No.
He didn't abandon me. He screwed up and lost me. I told myself.
Let him keep his perfect bride. Let him have the woman he thinks will make him look better on camera. I sincerely hope Chloe enjoys a cheating asshole whose spine has the bone density of overcooked pasta.
The next man who gets the privilege of touching me better deserves it.
He'll worship every inch of skin that idiot Derek failed to appreciate. My hips, my waist, my thighs. The parts I'd tried so hard to shrink down just to fit into what was "decent enough" for him.
Never again. I was done shrinking myself for men who didn't deserve thefull picture.
He'll get a woman who makes him feel her immeasurable worth every single second.
And Derek?
Derek will get what he deserves. Front-row VIP seats to watch the woman he underestimated become untouchable and unforgettable.
I sucked in a deep breath of the airport's stale air, forcing my feet to plant firmly on the ground.
"V? Are you still listening?" Mia's anxious, high-pitched voice finally pierced through my thoughts. "Hey, promise me you won't be sad over that damn bastard. Your body is perfect, and he's blind as a bat to go for some plastic mannequin held together by starvation!"
"I won't, Mia." I laughed coldly, reaching to adjust the strap on my shoulder. "I'm heading back to Washington to go straight to his apartment, pack up all my stuff, and dump red wine all over his Persian rug. Gotta go."
I ended the call and shoved the phone roughly into my bag. The hangover headache persisted. I dragged my feet, planning to find a bathroom first to salvage this face that probably looked worse than a zombie's.
Just as I turned around and took two steps, a tall figure blocked my path.
More accurately, a fat man in an airport security uniform. He held a walkie-talkie, eyeing me up and down like I was garbage.
"Ma'am, this is a passenger waiting area, not a homeless shelter." The security guard spoke rudely, even pointing his walkie-talkie antenna at me. "If you don't have a boarding pass, I need you to leave now."
The anger I'd just suppressed shot straight to the top of my skull.
"Open your eyes and look carefully, buddy." I yanked the crumpled boarding pass from my bag and practically shoved it in his nose. "I have a ticket! And I'm a paying passenger waiting for my flight. You have no right to kick me out!"
The guard glanced at the wrinkled paper and sneered. "Economy class. And your flight left five hours ago. You look like a junkie, and Igot complaints about you causing a disturbance. Take your trash and leave now, or I'm calling the cops."
"Go ahead—call the cops, see what happens!" I snapped, completely fed up, taking a step forward. "All I did was get drunk and miss my flight. What gives you the right to tell me what to do? Go after the people actually stealing things in this airport instead of harassing a woman who's just been through the worst moment of her life!"
"Ma'am, my patience is limited. No ticket, no staying here." The guard clearly didn't want to waste more words. He reached out with his thick arm, trying to grab my shoulder and push me away.
"Don't touch me!" I screamed, swatting his hand away. My last thread of rationality snapped.
No ticket, huh?
I laughed coldly and, right in front of him, pulled out my phone and jabbed at the airline app.
"What are you doing? Don't try anything funny!" The guard frowned, warning me.
"What am I doing? I'm buying your damn respect!" I glared at the screen through gritted teeth, my fingers flying across it.
Screw the wedding venue deposit! Screw penny-pinching! Derek the bastard cheated, so that five thousand dollars I'd scraped together to pay for the wedding—it was all mine now!
I selected the next flight to Washington Dulles, departing in twenty minutes. Cabin class? I didn't hesitate, skipping right past economy and jabbing my finger on "First Class."
Enter credit card password. Fingerprint confirmation.
The payment confirmation chimed crisply through the noisy airport.
