Part 3He Rejected Me on Our Anniversary, But He Doesn't Know I'm Dying

I knew Liam had been married. I knew a car accident had cut it short. He’d told me all of it himself the night he asked me to be his girlfriend.

He was single, and I was single. I hadn’t broken anything up. So I refused to be branded a homewrecker.

After we left the party that night, I quietly tried to end things.

“Liam, maybe we should just forget it. I don’t want people looking at me like that.”

He stopped walking and turned to face me, tipping my chin up so he could look into my eyes. The streetlight cast long shadows across his face.

“Are you angry?”

It wasn’t anger, not really. But being called a replacement felt like a splinter under my skin. Every time I thought about it, the pain was sharp and fresh.

Since we’d been together, I’d never once brought up his late wife. I figured some chapters were best left closed. But tonight, the way he’d crushed my hand under the table… it planted a seed of doubt.

I had never seen a photo of Annabelle. There were no pictures of her in his apartment, not even on his phone. It was a complete blank slate. If Caleb hadn't said anything, I never would have known.

That I looked just like her.

“You and Annabelle—”

He cut me off, his tone suddenly sharp. “You are you. She is she.”

The sudden chill in his voice startled me. I just stared at him, speechless.

A moment later, the ice in his eyes thawed, and he let out a soft sigh. “Are you saying you’re breaking up with me? Found someone without a limp?”