CHAPTER 2 — “You Chose Her”
562 Words
The room felt smaller.
Like the walls were closing in on me…
like there wasn’t enough air left for the both of us.
“It’s not what you think.”
His words echoed in my head again.
Over and over.
Lies always sounded the same.
“Then explain it,” I said, my voice trembling despite how hard I tried to stay strong.
I wasn’t going to cry.
Not in front of him.
Not again.
Ethan ran his hand through his hair, pacing like he was the one stressed.
“I didn’t plan this, okay?”
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
“You didn’t plan to cheat?” I asked quietly.
“That’s not what I said!”
His voice rose.
And just like that…
I flinched.
⸻
Silence fell between us again.
Heavy. Painful.
“How long?” I asked.
This time… softer.
Scared of the answer.
⸻
He didn’t respond immediately.
And that delay?
It shattered me more than anything.
“…A few months.”
My heart dropped.
“A few… months?” I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper.
All those nights he said he was “busy”…
All those calls he ignored…
All those times I blamed myself for being “too much”…
It wasn’t me.
It was her.
Tears finally slipped down my cheeks, but I didn’t wipe them.
I wanted him to see what he did to me.
“Do you love her?” I asked.
The question I was afraid of the most.
Ethan looked at me.
Really looked at me.
And for a second… I saw guilt.
But it wasn’t enough.
“I don’t know.”
That was it.
That was the moment something inside me broke completely.
I nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” he repeated, confused.
“Yeah,” I said, grabbing my bag with shaky hands.
“Because I do know something.”
I looked him dead in the eyes.
And for the first time…
I didn’t feel weak.
“I deserve better.”
He scoffed. “You’re overreacting—”
“Am I?” I cut in, my voice suddenly stronger.
“You lied to me. You cheated on me. And somehow I’m still standing here trying to understand you.”
He didn’t speak.
“I loved you,” I said, my voice cracking now.
“I really did.”
Past tense.
That word hit him.
I saw it.
I walked toward the door, each step feeling heavier than the last.
Like I was leaving behind a version of myself that would never come back.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
I paused.
My hand on the door.
“Somewhere I can breathe.”
And then…
I walked out.
The cold night air hit my face instantly.
And that’s when it happened.
I broke.
Tears poured down uncontrollably as I walked aimlessly down the street, my vision blurred, my chest aching like it was being ripped apart.
I didn’t care who saw me.
I didn’t care about anything anymore.
Until—
“Hey… are you okay?”
I froze.
A voice.
Soft. Concerned.
Different.
I looked up slowly… wiping my tears.
And that’s when I saw him.
A stranger.
Standing under the streetlight.
Watching me like I mattered.
And for the first time that night…
I didn’t feel completely alone.
- Writer
