Chapter 2

The tears wouldn't stop, and my heart felt like it was being ripped apart.

Those toxic, humiliating words kept echoing in my head.

They shattered my years of devotion into a million pieces.

If I hadn't overheard them today, I probably would have kept deluding myself. I would have believed he was just "bad at expressing himself."

It turned out he didn't care about love at all.

The sweet words were fake. The promises were fake. The only real thing was his utter lack of respect for me.

Everything I had done for him was just a joke to them.

I sat on the cold stairs, hugging my knees, shaking as I sobbed.

My throat felt raw, and my heart was hollow.

A few minutes later, my phone vibrated.

It was a text from Austin.

[Why are you late for work? Exhausted from last night?]

[Let’s do it again tonight. Same place.]

[I'm a bit tight on cash this week. You book the hotel this time.]

[Did you take the Plan B yet? Take it early. I don't like using condoms anyway, it doesn't feel as good.]

[Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to my teammate. He’s my best friend.]

I stared at the screen with empty eyes.

Last night, from the moment we entered the room, he couldn't wait. It was non-stop.

Even when I clearly told him I was in pain, he didn't care. He just said, *"It's always like this the first time. You'll get used to it. To make it better for you, I won't wear a condom. Just take the pill afterward."*

*"Birth control is actually good for your skin anyway. You know, like regulating your hormones."*

He had rambled on about how terrible abortions were and how hard it was to be a single mom.

At the time, I thought he was being responsible and caring.

Now, I realized it was just pure selfishness.

Once the tears ran dry, my mind became terrifyingly clear.

I stood up, adjusted my clothes, and went to the restroom to wash my face.

Since things had already reached this point, I needed to minimize the damage.

I walked down to the pharmacy on the corner, bought the Plan B pill, and swallowed it dry.

As soon as the pill went down, I felt like all the energy had been drained from my body.

Austin and I were childhood friends. This wasn't just a brief office romance. We had known each other for over ten years.

When we were kids playing house, we held hands and promised we’d be together forever.

In every version of my future, he was there.

I had never imagined a life without him.

But now, I had to.

I called in sick for the rest of the day and went home.

Late that night, my coworker Chloe sent me a message on Snapchat.

[Clara, why didn't you come to the happy hour tonight? Austin is practically throwing himself at Amber from the marketing department. You need to come and claim your man!]

Along with the text, she sent a video.