CHAPTER 1 — “The Night I Should Have Left”
357 Words
I remember the exact moment everything changed.
It wasn’t loud.
No screaming. No warning.
Just silence…
and a message that wasn’t meant for me.
My phone buzzed softly beside me, lighting up the dark room.
His name.
Ethan
A small smile touched my lips as I reached for it, my heart doing that stupid little thing it always did whenever it was him.
But the moment I opened the message…
my world cracked.
“I miss you already… tonight meant everything.”
Followed by a picture.
Not of me.
My fingers froze.
My chest tightened so hard it felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“No… no, this has to be a mistake…” I whispered to myself, my voice shaking.
But deep down…
I already knew.
The bathroom door creaked open behind me.
Steam followed him out, along with the scent of his soap —the one I bought for him.
The one he said reminded him of me.
“Baby?” he said softly, drying his hair, completely unaware.
Completely normal.
Like he hadn’t just broken me without even knowing.
I turned slowly, holding up the phone with trembling hands.
“Who… is she?”
My voice didn’t sound like mine anymore.
He paused.
Just for a second.
But that second?
It told me everything.
“Why are you going through my phone?” he snapped, his tone suddenly sharp.
Not sorry.
Not guilty.
Just… angry.
And that hurt more than the cheating.
Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall.
Not yet.
“Answer me, Ethan.”
Silence.
Then
“It’s not what you think.”
I let out a broken laugh.
Because isn’t that what they always say?
“Then tell me what it is,” I whispered.
Because maybe… just maybe…
I was still hoping he’d lie in a way that would hurt less.
But instead, he sighed.
Like I was the problem.
Like I was the one who ruined everything.
And that’s when I realized something.
I wasn’t losing him.
I had already lost him.
But the saddest part?
I still loved him.
And that…
was my biggest mistake.
- Writer
