Boyfriend - Free

For three weeks, Chloe felt light . She walked through the city without scanning crowds. She checked her phone without that low thrum of disappointment. She bought flowers for her own apartment, cooked elaborate meals for one, and laughed with friends in a way that didn’t feel like performing happiness.

Her phone buzzed with twelve backlogged messages, twelve ghosts returning at once. She winced, then smiled—actually smiled, for the first time in weeks. boyfriend free

The app had a new notification: You are now boyfriend-free. Would you like to upgrade to “feeling-free”? No more longing. No more loneliness. No more love. One-time offer. For three weeks, Chloe felt light

The premise was simple: you swipe on men, but instead of matching for romance, you matched for the void they left behind. A guy who ghosted you after three perfect dates? Swipe right, and the app would ensure you never saw him at a coffee shop or mutual friend’s party again. An ex who still liked your Instagram posts from two years ago? Erased from your algorithm. A situationship who sent mixed signals? The app would filter his number out of your phone—no block, no drama, just a clean, quiet disappearance. She bought flowers for her own apartment, cooked

And for the first time, she didn’t need an app to decide what came next.

Chloe thought it was a joke. Then she tried it.

She thought about Jake’s laugh. Marcus’s stupid joke about the raccoon in the trash can. The grocery store stranger’s eyes—she couldn’t even picture them anymore.