Chapter 1— Broken Promises
1351 Words
~ Ophelia’s POV ~
I didn't expect my life to go downhill within a day. I'd planned so much with my fiance, Oswald, and our wedding was even coming up in six months but he ruined everything.
“Ugh, my feet are dead!” Nadia groaned, kicking against the pole by the sidewalk. Her nurse's shoes squeaked. “I swear, if one more patient throws up on me, I’m quitting.”
I laughed, hugging my bag close. “You? Quit? Please. You’d miss those old grannies who call you their angel. Don’t lie.”
She pouted but smiled. “Okay, fine. Maybe I would. But I really do need a massage. My back feels like a ninety-year-old’s.”
“Then marry a rich guy who’ll pay for a private spa.”
“Ha! As if those exist in this city,” she shot back, bumping me with her elbow. “What about you? Has Oswald proposed yet?”
“Not yet. But he promised six months from now. Said we’d have a little wedding. We’re even saving up.” I yapped.
“Mm-hm.” Nadia gave me a look that said she didn’t believe a word. But she didn’t push it, and that’s why I loved her.
Nadia never liked Oswald. She never hid it either. She always listened when I complained about him, his mood swings, his sudden changes. Sometimes she gave me advice, sometimes she didn’t. She always seemed to know when to let me vent without saying anything.
We walked a little further soon we reached the corner where we usually split. She lived two blocks down by the hospital dorms while I stayed further out in a tiny apartment Oswald and I often shared.
“Go eat your wings before Oswald steals them,” Nadia teased, waving me off.
“See you tomorrow,” I called, lifting the bag of takeout.
My stomach growled as the smell of stir fried chicken leaked from the bag. I smiled to myself, picturing Oswald’s face when I surprised him. It was our little routine. I’d stop by and get wings, after a long day at work and we’d sit together, eat, and talk about our future. He always said one day we’d laugh about how broke we were when we finally had our wedding.
But tonight, the laughter never came.
His apartment door wasn’t locked. Strange. He always locked it, even when he was home.
“Oswald?” I called, pushing it open.
A sound answered me.
A moan.
I froze mid steps, unsure I'd heard right. My fingers went numb around the bag of chicken, grease starting to leak through the paper.
I heard a louder moan and the sound of clapping cheeks.
No.
I pushed the door ready to yell at whoever friend of Oswald's was f*****g a girl in his apartment.
But the sight I met with? Stunned me. There he was, Oswald, the man I thought was my forever, naked and moving over a girl on the couch.
Her face turned, hair sticking to her cheek, and my world crashed.
“Clara?” My voice cracked.
She smirked, not even bothering to cover herself. “Oh, hey, Ophelia.”
I smirked in hurt and disbelief. Oswald was f*****g my junior colleague, Clara? The very one I'd helped when she first arrived at the office?
Oswald scrambled off her like a guilty dog, grabbing for the nearest shirt. “Baby, wait, this isn’t…”
“Don’t you dare!” I hissed, tears already burning my eyes.
Clara crossed her arms. “Don’t act so surprised, Ophelia, Oswald told me everything, he said you’re boring in bed. Guess he was right.”
She laughed hysterically.
I shook my head, backing away as Oswald stumbled toward me. “No, Ophelia, listen, it’s not like that. I was drunk, I was stupid…”
“Drunk?” I snapped. “You’re sober right now, Oswald!”
He grabbed at my arm, his eyes wide, desperate. “Don’t leave me, baby. Please. You know I can’t live without you. I’ll, I’ll kill myself if you walk out that door!”
I stared at him in disbelief as he lied to me one last time. All those nights I spent dreaming about a ring, a dress, a future,all shattered.
I shoved the bag of chicken against his chest. “Go to hell, Oswald.”
Then I walked out the door slamming it so hard the ground shook.
By the time I reached Nadia’s, I was shaking so badly I couldn’t even knock properly. She opened the door in her pajamas, her hair a mess.
“Ophelia?” Her face fell as soon as she saw my tears.
I collapsed into her arms, sobbing. “He, he was with Clara. My own junior at work. Four years, Nadia. I gave him four years. We saved every penny together, dreaming of a wedding, and this is what I get?”
She held me tighter, rubbing circles on my back. “Oh, sweetie. I’m so sorry.”
I cried harder, words tumbling out like broken glass. “I built my whole life around him. I trusted him with everything. And he mocked me with her. How could he do this to me, Nadia?.”
Nadia pulled me to sit down, letting me bury my face in her lap as she stroked my hair. “He doesn’t deserve you, Ophelia and you know it. Let him rot with Clara. You’ll be fine soonest, I promise.”
But promises sounded empty now.
I sniffled, nodding because deep down I knew she was right after all, Oswald didn't deserve me and I'd been putting up with his nonsense all these years.
My phone vibrated on the table, and through blurry eyes I opened the banking app.
I almost had a seizure.
The account balance blinked up at me. Zero.
He’d cleared it. Every single cent in our joint account.
I dropped the phone with a trembling hand. My tears stopped, not because the pain was gone, but because it was too heavy to cry anymore.
Nadia gasped. “Ophelia…”
I stared at the wall, my voice hollow. “He took everything.”
“Ophelia,” Nadia said calmly, almost whispering, “I’ll lend you money. As much as I can. Please don't let him break you like this.”
I shook my head. “It’s not about the money, Nadia. It’s about trust. He promised me a future. He promised me we’d make it through. I believed him. And now…” My voice cracked again.
“And now he showed you who he really is.” Nadia’s voice hardened. “A coward. A liar. A thief. And you, my dear friend, are free from him.”
Free. The word tasted bitter. Was I really free, or was I just broken?
I sat up slowly, wiping my face with the back of my sleeve. “What am I supposed to do now? I have rent, bills, food. And Clara, she’s still in my office. I’ll have to see her every day.”
Nadia’s expression darkened. “Then you look her in the eye and act like she’s nothing. Because that’s what she is. Nothing. Don’t give her the satisfaction of seeing you hurt.”
I wanted to believe her, to be strong. But deep inside, all I felt was emptiness.
My phone buzzed again. A text.
Oswald: Please come back. I’m sorry. Don’t leave me like this. You’re all I have.
I stared at the screen in disbelief, He had the audacity to beg after destroying everything.
I typed with shaking hands.
We’re done. Don’t ever contact me again.
Then I blocked his number, to hell with him.
“That’s my girl.” Nadia said, hugging me tight.
I leaned my back against the couch, feeling like I’d aged years in a single night.
Broken promises. That’s all Oswald ever gave me, and now,now I had to figure out how to live without him. Worse, he'd cleared everything.
And just like that, my life was ruined in a day.
- Writer
