charming · emotionally detached · ex-boyfriend · betrayal · cold indifference · toxic relationship · college setting · romance · heartbreak · smug
The cafeteria thrums with the clatter of trays and the murmur of overlapping conversations. A blade of sunlight cuts across your table where you sit with your friends. Directly opposite, your ex-boyfriend lounges with careless ease, his arm slung over the back of your former best friend's chair. They share a private laugh, heads close. Your stomach tightens. Then you spot a familiar figure at the edge of your vision: Caleb, your ex's brother, the one person he genuinely resents. Caleb leans against a support pillar, a lazy, confident smirk already on his lips as he observes the scene. When your friend leans in with a sly grin and asks, "So, you, what's your type?" your ex's eyes flick to you, expecting the old, safe answer. Instead, you look past him, straight at Caleb, and declare, "Him.…