If I were honest with myself, part of me felt some twisted satisfaction knowing that ring would one day be buried in the sand, some lucky beachgoer’s treasure. But it also stung. It wasn’t breaking off the engagement that had him so furious. No, it was the ring. A piece of metal and stone he could replace without even blinking. It was that fucking ring that had him throwing a tantrum.
And here I was—packing likeIwas the one who’d done something wrong. Because, of course, I was the idiot who had trusted him enough to only put his name on the damn condo.
I had done everything right. I worked my ass off in school. Sure, I wasn’t perfect, but I still earned a partial scholarship. When I landed the job at Essence, I thought I was finally starting to make it. That things werefinallycoming together.
And then I met Chad.
I had thought he was the one. The guy who would complete my perfect life. He was the son of the founder of a competing brand, driven, passionate about his work, and he was kind in a way that made me believe everything would be okay. I’d thoughtthiswas it. My happily-ever-fucking-after.
But meanwhile, he was flying off to God knows-where with every woman who’d throw herself at him. Each one younger than the last. I was the fool, stuck here thinking everything was still perfect while he was off playing athisversion of perfect. And me? I just got to watch as it all fell apart.
“Her name is Jessica,” Chad argued with a pointed look, “and she is twenty-one, she’s not a child. So what if I am going to marry her? At least she actually meets my needs. You have changed. You stopped going to the gym and when you’re not at work with thatDemonyou’re at home on the couch reading or playing your stupid video games all day. It’s like you don’t even care about me anymore.”
I threw my last shirt into the suitcase and laughed again. “Oh, so this is my fault? I made you do this? Poor you. Having no choice but to stick your dick in the barely legal girl.” I slammed the suitcase shut and threw my weight on top of it while I struggled to zip it closed. “You know how hard I work. So I am sorry if I don’t feel like going to the gym after I have been on my feet for ten hours! And why does it bother you so much thathe isn’t human? He’s the first boss who’s treated me like I’m not invisible. You should try it sometime.”
Finally, with a rip that sounded far too much like a broken heart, the zipper tore through the fabric it had been stuck on. I gritted my teeth, yanking the overstuffed suitcase off the couch with an audible thud.
Honestly, I was half-surprised the neighbors hadn’t called the cops yet or at least filed a noise complaint. I could practically hear my own voice bouncing off the walls. But who knows? Maybe they were enjoying the show—this fight wasn’t exactly subtle.
I swiped the back of my hand across my eyes, trying to hold it together.
No. No more tears. Not this time.
Stand your ground, Harper. Don’t back down. You haven’t done a damn thing wrong.
I let out a shaky breath, my hands tightening around the suitcase handles. The last thing I needed was to feel guilty.
I never stood up to Chad before.
I’d been fine letting him make all the decisions. I’d been fine with the bleakness of working and coming home to a cold, empty bed. I had hoped,hopedthat marriage would change things, that things would get better. But now? Now I just felt stupid. So fucking stupid for not having seen the warning signs.
“Harp, wait,” he barked, using that goddamn nickname like it still had some power over me. He grabbed my arm, yanking me back hard, and I stumbled slightly from the force. When I looked up at him, a chill slithered through my chest. This wasn’t the Chad I knew. This was a stranger. A version of him that was so angry about the consequences of his own actions, he was practically unrecognizable.
As if sensing the fear that had begun to sink into my body, he released his grip on me and backed away to pace the room, running a hand through his blond hair that I once loved.
I wonder if she liked to play with his hair too.
I wonder if she knew that it helped him relax.
“For fucks sake,” he continued, turning back to me, “where are you even going to go? You don’t even have any friends. You haveno one.”
I tried not to let the hurt show on my face. Turning away from him I walked to the door, dragging my suitcase behind me. My walls were slowly crumbling and if I didn’t leave now, he would win. “It’s none of your business anymore. I will reach out shortly to arrange to pick up my things.”
I opened the door and stepped out into the hall, pulling the handle harder than I probably needed to, so that I could hear one last satisfying slam.
It’s okay Harper. You’ve got this.
I kept repeating it like a mantra, like some sort of protection against the doubt creeping into my mind. When one door closes, another—a better one—would open. Right?
I marched down the hall, keeping my head down and avoiding as much eye contact as I could when I had the misfortune of running into a neighbour. The walls in this place were too thin for the price we paid, and I knew, without a doubt, that everyone had heard us. Of course, people wanted to see the aftermath.
It didn’t take long for the elevator to come up. Oddly enough, it seemed to be twice as fast today. Usually, I would’ve had to wait for ten minutes at least. A small lucky break, in an otherwise shitty day. Stepping inside, I leaned forward and pressed the button for the parking garage.
As the elevator descended, I caught a glimpse of myself in the reflective doors. Damn. I looked like a disaster. My eyes wereswollen and red, my hair a mess of tangles escaping from my bun, and my skin was blotchy from the tears I hadn’t let fall. This wasn’t supposed to happen.None of this was supposed to happen.
Chad said he was going out to a work event and that he would be home late. I had everything prepared. I left the printed-out copies of his text messages on the table. I didn’t want to fight. I just wanted to run away.
But then, just as I was about to pack, Chad had come home early. I should’ve made up an excuse, said anything to get out of the house, but I’d completely forgotten about the damn text messages on the table. I was so fucking stupid.
