After My Boyfriend Dumped Me, He Ended Up Begging on the Streets novel Chapter 4

"Zoe, I—"

Caleb looked startled by my sudden coldness, like he wasn't expecting me to actually tell him to leave.

I cut him off before he could say more.

"Get out. This is my house."

I shoved his things into his arms and pushed them both out the door.

A minute later, there was a knock.

When I yanked the door open, Caleb was standing there again, his expression tense.

"Give me that," he said, nodding toward the wooden ship model on the shelf behind me.

"Oh, Caleb, is that the one your uncle taught me how to make back at your place?"

Nora chimed in, tilting her head with fake innocence.

"I can't believe you kept it all this time."

I froze.

That ship had been Caleb's most prized possession.

I had always thought it was because it reminded him of our time together.

I had been wrong.

It was never about me.

It was about her.

Even after she left him all those years ago, even after I was the one who stayed, she was still the one who mattered.

The realization hit me like a punch to the gut.

Without thinking, I grabbed the ship from the shelf and hurled it to the floor.

It shattered into pieces, just like the illusion I had clung to for far too long.

"Zoe, what the hell?!"

Caleb shouted, finally looking at me—really looking at me.

But it was too late for that now.

I met his furious gaze with nothing but indifference.

I grabbed the spare key he had left in the door, ripped it out, and slammed the door in his face.

He pounded on it, shouting my name.

The door rattled under his fists.

I didn't answer.

Eventually, the banging stopped.

I let out a slow breath and walked to the bathroom.

No matter what I did, I was never going to be enough for him.

Loving someone who doesn't love you back isn't devotion—it's self-destruction.

By the time I walked out of the bathroom, the apartment was silent.

I grabbed the shattered picture frame off the floor and tossed it in the trash.

Caleb was right about one thing.

Some things just needed to be thrown away.

As I finished cleaning up, my phone buzzed.

It was Lila.

"Zoe, are you okay?" she asked hesitantly.

I let out a laugh.

"Are you kidding?"

"I spent eight years raising a dog, and it paid me a million bucks."

"I'd say I made out pretty well."

I forced my voice to sound lighthearted, swallowing down the bitterness.

It was time to move on.