After He Ghosted Me, I Left for Australia

Chapter 3

Georgia stared at that line of text, an uncontrollable, sharp throbbing pain twisting in her chest.

She and Felix had been together for years, but they'd never crossed that final line. Felix had told her once, "Georgia, I want to save my first time for after we're married", and out of respect for his wishes, she'd white-knuckled it through all those years of pent-up, fiery desire, no matter how badly she ached.

But now? All she could do was laugh bitterly at how stupid she'd been.

She stared at the photo over and over in a masochistic cycle, until the stabbing pain in her heart went completely numb. She pressed the power button to black out the screen, then set Felix's phone back exactly where she'd found it.

When Felix came back to the table, he spotted Georgia sitting there zoned out, and asked, "You okay?"

Georgia gave a small shake of her head.

Felix reached out and pushed the freshly served mango juice across the table toward her. "Quit overthinking all that garbage that's bringing you down. C'mon, their mango juice here is super fresh. Give it a try."

Georgia didn't move. She just said softly, "I'm allergic to mangoes."

Felix's face went white in an instant. He was just about to say something when Georgia flagged down the waiter nearby.

"Hi there, could you swap this for a glass of watermelon juice, please?" she asked.

Felix froze. He suddenly remembered the last time he'd mixed up her preferences. She'd gotten so furious that he'd had to grovel and sweet-talk her for a whole week before she'd forgiven him.

Just then, Georgia turned back to look at him, her expression perfectly calm. "I glanced at the menu just now. Wanna try that escargot dish they have?"

Felix shoved down the uneasy twist in his gut, and said gently, "Georgia, tomorrow's our 16th anniversary of meeting each other. Wanna come with me to the Sydney Opera House?"

Georgia went quiet for a beat, dazed.

Sixteen years...

That was most of her entire life so far, wrapped up in this man.

It only took her a moment to meet his soft, loving gaze and nod.

After they finished eating, Felix drove Georgia back to her university campus. Once she got back to her dorm, she stared at all the gifts from him scattered around the room, grabbed a black trash bag, and stuffed every last piece of it inside.

When she headed downstairs, she was caught off guard to see Felix still standing there by the building entrance, waiting.

Their eyes locked.

Felix spoke first, "What's all that?"

Georgia's face didn't shift even a little. "Just some useless junk," she said flatly.

Felix held out a hand to her. "Hand it over, I'll toss it for you."

Georgia looked at him, and suddenly let out a small, dry laugh. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

It was only fitting, after all, he was the one who'd given her those gifts in the first place, so him tossing them out with his own hands made perfect sense.

Felix dumped the whole bag into the trash can, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his tone fond and doting. "If you don't want something, just throw it out. My girl deserves the best of everything. Whatever you want, your boyfriend will get you anything you want down the line, okay?"

Georgia huffed a quiet laugh. He was right about one thing: she definitely didn't want any of that stuff anymore. But she wouldn't be needing him to buy her anything else, ever again.

She didn't want to linger on this pointless topic, so she asked casually, "Wait, why haven't you left yet?"

Before Felix could answer, a female voice rang out from behind the two of them.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Stone? These are the clothes Ms. Pembroke asked me to give you. All brand new."

Georgia's eyes darted over with a reflex. Inside the clear plastic bag were a whole assortment of school uniforms. A sharp, stabbing pain twisted through her chest then. A familiar term popped into her head all at once: 'role play.'

Felix took the clothes from the girl, a flicker of hungry heat flashed across his eyes before he offered an explanation. "Ophelia and her brother had just invested in a few college web series recently. They need these for the shoots."

Georgia stared at him, struck by a cold, sudden thought. The man who had stood by her side for sixteen whole years was a total stranger to her, now.

She fought down the wave of nausea churning in her stomach. "Got it."

Felix tossed the clothes into his car with a soft thud and turned back to her. "Alright, I'll head out now. I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

Watching him rush off, clearly desperate to get away, Georgia curled her lip in a sharp, mocking smile and turned to walk back into the dorm building.

The next day dawned bright and sunny.

Felix was waiting right on time at the school gate. Georgia pulled open the passenger side door, only to come face to face with Ophelia, who was sitting there in a uniform.

Bright, glaring hickeys stood out starkly on her neck as she waved at Georgia.

"Hey, Georgia! I pestered Felix for ages before he caved and let me tag along to the Opera House with you two. Is that okay?"