart sank.

Why… why did his profile picture and username look exactly the same as Evan's?

I shakily opened Evan's chat and compared them side by side. Both had the same profile photo—a cute little corgi sticking its tongue out. Evan told me once that the corgi, named Luna, was his dog.

The dog's picture was one thing, but how could the backgrounds be identical, too?

"What's wrong? You've been staring at that avatar for four years, and you suddenly don't recognize it?" Nathan's voice dripped with sarcasm. "They say once a guy gets his foot in the door, he cuts loose the girl. Guess I'm seeing it firsthand now."

I froze, my mind buzzing. What… what did he mean by that?

Did this mean the person who'd been messaging me all this time wasn't Evan… but him?