tled over me, push

my voice devoid of emotion. "That graduation pho

n the other end of the line.

lking about," Chloe stammered, he

just the reliable, boring software engineer. The safe bet.

er laugh. "I hope he li

she snapped, her defensiveness returning.

dn't sting anymore. It was just a labe

jealous. I'm just... disappointed.

ng to placate me, to manage the situation. She always believed she could talk

surd, so insulting,

nk after this, we

ogic. "It would just be so awkward if we were on bad terms. We hav

broken arm. Not my shattered heart. Not the five years of my life she

of it was what finally severed the l

to meet my eyes while I was being called a stalker. I thought a

nce asked i

ce asked abo

a single shred of conc

times she' d said "I love you," all those little moments of intima

tience in her voice. "Just say it's okay. Let's

te plaster. I thought about the so

the word sim

do you m

iends," I said. "An

h. "Have a good lif

e she could try to manipulate m

r. I blocked Mark's number. I went onto my social media apps and block

over. F

-