He Chose Her,I Chose Out

Chapter 5: We're Done

(Juliette's POV)

My phone slipped out of my hand, hit the floor with a small c***k.

I stood in the shadow of the hallway, tears sliding down my face without a sound. I didn't even have the strength left to cry out loud.

My mind pulled up an old memory I didn't ask for. Years ago, I'd twisted my ankle. It wasn't even bad. But Dominic's eyes went red anyway. He didn't say a word, just crouched down and put me on his back, carried me all the way to the nurse's office.

After we got married, there were women who faked injuries just to get close to him. Every single time, he brushed them off cold. Never gave them a second look.

I used to think that kind of care only belonged to me.

Now I was watching those same hands, the ones that used to go red-eyed just for me, holding up another woman.

My chest felt like someone had it in a fist, squeezing tighter and tighter until it went numb.

My phone buzzed. A text from Dominic.

*Wrapped up at the office. Wait for me, I'll come pick you up.*

I stared at the screen. There was a rock sitting on my chest, so heavy I could barely breathe.

I didn't think about it. I typed back two words.

*Don't bother.*

At some point it started raining outside. I didn't call a car. I just walked, no direction, down the wet street. The rain soaked through my coat and the hem of my dress in minutes. Cold pressed against my skin. I didn't feel any of it.

When I got home, I took a shower. Then I walked to the calendar in my study and drew a hard X through today's date.

I counted the squares left. Twenty-seven days.

Twenty-seven days and I could leave this place that was choking the life out of me.

*Let Dominic have his Bianca,* I told myself. *Let them have each other.*

That night I barely slept. My head throbbed in waves, my forehead burning, the rest of me freezing. Half-asleep, I reached across the bed and my fingers hit cold sheets.

That coldness snapped me awake.

Dominic wasn't home.

I didn't want to think about where he was. I didn't let myself.

Something bitter sat in my throat, and I couldn't swallow it down. I bit my lip, pushed the blanket off, got dressed, and called a car to the hospital by myself.

I checked in alone. Waited for my number alone. Sat in the exam room and answered the doctor's questions alone. Pushed my own IV stand down the hallway looking for a seat.

Just a cold. Nothing serious.

I watched the fluid drip down the line, one drop at a time, and thought about how the old Dominic would've fallen apart if he knew I came here alone with a fever.

The IV wasn't done yet when I decided to get some water from the vending machine down the hall. I pushed my stand out of the room and froze in the doorway.

Down the hallway, Dominic had his arm around Bianca, walking slow. They were close. His head was bent toward her, and his face had that look. That look I knew too well. The one he only got when he actually cared about someone.

My feet stopped working. My eyes burned.

Bianca saw me first. She tightened her grip on his arm and tilted her face up, playing weak, and asked if I wasn't feeling well.

Dominic went stiff. Then he pulled away from her so fast she almost stumbled. He walked over to me, voice rushed.

"I just finished up with work. Ran into Bianca in the parking garage, some drunk guys had her cornered. I helped her out, then brought her in to get checked."

"Where's her assistant?" I asked, flat. "Why did it have to be you?"

Bianca stood where she was, eyes down, dabbing at the corner of her eye with a tissue.

"My assistant wasn't there," she said, soft. "I was so scared, all alone like that. If it wasn't for Dominic..." She let out a shaky breath. "He was so kind to bring me in and get me checked out. I'm really grateful."

Every word out of her mouth sounded like gratitude. Every word was really aimed at me.

My chest ached, a dull thud. I didn't say anything.

Dominic shot Bianca a cold look. Then he took my arm.

"She's just the company's spokesperson," he said, low. "There's a contract, that's it. I wouldn't look at her twice otherwise."

Bianca's face went through colors, pale then red. Tears kept coming anyway. She bit her lip.

"I'm just a spokesperson," she said. "Not worth Juliette's time."

She limped away, favoring one leg.

Dominic frowned, something bothering him, but he pushed it down and walked me back to my room. He asked the nurse about my medication, sent someone out for soup and a sandwich, and sat by the bed feeding me spoonful by spoonful.

My phone lit up. An i********: notification. Bianca.

I opened it without thinking. In the video, she pouted at the camera, said she'd had a rough day, but someone important had promised to make it up to her. Told everyone to wait for a surprise.

The comments were brutal. She just kept smiling, sure of herself.

Then, outside the window, on the roof of a building nearby, lights exploded into the night sky. A drone show. Hundreds of lights drifting, shifting, finally locking into words across the dark.

Someone had rented out an entire rooftop for this. Hired a whole team. It was lit up for the entire city to see.

I lifted my eyes slowly and looked toward the balcony outside my room. Dominic stood there, back to me, looking down at his phone. There was a smile on his face I hadn't seen in a long time. Soft. Loose. Unguarded.

I knew right away whose idea that light show was.

My hand tightened around my phone until my knuckles went white.

I watched him for a long time. Then I closed my eyes, pushed the half-eaten sandwich aside, and said I felt sick, didn't want any more.

I turned over, back to him.

The memory came again, uninvited. My birthday. Dominic rented out a whole rooftop, put on a light show just like that one. Everyone told me how lucky I was. I believed it too.

Now that same gift, the one that used to be only mine, had gone to someone else. Just to make her smile.

My eyes went wet at the corners. I didn't move.

A minute later Dominic came back inside from the balcony. He wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"Don't be angry anymore," he murmured, his voice soft and coaxing. "You can punish me however you like, just please don't be upset with me."

It landed in my ears like a joke.

I slowly pulled his hand off my waist and pushed myself up to sit. I was quiet for a second.

"What are you planning to do," I said, "about Bianca's contract?"