Chapter 2

2.

When I got home, his words kept looping in my head.

My mind betrayed me, dragging me back to how we used to be.

Six years ago, I was Cillian's entire world.

When he went to business dinners, he'd text me photos of the menu.

"Baby, you'd love this place. I'm bringing you here next week," he'd say.

On business trips, he'd send me videos of the ocean or little trinkets he found in local shops.

I never had to worry about other women.

He used to hand me his phone without me even asking.

His password was my birthday, and his lock screen was a photo of me laughing.

When we went shopping, he'd never hesitate.

"Give my girlfriend the best one you have," he'd tell the clerk.

Now, when it came to the most important ring of our lives, he saved the best for Sadie.

Back then, when his startup was struggling, I offered to marry him and help him through the hard times.

Cillian rarely cried, but that night he sobbed into my lap.

"I don't want you to suffer with me. When the company is stable, I'll give you the wedding of your dreams. Just wait for me, okay?"

So, I waited.

But before the company got stable, Sadie appeared.

She was my junior in the architecture program, and I was the one who invited her over for dinner.

The look of pure shock and joy on Cillian's face when they reunited was something he couldn't hide.

After that, the man who used to rush home every night suddenly hated eating at home.

He was always "busy" with work.

Then I noticed Sadie started taking leaves of absence from the lab at the exact same times.

Slowly, he stopped sharing his life with me.

My texts went unanswered for hours.

"I just forgot," he'd say.

But whenever he was with me, he was constantly smiling at his phone, typing away.

I got suspicious and tried to check his phone one night.

The password had been changed.

The lock screen wasn't me anymore.

It was a photo of two people holding hands.

You couldn't see their faces, but I knew those hands.

It was him and Sadie.

I forced myself to stay calm.

I applied for a position at the National Heritage Preservation Center.

They accepted me almost instantly.

They told me a major project was starting in New Mexico next week and I needed to report to headquarters.

I bought a plane ticket and packed my bags.

I walked out of the house without a sound.