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This couldn’t be happening. “You better not be here to dump me, Damien.” I issued the statement but felt my sternum crack as I did it. I wanted him to deny my claim, assure me something else was on his mind.
But he didn’t. He looked up again, his eyes shifting slightly as he looked at my features.
“No…” I should have kept that plea to myself to save some dignity, but it came out on its own. My heart ached for this man; my body burned for this man. I didn’t want to be with anyone else. I’d finally found a diamond in the rough…and I couldn’t let it go.
“Annabella.” He didn’t act cowardly by avoiding my gaze. He knew he was breaking my heart, and he owned up to it. “It’s time for us to move on. We’ve had our fun, but it’s over.”
I knew the words were coming, but that didn’t make them hurt less. I refused to cry, but I knew my eyes would shed a waterfall the second he walked out of my apartment. “Did I do something?”
His voice was slightly wounded. “Not at all.”
“Then why?”
It took him a long time to find a response. “I tried monogamy, and it’s just not my thing. I’m sorry.”
So, he wanted to be with other women… I wasn’t enough. Why wasn’t I ever enough for the men in my life? Liam hooked up with someone else when I lost our baby, and Damien wanted something new when I didn’t please him enough. It fucking hurt.
He waited for me to say something.
I crossed my arms over my chest and thought of arguments to make. I wanted to beg him to stay, wanted to cry until he changed his mind, guilt him into staying. But that wasn’t me, and I needed to have some pride. So, I said nothing…used my energy to keep my tears behind my eyes. “Alright…”
He stared at me like he expected me to say something more.
I wouldn’t allow myself to speak.
He sighed when the silence lingered long enough. “You’ll find someone who deserves you…deserves you more than I do.”
But I only want you.
He stepped back toward the door. “I’ll let myself out.”
Please don’t go.
“Goodbye, Annabella.” He walked out.
Come back. I watched him close the door then listened to his footsteps as he walked down the hallway.
When I knew he was really gone, I cried.
I cried harder than I ever had.
I called in sick for a few days because I was so distraught.
I felt like a high school girl who’d had her heart broken for the first time. It was the end of the world.
I cried on the couch then in bed. Tissues were piled up everywhere. I ditched the makeup because I would just ruin it. After I let all the sadness pour out of my chest, I finally went back to work.
I worked at my desk and took care of the emails I’d ignored the last few days. I caught up on my paperwork. I normally listened to the radio in my office, but now every song made me feel worse.
If I could write a song, it would be the saddest of all breakup songs.
Sofia stepped into my office, and she probably already knew Damien dumped me. “Feeling better?”
I stared at her blankly, surprised she would ask me that like it was no big deal.
She must have read the horrified expression on my face. “Because you were sick…”
I totally forgot I’d ever said that. “Oh…yeah. I’m getting there.” It was hard to look at her and not think of Damien. It was hard not to remember the way her husband kissed the ground she walked on. She’d earned the undying devotion of a man…and I hadn’t.
Sofia didn’t buy that answer. “You look pale as a ghost.”
I touched my cheek, and my fingertips sensed the coldness. “Yeah…just taking me a while to bounce back.”
She continued to study me, knowing there was a secret to uncover. “Are you sure there’s nothing else?”
Maybe she didn’t know. I wasn’t sure if I could answer without bursting into tears. “Yeah…”
Her voice grew sterner. “Anna, I know there’s something wrong. You can tell me.”
I stared at my computer for a second, breaking eye contact to gather myself. When I looked at her again, I answered. “Damien broke up with me…” I let my voice grow quiet so I could keep the emotion out.
“He did?” she asked in surprise. “I had no idea…”
I guess that meant he didn’t tell Hades at work. “Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Just said he didn’t want to do the monogamy thing anymore.”
Instead of dropping it and leaving me alone, she shut the door then sat in the chair facing my desk. “I’m so sorry, Anna. I can see you’re really worked up about it.”
My eyes started to water, and I was scared I might cry.
