Chapter 2
Back home, I washed off my makeup, showered, and canceled the wedding venue.
Then I told my parents and my best friend, Lily Bates.
My parents were happy and said they'd come visit soon.
Lily was even more excited.
"Sophie, you finally figured it out!
"It broke my heart seeing you like this all these years."
She started listing every single one of Ryan's flaws and roasting me for being such a lovesick idiot.
Love could make people blind.
Lily used to complain about Ryan constantly, but I'd always defend him.
"It's not like that.
"If I just give enough, he'll love me back eventually."
She'd call me hopeless.
But now, I was surprisingly calm.
Looking back, everything she'd said was true—I'd just been too stubborn to see it.
I was about to tell her about Ethan when Ryan walked in.
He loosened his tie and dropped onto the couch, his face marked by dark circles under his eyes.
"Let's get our marriage license tomorrow," he said.
He acted like none of this had happened.
"Forget it."
I looked at him, feeling nothing. "There's no point anymore."
"Sophie, stop being dramatic.
"I already explained, didn't I?"
Basically, he was calling me unreasonable.
When I stayed quiet, he continued, "After we get the license tomorrow, we'll go shopping. I'll spend the whole day with you."
Before, I would've been thrilled.
I'd have wrapped my arm around his and acted all sweet.
Now I just kept packing, not bothering to respond.
"Forget it."
That totally set him off.
He gritted his teeth. "Claire got fired and was upset, so I spent a little extra time with her."
Yeah, bet you ended up in her bed too.
"Go ahead. Spend all the time you want with her from now on."
He froze. "What do you mean?"
"I want to break up."
He stared at me, eyes blazing.
After a moment, he gritted his teeth. "Say that again."
I looked him straight in the eye. "Ryan, I want to break up with you."
He scoffed, "You're dumping me over this?"
I nodded. "Yeah, just this."
It was the last straw.
But Ryan would never understand.
After that mess two years ago, Ryan kept promising it wouldn't happen again.
"Our companies work together, so we run into each other at work," he'd explain.
After that, he'd always give me a heads-up when Claire would be around.
Scrolling through our chat history, I realized he'd check in about it every other day.
I felt happy because it made me feel like I still mattered to him.
He'd even gotten down on one knee and proposed in front of everyone.
When that ring slipped onto my finger, I felt like the happiest person alive.
But the next day, an anonymous message appeared with a photo attached.
Claire was wearing the same ring as me—except hers was flashier, like she was flaunting it.
I collapsed to the floor, staring at the screen, unable to believe it was real.
Maybe it was a misunderstanding. Maybe just a coincidence.
Desperate, I called the number right away.
Claire picked up.
She sneered, "Sophie, you saw the picture, didn't you? Pretty, isn't it?"
My body started shaking. My throat closed up—I couldn't speak.
"Ryan made this ring himself. Isn't he amazing?"
My whole body trembled as I forced the words out. "Homewreckers never get happy endings."
Claire laughed like I'd told the funniest joke.
"The real homewrecker is the one nobody loves."
Looking back at everything, it finally hit me—Ryan had never loved me.
"You think anyone else would want you?"
Ryan was furious, blocking the doorway.
He grabbed my suitcase and dumped everything onto the floor.
I took a deep breath and quietly started gathering my things.
He stood behind me, staring.
Finally, he sighed, "I'm exhausted, Sophie. Can you cut me some slack? Stop making this so difficult."
He thought this was just another fight—that if he lowered himself to comfort me, I'd forgive him like always.
But this time he was wrong. I wasn't softening.
I finally asked something I'd always wondered.
"Why do you always think I'm being dramatic?"
"Because you..." He trailed off.
I answered for him, "Because you never really respected me."
To him, I was merely his nighttime comfort.
He could call me whenever he wanted, send me away whenever he felt like it.
He never had to care—I'd still come running.
Whether he loved me or not, I'd always be waiting.
"It's not like that..."
His phone rang, cutting him off.
Ryan's expression changed completely—total panic. More freaked out than I'd ever seen him.
He was always cold with me, like a stone that wouldn't warm.
He hung up and started for the door, then paused when he saw me.
"Claire fell down the stairs. She's in the hospital. It's serious."
I just nodded, unfazed.
When I was in the hospital alone a few months ago, he never showed that kind of concern.
Finally, a crack appeared in Ryan's cold exterior. "I'm going to take care of her."
"Okay." I just kept packing.
He spoke again, his voice edged with anger. "If you don't agree, I'm not going."
His words held a fragile hope—would I stop him?
I pinched myself hard, the pain jolting me back to reality.
I couldn't go soft. If I wanted to save myself, I had to cut my losses now.
"It sounds pretty serious. You should go take care of her.
"Don't keep her waiting."
Ryan looked furious. He grabbed his coat and stormed out, slamming the door.
I ignored his anger and kept packing.
Ryan bought this house, but I chose every plant and piece of decor.
I used to daydream about us living here as a family of three.
I'd be pushing our daughter on the swing while Ryan had dinner ready, calling us inside.
Under the sunset, we'd be wrapped in each other's arms, watching the sky light up.
This place held all my girlish dreams and secret feelings.
It was time to leave that love behind, buried here for good.
I called the movers to erase every trace that I'd ever lived here.