Chapter 1
Eager for a taste of wedded bliss ahead of time, I persuaded Charles Reed to embark on a pre-wedding honeymoon to the enchanting Franko Land.
The moment our feet touched the ground at the international airport, Charles claimed that his childhood sweetheart, Emily Lane, had gotten plastered at a bar. Without so much as a backward glance, he deserted me in the heart of Franko Land, where I was as lost as a lamb without a clue of the native tongue.
Adrift in an unfamiliar land, I soon found myself wandering aimlessly. To make matters worse, a vagrant swooped in and made off with my luggage, leaving me looking like a total wreck.
There I was, at the police station, trying to piece together my story for the officers. And that was when I spotted Emily's post.
A picture of her and Charles, hands clasped tightly, was accompanied by a caption that stabbed me right in the heart: [True love means never leaving your side when you're in the lurch.]
That simple post shattered the last remnants of my hope.
Without hesitation, I cut Charles out of my life and called the whole wedding off.
*****
When Charles left, all he said was, "Emily needs me."
He ditched me at the airport in a foreign country, staring at a bunch of signs I could barely make sense of.
I was pissed, but I was also worried something might've happened to Emily, so I bit my tongue and didn't start a fight right then and there.
Later, I even reached out to ask if she was okay.
But Charles never replied.
Walking alone through the unfamiliar streets of Franko Land, I got lost almost right away. To make things worse, a homeless guy snatched my suitcase right in front of me.
Luckily, the cops showed up just in time and took me back to the station.
But with the language barrier, I couldn't even explain what had happened.
On top of that, I ended up with some nasty scrapes from falling during the scuffle. Shaking from pain and fear, I was crying my eyes out while desperately calling Charles for help.
Every time I called, all I got was a busy signal.
By the time I was crying my eyes out, barely able to breathe, I saw Emily post on her feed.
Her fingers were locked with a large, slender hand, the whole scene bathed in the dim glow of a bar.
The caption said: [True love means never leaving your side when you're in the lurch.]
My heart shattered—I lost it completely and broke down sobbing.
I blew up his WhatsApp with message after message, demanding to know what the hell was going on.
It wasn't until way past midnight that Charles finally bothered to reply.
[Good, you're fine. Be sensible.]
Just those five words. I tried calling him again, but he still ignored me.
Not once did he consider how lost and alone I felt in a foreign country, desperate for someone to lean on. With my crappy local language, even buying a bottle of water felt like climbing a mountain.
Right then and there, I blocked him on WhatsApp. No hesitation, no regrets.
I locked myself away in my hotel room for the next few days, licking my wounds—inside and out.
Charles didn't bother to call until the day before I was supposed to fly back home.
Not a word about me blocking him—he just told me he'd be at the airport to pick me up tomorrow, like nothing ever happened.
Just like every other time we fought, he'd always brush things off and avoid talking about our problems, acting like if we just pretended nothing was wrong, we could keep going like usual.
Before, I would've just let it slide and played along.
But this time, I just felt numb.
After being on my own in a strange country these past few days, I'd already made up my mind to really rethink our relationship.
But some things were better said face to face.
So I set the pickup time with him.
As we were about to hang up, he said, "Goodnight," which was rare for him.
I didn't bother replying, just hung up.
Right before bed, I took Charles off my block list.