The voice tore me away from the screen, making me slowly look up at its owner.A waiter stood close to the table, a serving tray underneath his arm and a concerned look on his face.His stare was fixated on my cheek.
I blinked up at him, my fingers instinctively sweeping against it.Wet.Tears.
God, I hadn't even realized.
I straightened, keeping my expression cool and collected.“Just fine, thank you.Could I get the bill, please?”
He shot me another look before scurrying off.
My hard stare hit the empty glass in front of me.I didn't want to cry for him.He didn’t deserve the salt of my tears, the ache in my chest, or the way my throat tightened with every replay.
But I couldn't help but feel… devastated.
He’d been my first everything.The man I thought I’d marry after I passed the bar.The one who made me believe that I didn’t have to choose between ambition and love.
Five years.
Five years of plans, of promises, of pretending we were solid.
And he threw it away—forher.
Then there was him.God, that smug, easy smile.The one he used to give me.
I looked at my reflection on the black screen of my phone: a woman who had it all together.And yet, I couldn't help but feel small at the thought of him choosing her.
“Your check,” the waiter said as he slid the black book across the table.
Without looking down, I tapped my phone to the machine and stood.There was nothing left for me here.All I wanted to do was get home and barricade myself from the chaos of this world; to allow myself one night of self-pity.
And possibly have another glass of wine.
Maybe two.
With that thought, I shrugged on my jacket and marched to the doors.November's cool air hit me like a slap when I stepped outside.My heels clicked against the pavement, the faint tang of the nearby river cutting through the city’s stale warmth.I didn’t bother pulling my jacket tighter, either.The chill was a good fit for the icy rage churning beneath my skin.
The streets around campus were half asleep, lined with cool-white streetlights and trees that swayed like gossiping witnesses.A couple of students stumbled out of a bar across the street, laughing too loudly, likely smelling of freedom and beer.
My townhouse sat a few blocks off campus.It belonged to Penny, a friend of my grandma’s who all but insisted I stay there during my time at Kingsview University.It was small, but clean, efficient—like everything in my life.No distractions.No clutter.No room for mistakes.
By the time I walked up the front steps, my heels felt like a punishment.The quiet greeted me like an old friend; or maybe an accomplice.I closed the door behind me and pressed my back to it, the click of the lock echoing too loudly in the empty space.
Then I slid down the door until I hit the hardwood floor.
Alone.
For a few seconds, I just sat there, knees pulled up, the hem of my burgundy silk dress wrinkling under my fingers.My breath caught, coming out as something between a sigh and a laugh.
With my eyes shut, everything hit me all at once.The absurdity.The betrayal.The sheer stupidity of it all.
He was gone.
They wereengaged.
And I was here, alone sitting in the dark.This was why I didn't do relationships.It was nothing but headaches and heartaches, making you dream of every way to escape.
Escape—exactly what I needed.
My eyes blinked open and saw the perfect one.
