The Replaced Lover's Thirty-Day Silent Escape

Four years. I poured the best years of my youth and every ounce of my heart into my boyfriend Damian, becoming the perfect live-in girlfriend.

But when his childhood sweetheart, the woman he'd always carried a torch for, returned from London, he gave her every bit of his care and affection.

On my birthday, just because his sweetheart liked mangoes, he ordered a mango cake despite my severe allergy.

When the sweetheart faked concern for me, he said casually:

"Amelia's just my housekeeper. She's sensible. She won't make a scene."

That was when I woke up. I was nothing but a substitute, a bed-warmer to fill the years she'd been away.

This time, I didn't cry. I didn't make a scene. I didn't beg for his attention the way I'd done so many times before.

I started a thirty-day countdown.

"Damian, it's time to say goodbye."