Part 1All I Did Was Love You

I was folding my girlfriend’s clothes when she suddenly spoke.

“You’re pathetic, you know that? Worse than a doormat.”

My hands froze. Before I could say anything, she cut me off.

“Of course, you love me, I know that. You’re responsible and you take good care of me. But sometimes… you just don’t measure up to Asher. The things you do, anyone could do them. You’re nothing compared to him.”

My mind flashed back to a month ago, when her ex-boyfriend had invited her to a concert. I had declined on her behalf. She was still holding it against me.

I dropped the clothes and turned to leave. Just that morning, my boss had offered me a position at our overseas branch. I’d turned it down for her.

But now, as I was finally walking away, leaving the space open for her ex, why was she the one crying and begging me to come back?

* * *

I threw the clothes on the bed. Ava sat there, watching me walk to the door.

“What, was I wrong?”

“There’s another show tonight, isn’t there?” I said, my hand tightening on the doorknob. “All this passive-aggressive nonsense is just about that, right? Go or don’t go. I don’t care.”

She’d never heard me talk back to her before. A slow, incredulous smile spread across her face. “You really think I wouldn’t dare?”

“Do whatever you want.”

“Leo!” she called out as I opened the door. “What is that supposed to mean? Was anything I said untrue? Will you be happy if you force me to go?”

“I told you. Do whatever you want.”

I shut the door behind me. A few steps down the hall, I heard the sound of a glass shattering against a wall.

I sat in a Starbucks, stirring my coffee and scrolling through my contacts for Ms. Lang’s number. I’d been saving every penny for a down payment on a house for us. The most expensive drink I’d had in years was a two-dollar iced tea. This Starbucks… wasn’t as good as I’d imagined.

But I felt a strange sense of liberation.

Ms. Lang answered on the second ring. I didn’t waste any time. “Ms. Lang, that offer to transfer to the overseas branch… is it still open?”

She paused, then chuckled. “As long as you’re willing to take it.”

“I am!”

“And your fiancée… the wedding…”

“We broke up.”

Instead of offering condolences, Ms. Lang burst out laughing. “Good. It’s about time you came to your senses.”

For six years, everyone had been subtly and not-so-subtly reminding me that my career was far more important than Ava. When her reckless startup failed, they’d told me I had a bright future and shouldn’t be dragged down with her. But at the time, I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her when she was at her lowest.

And yet, her ex-boyfriend—the one who had dumped her for being poor and run off with a rich girl from overseas—had now come crawling back, just as she’d made a name for herself. And she was letting him.

My phone buzzed. It was a new post from Asher. A picture of the two of them, nestled close together, their faces projected onto the giant screen at the concert. Their hands were joined to form a heart for the entire arena to see. No one would doubt for a second that they were a couple.

The caption read: After all this time, the right person was waiting for me right where I left them.

Ava had liked the post.

I took a screenshot and sent it to my best friend. I can’t deal with these two drama queens anymore.

He sent back a question mark, along with a screenshot of a blank social media page. I tried sending it to a few other people. They couldn’t see it either.

Asher had set the post’s privacy to be visible only to me and Ava. No, that wasn’t right. It was visible only to me.

I let out a cold laugh, then blocked and deleted him.