And then, my eyes burned, and another message popped up.
[Honey, are you still working? Why haven’t you said you miss me today?]
[Waaaah, honey, did you meet some other guy? You’re about to get married, you know.]
That familiar, playful tone made my heart stutter in my chest.
I remembered how he’d always played this game when I was away. Acting like he couldn’t live without me.
But now it hit me, those “I miss you”s weren’t real. They were just guilt, nothing more than a mask for everything he’d done behind my back.
For the first time, I wanted to confront him.
I needed to know how he was going to face me after everything, after he’d just proposed to Lily.
With my fingers trembling, I typed out a quick reply:
[Just finished work. Miss you too. Can we video chat now?]
[Sure, I’ll be home in a minute!]
True to his word, he was back before long. Ten minutes later, I heard the familiar sound of him entering the passcode. The door opened, and there he was, James.
As soon as he saw me, his eyes widened in shock, and he immediately pulled his hand away from Lily’s.
There was no joy, no love. Just panic, pure panic. He was caught.
Before I could even speak, he was already scrambling to explain himself.
“Why did you come back today? Don’t overthink this. We were just finishing some work, so I brought it home to get it done…”
I stared at him, cold and unmoving. He wasn’t even trying anymore. He couldn’t even pretend.
Lily, meanwhile, was standing there with a smug little smile, her voice dripping with saccharine sweetness.
“Rachel, you came back for the wedding, huh? I didn’t get the chance to congratulate you two yet.”
She was playing her part well.
“I was just being immature before. Please don’t be mad at me.”
I fixed my gaze on James, and spoke flatly, “Immature? Oh, I think you understand *too* much.”
Pretending to be sick, always making excuses to get close to him. Slowly, inch by inch, working her way into his heart. If that’s what James called “immature,” then Lily had a real talent for manipulation.
Whether she meant to or not, she had won.
James couldn’t stand me calling her out, so his guilt quickly shifted to frustration.
“Can you stop being unreasonable? Lily didn’t mean any harm. She’s just young. What’s your problem with her? You’re three years older, Rachel. You’re jealous of a younger girl?”
So, he was going to break up with me at the wedding to make Lily happy, and yet, I was the unreasonable one?
I had cried, I had begged him, I had fought for three years over this woman.
But now he was bringing her into our home, into *my* home, while I was away. She was kissing him, sleeping with him. Taking everything I had worked for.
And when I finally confronted him, *I* was the one being unreasonable?
I let out a bitter laugh.
“So, you’re getting married just to shut me up? James, what right do you have to call me unreasonable? You should know *better* than anyone what’s right and wrong here.”
Endless lies, empty promises.
Even the money for my engagement ring was just leftovers from whatever Lily wanted.
Five years of my life, and all I got in return was a fake, tarnished bracelet.
A joke.
James frowned, clearly frustrated with me.
“You came back just to start a fight, didn’t you? I already told you, I brought Lily back to work. Work is hard enough without you causing problems. If you’re so unhappy, why come back at all?”
Then, realizing how harsh he sounded, he clamped his mouth shut.
“I’ve already explained everything. Believe it or not, that’s up to you. But we’ve been fighting about this for three years. If you’re not tired, I sure am.”
His eyes were cold now, filled with contempt. There was no trace of the affection I had once seen there.
Every breath I took felt like a struggle. I opened my mouth, but no words came.
Lily’s eyes flicked over to me, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Rachel, don’t be mad. James was just in a meeting earlier. Don’t misunderstand. Fighting before the wedding is bad luck…”
“Get out!”
