Chapter 3

3

I desperately hoped it was a misunderstanding, but standing outside their private booth, I heard her voice crystal clear.

"Janelle, aren't you being too reckless? What if Clayton finds out?"

"Ugh, why bring him up when we are having fun?"

Her tone dripped with mockery.

"Even if he finds out, what could he possibly do? Does he even have the courage to get mad at me?"

"Don't be so uptight. What is wrong with wanting a little freedom?"

"But you two have been together for ten years. Aren't you scared he will walk away?"

"Please. He can't live without me. He is so boring that no other woman would ever want him. He begged me to marry him recently, and I shut him down."

"So you're just going to string him along forever?"

Janelle took a slow sip of her cocktail and chuckled.

"Marriage? Don't make me laugh. I'm young and gorgeous. Spending the rest of my life tied down to just one man would be such a waste!"

"I honestly think you're crossing the line, Janelle."

Janelle brushed off the warning, leaning deeper into the young guy's chest.

She whispered into his ear, "Austin, baby, you didn't hear any of that. Let's just have fun tonight."

Watching them through the glass, my head buzzed, and my heart felt like it was being crushed in a vice.

From high school through college and into our careers, I had stood by her through our darkest, poorest days.

Now that my career was thriving and I could finally buy her a dream home, she kept pushing back the wedding.

I thought she just wasn't ready.

In reality, she just didn't want me getting in the way of her wild lifestyle.

I shoved down the bitter taste in my mouth, kicked the door open, and locked eyes with her terrified face.

"Janelle, you get your wish. We are done."

As I turned and walked away, her friends panicked behind me.

"Janelle, you're in trouble! Go after him and explain!"

Janelle's sharp voice chased me down the hall.

"He is just bluffing! He could never survive without me! He will crawl back begging on his knees soon enough!"

That very night, I packed my things and moved out of our shared apartment.

I never sent her another message.

Janelle never reached out directly either.

Whenever she got wasted at clubs, her friends would call my phone, but I ignored every ring.

This reunion was the first time we had seen each other in six months.