Chapter8: Consolation
1154 Words
Every time Zara closed her eyes, she saw Jason and the woman in his bed.
She heard his words.
"You were never enough."
Those words had broken something inside her.
"Zara," Annie said softly. "You need to drink some water."
Zara shook her head.
"I'm not thirsty."
"You haven't eaten either."
"I don't want food."
Annie sighed.
"You can't punish yourself because Jason is an idiot."
Zara wiped her tears.
"Five years, Annie."
"I know."
"I gave him everything."
"And he didn't deserve any of it."
A fresh wave of tears escaped.
"I thought he was going to propose today."
Annie's heart broke for her.
She looked toward the gift box sitting quietly on the bedside table.
The watch.
The anniversary gift.
The future that would never happen.
Suddenly, the front door opened.
Voices echoed downstairs.
"Zara!" Tessa called. "We're home!"
Annie looked at Zara.
"Do you want to tell them?"
Zara immediately shook her head.
"I can't."
Before Annie could respond, footsteps approached the room.
The door opened.
Tessa entered first.
The smile on her face disappeared instantly.
"Big sis?"
Their mother stepped inside.
The moment she saw Zara's swollen eyes and tear-stained face, her expression changed.
"What happened?"
Nobody spoke.
Mrs. Banks looked at Annie.
Annie lowered her eyes.
"Jason cheated on her."
The room fell silent.
Tessa blinked.
"What?"
Mrs. Banks looked confused.
"What do you mean he cheated?"
Annie swallowed.
"Zara went to his apartment this afternoon. She found him with another woman."
Tessa's eyes widened.
"No."
"He was in bed with her."
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Mrs. Banks slowly sat beside her daughter.
"My child."
Zara finally broke.
She buried her face in her mother's lap and cried.
The pain she had been trying to contain finally poured out.
"He said he stopped loving me."
Her mother's hand moved gently through her hair.
"He said I wasn't enough."
Mrs. Banks immediately lifted her daughter's chin.
"Never say that again."
"But Mom..."
"A man cheating on you does not mean you are not enough."
Tessa stood frozen.
"Jason did this?"
Zara nodded.
Tessa's face hardened.
"I'm going to kill him."
"Tessa!" her mother warned.
"No, Mom! Five years? After everything?"
Annie folded her arms.
"I've already decided he deserves prison."
Despite her tears, Zara almost laughed.
Tessa sat beside her sister.
"I always knew he wasn't good enough for you."
"You liked him."
"I changed my mind."
Annie nodded seriously.
"Welcome to the anti-Jason club."
A weak smile appeared on Zara's face.
Mrs. Banks sighed.
"I warned you not to build your entire future around a man."
Zara lowered her eyes.
"I loved him."
"I know."
"And it hurts."
The room became quiet.
Tessa reached for her sister's hand.
"You know what this means?"
Zara looked at her.
"What?"
"He's officially dead to me."
Annie raised her hand.
"Same here."
For the first time that day, Zara laughed.
A small laugh.
A broken laugh.
But it was enough.
Mrs. Banks looked around at her daughters and Annie.
"Whatever happens, we will get through this together."
Zara looked at the people around her.
Her mother.
Her sister.
Her best friend.
The people who loved her.
Jason had broken her heart.
But he had not taken everything from her.
He had not taken her family.
He had not taken her best friend.
And he had certainly not taken the people who loved her.
Mrs. Banks gently wiped the tears from Zara's cheeks.
"My daughter, heartbreak feels like the end of the world when it first happens. But I promise you, it isn't."
Zara lowered her eyes.
"It feels like it."
"I know."
Her mother sighed softly.
"When I was younger, I also thought I couldn't survive losing someone I loved."
Zara looked up.
"You never told us that."
Mrs. Banks smiled sadly.
"There are many things mothers don't tell their children."
Even Annie looked surprised.
Tessa folded her arms.
"So you had your own heartbreak story?"
Her mother nodded.
"I thought I would marry someone else before I met your father."
The room fell silent.
"But life has a way of surprising us. Sometimes what breaks us also redirects us."
Zara listened quietly.
At that moment, those words seemed impossible to believe.
How could losing Jason possibly lead to anything good?
He had been part of her life for five years.
Five birthdays.
Five anniversaries.
Five years of dreams.
Gone.
"I still love him," Zara whispered.
Nobody judged her.
Nobody interrupted.
Mrs. Banks simply squeezed her hand.
"Love doesn't disappear overnight."
Tessa frowned.
"I don't understand how someone wakes up and suddenly stops loving another person."
Annie shook her head.
"He didn't suddenly stop loving her. He simply didn't have the courage to tell her the truth."
"And instead, he decided to humiliate her," Tessa added.
Annie nodded.
"Exactly."
Zara's eyes fell on the gift box again.
The gold watch sat quietly on the bedside table.
The gift she had saved for.
The gift she had imagined placing on Jason's wrist.
She slowly reached for it.
Her fingers trembled.
"I spent almost all my savings buying this."
Tessa looked angry again.
"Please tell me we're returning it."
Annie immediately agreed.
"We are absolutely returning it."
A small smile appeared on Zara's lips.
"I don't even know if they'll accept it."
"If they don't," Tessa said, "I'll wear it."
Everyone laughed.
The laughter was brief.
But it was enough.
The heavy atmosphere in the room softened slightly.
Mrs. Banks stood up.
"I'm going to make tea."
"You don't have to, Mom."
"I know. But tea fixes many things."
Annie smiled.
"Your mother is right."
As Mrs. Banks left the room, Tessa moved closer to her sister.
"Can I ask you something?"
Zara nodded.
"Did he at least look guilty?"
The memory returned.
Jason standing beside another woman.
His cold expression.
His cruel words.
She shook her head.
"No."
Tessa's jaw tightened.
"He'll regret it."
Annie looked at her.
"You're very committed to this revenge plan."
"Absolutely."
"Tessa."
"What? I'm just saying. One day he'll see you with someone better and he'll cry."
Zara sighed.
"I don't want revenge."
"What do you want?"
Zara thought for a moment.
She didn't know.
This morning, she had wanted a proposal.
A future.
A husband.
Now she wanted only one thing.
"I just want the pain to stop."
The room became quiet again.
Annie wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"It won't stop today."
"Or tomorrow," Mrs. Banks said as she returned with a tray.
"But one day, you'll wake up and it won't hurt as much."
Zara accepted the cup of tea.
The warmth spread through her hands.
Outside, the evening sky had grown dark.
The day that had begun with excitement had ended in heartbreak.
But as she sat surrounded by her family and her best friend, Zara realized something important.
She had fallen.
But she had people willing to help her stand again.
- Writer
