Chapter 3

"What do you think she knows?" I asked Chelsea.

"A woman's intuition." Chelsea shrugged. "Think about it. If Roxanne were really only a coworker, would Harry break his rules for her? He loves that car like it's his own kid."

Her words stabbed right through me.

Yeah, Harry cared more about that car than he ever did about me.

He once blew up at me for forgetting to shut the car door, but another woman got to eat chips in his car.

My phone buzzed again. It was a call from Harry.

I stared at his name on the screen. For three years, every time his name popped up, my heart would skip a beat. Now, all I felt was a weight in my chest.

"Are you gonna pick up?" Chelsea asked.

I shook my head.

The phone rang seven times before it stopped. Right after that, a text came through.

Harry: [Josie, pick up. We need to talk. You can't break up with me without saying anything. That's not fair to the three years we've had.]

I let out a bitter laugh.

Not fair? Wasn't that exactly what he did to me?

Chelsea saw the message and grabbed my phone. "I'll deal with him."

"Don't—" I said, but it was too late.

She was already typing. [Harry, Josie is with me right now. She needs some time to cool off. If you want to talk, meet tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the café on the corner. This is your only chance.]

As soon as she hit send, she powered off my phone and handed it back to me. "You're staying here tonight. I'll go with you tomorrow."

I looked at Chelsea gratefully as tears welled up again.

"Oh, come on," she said, rubbing my head. "Never lose yourself over a man. You deserve better than that."

I crashed in Chelsea's guest room for the night, staring up at the ceiling, wide awake the whole night.

Memories kept replaying in my head like a movie.

I remembered how nervous Harry was when he first held my hand, his palms all sweaty. I remembered the clumsy birthday cake he made for me and the nights he stayed by my bedside when I was sick, but soon, he changed.

He started forgetting our anniversaries. He criticized the dinners I carefully prepared. In front of his friends, he dismissed my work as "nothing very challenging". And more and more often, he called me annoying and needy.

When did love start to decay? Was it all those little moments of being ignored adding up?

Or did I lower myself too much from the start, to the point where he thought I'd never walk away, no matter what he did?

*****

At 2:50 the next afternoon, when Chelsea and I walked into the café, Harry was already seated by the window.

He was wearing the gray shirt I had bought him, his hair perfectly styled.

The moment he saw me, he stood up, wearing that familiar, apologetic smile.

That smile used to make me forgive him after every fight, but this time, it didn't move me at all.

There was a half-drunk coffee sitting in front of him. He'd clearly gotten here early.

"Josie." He came over and reached for my hand, but I pulled away.

We sat down, and it was kind of awkward.

Harry glanced at Chelsea, clearly uncomfortable with her presence, but said nothing.

"I shouldn't have said that yesterday," Harry said softly as if he'd practiced it. "I shouldn't have yelled. Work has been rough, the project hit some snags, and I let it spill over at home."

Same story as always. It was always work stress, so he didn't have to admit he hurt me.

"Harry, we're not here to talk about your work stress," Chelsea said indifferently.

Harry frowned, but kept his expression gentle. "I know. This is all about Roxanne, isn't it?"

He turned to me, his eyes full of sincerity. "Josie, you've got it wrong. She's a new grad and doesn't really know much. She's only been in my car for the past couple of weeks because her apartment is far."

"So, you're playing the hero for her now, huh?" Chelsea raised an eyebrow.

"That's not what I'm saying." Harry sounded a bit desperate. "I'm only looking out for a coworker. Plus, her family isn't well off. I'm trying to help her save some money. It's no big deal."

"How sweet," Chelsea said, sarcasm heavy in her voice. "Remember when Josie started working, commuting two hours every day? Did you ever help her then?"

Harry froze. He looked at me, hoping for some backing. "Josie, you know I'm not that kind of person. We've been together three years. You should understand me."

Yeah, I knew him too well. His selfish streak, his ego, and how he could always blame someone else.

"Harry, I have just one question for you," I said, looking him straight in the eye. "If it had been me eating those chips in the car yesterday, how would you have reacted?"

His eyes tightened a bit. There was a flash of discomfort at being called out.

"It's not the same." He tried to defend himself.

"How is it any different? Just because she's a 'fresh graduate who doesn't know anything,' and I'm your girlfriend of three years, I'm supposed to know your rules better and follow them more strictly, right?" I said.

Harry shut up, fingers drumming on the table without thinking. It was a nervous habit he always had.

"I'll admit, maybe I was a bit more tolerant with Roxanne," he finally said, sounding like he was doing me some big favor. "But you're my closest person. I thought we didn't need all that politeness between us. You treat outsiders differently, right?"

That was some twisted logic. He hurt the person who was closest because he thought she wouldn't walk away. Yet he was nice to strangers to look good.

"So, your point is, you're nice to her out of politeness, but mean to me because we're close, right?" My voice trembled. "Harry, that doesn't make any sense."

"That's not what I meant." Harry raised his voice, drawing glances from nearby tables.

Then he lowered his voice. "Look, we need to try to understand each other. You know how much that car means to me. It's not just transportation; it's a symbol of my work.

"I don't allow anyone to eat in it. That's a hard principle. Roxanne was starving at that time. She was too busy to eat anything during the whole day. I couldn't—"

"Yeah, she was starving," I repeated, suddenly feeling how absurd it sounded. "Harry, do you remember when I was hospitalized for stomach pain last year? I hadn't eaten all day, trying to get your birthday surprise ready.

"I called you from the hospital, and you told me you were stuck in a meeting and you'd come by later. I waited for four hours, but you never came."