He Humiliated Me On My Birthday, I Left Him

Chapter 3

Everyone exchanged stunned looks, huddling together and whispering behind their hands.

"What the hell is going on? I thought John was totally obsessed with Lily, right?"

"Ahem, between us, that Susie is the Jackson family's only daughter. She's had a crush on John for ages."

"Oh, that makes sense! Those two are the ones who are truly well-matched in status."

"Don't you guys think Lily looks really similar to Susie? Turns out Lily was just a stand-in this whole time!"

Susie was just one of John's countless admirers. He'd never even spared her a second glance until he started dating me. By pure chance, he noticed she bore a faint resemblance to me, so he started keeping her around constantly, especially whenever we were on the rocks or in the middle of a breakup fight.

Now he'd had the nerve to bring her right to our classroom. On my birthday, no less, just to humiliate me in front of everyone. All because I hadn't caved and apologized to him soon enough.

Watching them walk away, my legs turned to jelly, and I crumpled into my chair like a rag doll. Just then, my phone buzzed once in my pocket. It was a notice from the hospital. They were cutting off my mom's medication!

I was just about to call the hospital to find out what was going on when my phone pinged again. Then another ping hit. One after another popped up. Notices from the clinical treatment department, and the inpatient unit. Every single one of my mom's medical treatments had been suspended.

There wasn't a single other person who'd pull a sick, low move like this. Only John Larson.

I shot to my feet and raced straight to the apartment we shared. It was a property John had bought close to campus, just so he could spend more time with me.

The second I pushed the door open, I saw Susie wearing my pajamas, throwing herself straight into John's arms. He didn't make a single move to push her away. If anything, he pulled her even tighter against him.

When he spotted me standing in the doorway, his expression didn't shift an inch. He just locked his gaze on my face. He was desperate to see me seethe with jealousy over him.

But my face stayed completely, unnervingly calm. "You're the one who ordered the hospital to cut off my mom's treatment."

He had no idea my hands were clenched so tight behind my back that my nails were digging deep into my palms.

John chuckled. "That was me."

He'd kept his promise, all right, just not the kind anyone would be proud of. Just because I hadn't come groveling and made the first move to patch things up with him, he'd gone and pulled the plug on my mom's care.

Watching them cuddle up so close made every breath I took ache.

When he saw I had zero intention of caving and groveling, John spoke again, his tone icy.

"And another thing. Don't bother wasting your time looking for part-time jobs. No one around here will dare hire you.

"That goes for internships after you graduate too. As long as you're in this area, no one will hire you."