Part 2From Mismatch to Meant to Be

My eyes went wide. For a moment, I was too stunned to speak.

Before I could even process it, a new wave of comments caught my attention.

【This man-child is always crying. Sweetie just has to raise her voice a tiny bit and the waterworks start. So useless!】

【Hey, don’t be so hard on him. How tough can a guy who needs aftercare really be? Hahaha…】

I instinctively glanced back at Ethan. His head was bowed so low his chin was practically touching his chest. In the suffocating silence of the room, a tiny, choked sob was painfully audible. He was trying so hard to stifle his anguish, but his shoulders still trembled uncontrollably.

Wait, I was just talking to him normally. I hadn’t even gotten mad about him taking my plushie. But his reaction, the way he was trying to cry without making a sound, made it seem like I’d just broken his heart.

The comments said he thought I was yelling at him.

Suddenly, I felt like the villain.

Flustered, I softened my voice. “Please don’t cry. I wasn’t yelling at you.”

At my words, his body went rigid. He spun around and fled into the adjoining bathroom, his voice a choked whisper as he went.

“I’m not crying! You’re seeing things!”

I stared at the closed door, the information from the comments swirling in my mind.

So, Ethan had it all wrong.

My ex-boyfriend was the substitute. Ethan was the one I’d wanted all along.