The Girl Who Made Him Forget His Own Worth

His name is Ethan Clarke, born and raised in Calgary, Alberta.

A quiet guy.
A good guy.
The type who says “sorry” even when it’s not his fault — so yeah, basically peak Canadian energy.

Ethan wasn’t the flashy type.
He worked IT at a small company, loved Tim Hortons iced caps, and spent weekends hiking or helping his mom with groceries.

Then he met Sophie.

She moved from Vancouver for work — stylish, outgoing, the kind of girl who turns heads without trying. Ethan met her at a friend’s housewarming, and from the first “hi,” he was gone. Completely gone.

At first, their connection felt magical.
She laughed at his jokes, texted him late at night, shared songs, sent photos of sunsets.

Ethan thought he had a chance.
His friends thought so too.

But Sophie?

She saw him differently.

Not as a boyfriend.

Not as a maybe.

Just as a reliable Canadian guy who always picked up the pieces after her real love life fell apart.

THE BEGINNING OF THE SIMPING

It started small:

• Driving her home whenever she didn’t want to Uber

• Bringing her coffee on snow days

• Helping her move apartments

• Fixing her WiFi at 11 PM

And of course, she always said:

“You’re literally the nicest guy ever.”

Which felt good…
but also meant nothing.

Still, Ethan kept going.

Whenever Sophie’s situationship with some guy fell apart, she’d message:

“Ethan, can I call you? I need to talk.”

And without hesitation, he’d reply:

“Yeah, of course.”

No matter the time.
No matter the weather.
Even during a snowstorm where he slipped on ice just running to his car.

And the guy she liked?
She kept going back to him.

Every.
Single.
Time.

But Ethan pretended not to care.

Until the night everything cracked.

THE DEVASTATING MOMENT

It was Sophie’s birthday.
Ethan saved up to buy her a necklace — silver, elegant, exactly her style.

He handed it to her at the party with the softest smile.

She opened the box.

“Wow… Ethan… you’re so sweet.”

He felt his heart warm.

But then she added:

“You know who would love this?
Mark. I should show it to him! He’s gonna freak out.”

Mark.
The gym guy she kept crying about.

Ethan stood there like a statue while she took a selfie with the necklace…
to send it to another man.

His chest felt tight.
But he just swallowed hard and said:

“Yeah… yeah, show him.”

He didn’t sleep that night.
The pain wasn’t sharp — it was slow, heavy, suffocating.

The kind of hurt that steals your appetite.

THE BREAKING POINT

A few days later, Sophie messaged him:

“Hey, can you drive me to Mark’s place? We fought but I want to fix things.”

And that was it.

That was the moment where being nice officially crossed into destroying himself.

He stared at his phone for a long time.
His hands shook.
His heart pounded.

He typed:

“Yeah I can drive you.”

But for the first time… he didn’t hit send.

He deleted the message.

He breathed.
He wiped his eyes.
And he replied:

“Sorry Sophie. I can’t keep being the guy you use to reach someone else.”

She left him on “Seen.”

The silence after hurt more than any rejection.
But for the first time, Ethan felt something new:

Relief.

EPILOGUE

Months later, Ethan wasn’t fully healed — but he was healing.

He started working out.
Hiking again.
Learning guitar.
Talking to new people.

And one day, he told his best friend:

“I think loving her helped me understand myself…
and that I deserve someone who actually wants me.”

And that’s the truth:

Simping doesn’t make you romantic.
It makes you disappear.
Until you finally choose to come back to yourself.