Part 3The Stable Lover

It was one of Damon’s friends’ birthdays. Everyone brought their partners. Damon brought me.

I wasn’t surprised to see Mia there. She sat down next to Damon as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Callie,” she said with a saccharine smile. “You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?”

Damon glanced at me.

I said nothing.

The smile on his face faded, replaced by a cold sneer. He wrapped his arm around Mia’s shoulders. She was clearly infatuated with him. Throughout the dinner, she was constantly toasting him, leaning in to whisper in his ear, laughing and draping herself over him.

I wasn't angry. I just ate my food quietly.

One of Damon’s friends clicked his tongue in admiration. He turned to his own girlfriend. “Look at her. So classy. Not like you, getting jealous over every little thing. You should learn from her.”

His girlfriend, who was a little drunk, scoffed. “I care because I love you! If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t care!”

Maybe it was a coincidence, but the table went silent.

Damon had obviously heard her. The smile was still plastered on his face, but the veins on the hand holding his glass bulged.

His friend paled and immediately started backtracking. “My girlfriend’s had too much to drink. Sorry, Damon. She didn’t mean anything by it.”

His girlfriend started apologizing too.

Damon didn’t say anything. His eyes were on me. I looked away.

“Aren’t you even a little bit angry?” he asked suddenly.

“What is there to be angry about?” I said, genuinely confused. “Isn’t this the freedom you always wanted?”

I got to see his face. He got his freedom. We were both getting what we wanted. What was the problem? After all, from the very beginning, he had warned me not to control him. He’d never stopped seeing other women. I thought this was how he liked it.

But he seemed displeased. He pulled Mia even closer, until she was practically sitting in his lap. They started making out right in front of me, a wet, open-mouthed kiss. It was as if I wasn’t even there.

No one else seemed surprised, though a few people shot me sympathetic looks. I scrolled through my phone, waiting for the night to be over.

As the evening wore on, Mia got bolder. She was clearly making a play to replace me. She looked me up and down and said loudly, “An iPhone 12? That’s so retro. Are you trying to be ironic?”

I ignored her, which only seemed to fuel her.

“I’d almost forgotten what they look like. It’s practically an antique. I’m actually curious. Let me see it, Callie.”

“No,” I said, my grip tightening on my phone.

“Damon, make her show me! It’s just a phone, what’s the big deal?”

When I didn’t respond, Damon frowned. “She wants to see it. Just let her.”

“No.”

“Damon~” Mia whined, tugging on his arm.

Annoyed that I had defied him, his face went cold. He held out his hand. “Give me the phone.”

I stayed silent.

“What’s on there, anyway?” Mia added, fanning the flames. “Something you don’t want people to see?”

A dark look entered Damon’s eyes. He lunged for my phone.

“What are you doing?!” I gasped. We struggled, and the phone flew out of my hand. I instinctively shoved him away to catch it. He stumbled back, hitting his hip on the corner of the table. He swore under his breath. “What is wrong with you, Callie? It’s just a stupid phone! If it breaks, I’ll buy you a new one—”

His words cut off. He was staring at the screen, which had lit up as it fell. The video I had been watching earlier had started playing again.

It was from when I was still with Valet. I was on his back, not realizing he was recording, complaining petulantly.

“Why did you talk to that girl for so long today?!”

Valet’s voice was full of fond exasperation. “She’s the vice president of the student council. We were talking about official business. You’re unbelievable. Are you an industrial-sized vat of jealousy?”

That only made me angrier. “I’m only jealous because I love you! If I didn’t love you, you could go drop dead for all I care!”

Valet just laughed, hoisting me higher on his back. “Alright, alright, you love me. I get it. I guess I should be happy, then?”

I poked him. “From now on, no talking to other girls. No adding other girls on social media. No liking anyone else!”

“Okay, okay, whatever you say. Where did you get this temper…?”

The video kept playing.

I snatched the phone and turned it off.

Damon was frozen, his posture unchanged.

The table was dead silent. No one had expected this.

In the next second, Damon grabbed the phone from my hand and smashed it on the floor.

On pure instinct, I slapped him across the face. Then I dropped to my knees, scrambling to pick up the pieces.

It was the last thing I had of Valet.

The phone was shattered beyond repair, the screen completely black.

I clutched it to my chest, then slowly turned to look at Damon.

It hadn’t been a hard slap. But he was stunned. He didn’t even touch his face. He just stared at me, a look of utter confusion in his eyes, as if he were seeing me for the first time.

Everyone else was in shock. You could have heard a pin drop.

A part of me regretted it, but another part felt a strange sense of relief. I hadn’t meant to hit him. It was just a reflex. But now, it was done. I knew this was the end.

I stood up, grabbed my purse, and walked out. As I left, I sent him one last text.

“We’re done.”