He posted as if he was streaming just for me, or as if he was flaunting something in my face, saying, “Spencer, what can you possibly compete with?”
I forced myself to eat the food that tasted like cardboard, stuffing myself until my stomach felt like it would burst. Then I ran to the bathroom and threw up until the room spun.
After crying myself hoarse, I ended up in the ER with gastritis and was put on IV fluids for three days.
During those three days, I watched Gideon post even more: them going diving together, surfing together, hiking together, and even attending the live comedy show I’d always wanted to see but never got the chance to go to.
In every post, the comments exploded with excitement, asking when Gideon would “officially take over,” when Dahlia would finally dump me.
And Gideon would reply with stickers, one after another, [Just wait.]
And in every post, Dahlia gave him a like.
She saw everything.
She wasn’t unaware; she was allowing it. She let Gideon step all over my pain, let him mock me, let the world laugh at my heartbreak.
Because in her eyes, this was the price I deserved to pay for upsetting her.
Spencer's POV
I understood Dahlia.
Just like every other time we fought, I would always be the one begging her to forgive me. I’d lower my pride again and again, pleading just to stay together, because the thought of losing her used to drive me insane. I truly believed I’d keep repeating that cycle forever just like before.
But when I got out of the hospital and saw her on Gideon’s social media, standing beside him, watching the sunrise, with a caption: [Some people will always shield you from the wind and rain.]
Something inside me just let go.
I suddenly didn’t care anymore about who she valued more—me or Gideon. I didn’t even care about her. I realized it had been a long time since I genuinely thought of her at all.
And now, looking at them, Gideon still seething and Dahlia waiting for me to fold like I always did, the same scene replaying as it had so many times before.
I took a step back and said, “I don’t need it anymore.”
“Dahlia,” I said, watching her expression twist in shock. “I don’t need you to give me anything.”
My voice stayed calm as I let out those words. It was as if I had finally seen my own heart clearly, as if I had really, truly moved on.