She breaks again, and the weight of it sinks in. My stomach turns.
“Maddie, sweetheart, slow down. Has Remi done something?”
As far as I know, the only thing Remi’s guilty of is being heartbreakingly kind and impossibly attractive, and making me fall for him completely. But I obviously can’t say that.
She sniffles on the other end of the line, then finally manages, “I got a promotion.”
“Oh, Maddie, that’s amazing. Congratulations, ”
“Seb, wait. Let me finish.”
“Okay, okay, I’m just… really proud of you. I’m sure Remi is too.”
“Seb!”
She cuts me off, sharp and shaking. I go quiet immediately.
“They offered me a senior position in New York. Big title, more money, incredible contract. I asked Remi to think about moving here with me, and he… he…”
Her voice cracks. Then, somehow, she forces the words out.
“He told me I should accept it. But he didn’t want to keep our relationship going. He broke up with me, Seb. Do you get that? He ended it.”
I hear the sob catch in her throat, and I just stare at my phone, cold all over. I wasn’t expecting this. Not now. Not like this.
What the hell, Remi?
Sure, he’s been tense lately, distant, but this? This is something else. He didn’t say a word. Not last night, not this morning. Nothing. And I’m living under his roof. I thought we were friends. I thought I mattered.
“Maddie… I’m so sorry. I don’t even know what to say. I’m just as shocked as you are.”
There’s a pause. Then, quieter, rawer: “Seb… has he met someone else?”
That hits like a punch.
“I know how that sounds,” she goes on, already ashamed, “but we were good. We had plans. It wasn’t perfect, but I never saw this coming.”
I grip the phone tighter. My thoughts are racing. Remi with someone else? Another girl?
No.
No, that’s not it.
Whatever this is, whatever he’s feeling, it’s not about someone new.
It’s about something he’s still figuring out.
Remi is one of the most principled people I’ve ever met. Loyal, respectful, honest to a fault. He’d never lie, especially not to someone he cares about. Whatever’s going on, I’m certain it’s not about another woman.
“Maddie, I swear, I don’t know anything. He’s never said a word about there being trouble between you.”
She cuts in sharply. “Of course not! There wasn’t any trouble. He even said you were still asleep, and that things between you two were fine…”
Wait, he said things between us were fine?
For a second, that stirs something warm in my chest. Something I don’t have time to unpack, because Maddie’s voice crashes back in.
“Sebastian! Are you even listening?”
