Part 3All I Did Was Love You

Ava held onto Asher’s arm for dear life. He looked heartbroken, but he wasn’t actually trying to leave.

“Leo,” Ava said, her voice tight with anger as she struggled to hold onto him. “Apologize.”

I blinked. “For what?”

“If you hadn’t insisted on this stupid engagement agreement, he wouldn’t be so upset right now! You were pretending to pack, but you just wanted him to see it, didn’t you?”

I laughed, a sharp, incredulous sound. “Ava, I never realized you were this stupid.”

She stared at me, speechless.

I turned to Asher. “Did you not realize we were living together? Did you not know we were a couple? If you knew all that, why did you even ask if I was angry before? You knew everything, so who is this ‘I’m so shocked and betrayed’ act for?”

His eyes grew redder. He made another show of leaving, and Ava held him back.

“Leo! That’s enough!”

I continued packing, ignoring them.

Asher struggled again. “Don’t stop me! Leo has the wrong idea! You’re engaged, I shouldn’t be here!”

“Leo!” Ava’s grip on Asher’s wrist tightened as she glared at me. “Apologize!”

My hands were balled into tight fists. “No.”

“Are you sure?”

My jaw was set. “I’m sure.”

Ava stared at me for a few seconds, then bent down and picked up the engagement agreement. “See? This is why you’ll never be as good as Asher. All you know how to do is play petty games and get jealous. It’s so obvious you’ve never been abroad. Your worldview is so much smaller than his.”

With that, she ripped the agreement in half. Then she tore it again, and again, until it was nothing but scraps. She threw the pieces in my face.

She turned, took Asher’s hand, and walked out without a backward glance.

I picked up a framed photo of us and smashed it against the floor. The fractured glass drew a line between our faces. I kicked the broken frame into the trash.