Chapter 3

3

Back in college, everyone knew that Sadie loved Jonas, and Jonas loved Maya.

Jonas was handsome and top of his class in medical school, making his romance with the campus beauty, Maya, the talk of the university.

I had quietly buried my feelings deep inside, never daring to utter a word.

Upon graduation, Maya insisted on studying abroad and demanded that Jonas follow her.

Burdened by poverty, Jonas refused. A massive fight ensued, and they broke up shortly after.

During that dark period, Jonas spent every night drowning his sorrows at bars, and I spent every night bringing him home safely.

One night, he grabbed my hand and said, "Sadie, let us get married. I will treat you well."

A shockwave ripped through my mind, but I agreed without hesitation.

I believed that no matter why he chose to marry me, he would eventually forget Maya and fall for me.

From then on, we lived like an ordinary married couple, comfortable and peaceful if not passionately in love.

It was only later that I realized it was all an illusion.

The day Maya returned to the country happened to be my birthday.

Jonas glanced at a text message and walked out immediately, leaving me sitting alone in a daze.

I had assumed an urgent surgery called him away, until I saw Maya social media update.

"I always knew you would be waiting in the exact same spot for me to come home."

The hand holding hers tightly in the photo was the very same hand that had been cutting my birthday cake minutes earlier.

I wanted to confront him, but fear paralyzed me. I was terrified of hearing him admit he still loved her, and even more terrified of losing him.

So I lied to myself, hoping that with time, he would come back to me.

Yet from that day on, Maya posts became an endless nightmare pushing me off a cliff.

When I walked home late at night and almost got assaulted by a creep, he was giving Maya a shoulder massage.

When I was swamped with overtime and surviving on ramen, he was cooking gourmet dinners for Maya.

When he promised to visit my parents but flaked at the last second, he was accompanying Maya on a luxury shopping spree.

They looked like the perfect golden couple again, while I became an invisible bystander in their love story.

I finally understood that Jonas had never stopped loving Maya. I was merely his consolation prize.

Now that his dream girl was back, it was time for me to exit the stage.