Chapter 1

On our wedding anniversary, a notification flashed across my phone showing two movie tickets had been booked.

Right after that, Sean Kingsley called, his voice cold and detached.

“A surprise for you! See you there soon!”

I could barely hide my excitement. I spent over an hour doing my makeup and picked out my prettiest dress.

Yet I waited outside that theater from start to finish, and he never showed up.

Later that night, I saw a new post on his first love Sonja’s social media feed.

It was a photo of Sean from behind, cooking busy in her kitchen.

Her caption read: “Even though we missed our movie, at least someone knows how to make it up to me!”

He had stood me up to be with her again.

In the past, I would have lost my mind, screaming and demanding an explanation.

But this time, I had no desire to fight.

I was just exhausted.

1.

It was a freezing December night.

I stood outside the locked movie theater, my nose completely red from the biting wind.

Sean still had not shown up.

I wanted to order an Uber home, but my phone battery had already died.

Resigning myself to my fate, I decided to walk back in the cold. But on the very first icy step, my heel slipped, and my lower back twisted with a sharp, sickening crack.

Tears instantly flooded my eyes.

When it rains, it really pours.

I tried to keep it together, but the throbbing pain was unbearable. I sat on the frozen pavement, crying uncontrollably.

Eventually, a food delivery driver spotted me and called an ambulance, finally getting me out of the freezing misery.

When my phone was finally plugged in and powered on, a barrage of text messages from Sean popped up.

“Jocelyn, what time is it? Why the hell aren't you home yet?”

“Are you out partying your mind off?”

“If you don't come back tonight, don't ever bother coming back!”

Most of his messages were furious accusations about me staying out late.

He had completely forgotten that he was the one who asked me out to the movies in the first place.

That was why I had waited in the freezing wind for hours.

From the opening credits to the end, right until the theater shut its doors at midnight.

I didn't bother replying to his texts. Instead, I opened social media.

And right there was Sonja Campbell’s latest update.

It was a photo of Sean working over the stove in her kitchen.

Her caption read: “Even though we missed our movie, at least someone knows how to make it up to me!”

He was by her side again.

If this were before, I would have confronted him like a hysterical madwoman.

This time, though, I felt completely calm.

I was simply done.

I placed my phone on the nightstand, closed my eyes, and went to sleep.

I had no idea how much time had passed when Sean's call woke me. His tone was laced with irritation.

“Jocelyn! Where on earth are you right now?”

“Did you run off and abandon your job too?”

I rubbed my swollen eyes and spoke in a raspy voice.

“I'm at the hospital.”

“I slipped outside the theater last night and severely threw out my back.”

Silence stretched across the line for several seconds. When Sean spoke again, his temper had cooled, though his tone remained indifferent.

“Then get some rest. I was busy yesterday and lost track of time... Once you recover, we'll go watch a movie together.”

It was already far too late for that.

I gave a weak, lifeless reply.

“Is there anything else? If not, let's just leave it at that.”

The other end went dead quiet again.

He was probably caught off guard.

He found it strange that I was the one cutting the conversation short.

Whenever we used to talk on the phone, I longed to hear his voice all day, which always led to him impatiently saying that exact sentence to hang up on me.

Now that the roles were reversed, he naturally felt unsettled.

Sure enough, his voice dropped a few degrees colder.

“Jocelyn? I said I would take you to the movies again!”

The unspoken demand was clear: stop throwing a tantrum.

Except I wasn't throwing a tantrum at all.

I replied with utter calmness.

“I heard you.”

Sean's tone softened slightly.

“Send me the hospital address. I'll head over soon.”

That worked out well. I had something to settle with him anyway.