I watched Dahlia freeze in the doorway. Her tears kept falling, each drop trembling with a choked sob.
“Dahlia,” I said quietly. “I’m your boyfriend, not someone you ‘waste time on.’ You can’t call spending time with me a burden. Why is it that with your friends, with Gideon, it’s always 'hang out'—playing together, eating together—yet when it comes to me, it all turns to 'spending time'?”
Not satisfied yet, I kept going. “When you’re with Gideon, it’s called relaxing. Even when you’re exhausted, you’ll stay up to game with him, go camping with him, unwind with him. But the moment I ask you to talk when I can’t sleep, suddenly I’m the villain who won’t let you rest!”
“A relationship is between two people, so why does it feel like you’re just doing me a favor?!” I lamented.
I had completely unraveled that night—shaking, hysterical. And finally, I told her, “If you walk out that door, it’s over between us! As long as you go, we’re done!”
I saw her look at me then, her expression complicated. After a moment of hesitation, she took a step toward me.
My heart leapt. I thought maybe she finally heard me. Maybe she finally chose me over him. Perhaps the scales tipped in my favor.
Then Gideon called. He asked if she’d left yet, if she was on her way. He even laughed and said, “Dahlia, everyone’s joking that you’re too scared to come because Spencer controls you. I defended you, you know? Told them you’d definitely come, that you’re not scared of your boyfriend. You won’t let me down, right?”
And without hesitation, she stepped back.
Before hanging up, she told him, “I’ll be there soon.”
Then she gave me a cold look and walked toward the door.
I called her name, but she didn’t even turn around.
All she said was, “Break up? Sure. Fine. Let’s break up. Whoever takes it back is an asshole.”
She then slammed the door so hard the walls shook. The whole apartment echoed with the smell of the dinner I’d cooked for her—mocking me, reminding me how pathetic my wishful thinking was.
That night, I sat at the table staring at all of her favorite dishes. Then I watched Gideon’s updates on social media, one after another: videos of him and Dahlia shoulder to shoulder, singing duet love songs; drinking from linked glasses; and laughing as their friends cheered and pushed them into a hug.