Chapter 2

I dragged my suitcase through the late-night streets, walking nowhere in particular.

I called my best friend, Josephine Summers.

The one whose wedding gift I never got to give.

She picked up fast, her voice thick with sleep.

"What's wrong, Mandy?"

I opened my mouth, but my throat closed up.

The tears came without warning.

I clamped a hand over my mouth so I wouldn't make a sound.

On the other end, Josephine seemed to sense something was off.

"What happened? Where are you?"

"I… Cliff and I broke up."

My voice came out in pieces.

"What the hell!" Josephine swore. "That son of a bitch! I'm coming to get you right now. Stay put!"

Half an hour later, her car pulled up in front of me.

She jumped out and, without a word, pulled me into a tight hug.

"It's okay, it's okay. A guy like that isn't worth it."

I buried my face in her shoulder, and everything I'd held down all night finally broke loose.

Josephine didn't ask anything. She just held me, patting my back gently.

Only when I'd cried myself out did she pull me into the car.

"You're staying at my place. Whatever it is, sleep first, we'll talk after."

Her new home was huge, bought outright by her husband's family.

She found me some pajamas and poured me a cup of hot water.

"Did he do something to you? What actually happened?"

I told her everything, exactly as it happened.

From the three thousand for the wedding gift, to the hundred-dollar insult, to the screenshot of the fifty-thousand transfer.

By the time I finished, Josephine shot up off the couch.

"Cliff's no good, I damn well knew it!"

"How does he even have the nerve to hand that over? A hundred bucks? What is he, tossing coins to a beggar?"

"If you ask me, you were just the backup! Childhood sweetheart, my ass!"

She paced back and forth across the living room.

"You did the right thing this time, Mandy! What are you keeping trash like that around for?"

I cupped the mug, my hands still cold.

"I just feel… like I got cheated out of something."

"Five years together, and it turns out to be this much of a joke."

Josephine sat back down beside me and took my hands.

"The love isn't the joke. He is."

"He's the one who didn't deserve it. You gave him your whole heart."

"Don't be sad. Leave him, and you'll meet someone better."

I looked at her and forced out a smile.

"I couldn't even make it to your wedding. Didn't even give you a gift…"

Josephine smacked my arm.

"What are you talking about! Like that matters between us, after all these years?"

"Fine, if you really feel that bad about it, be my kid's godmother and load up the red envelopes!"

Her over-the-top tone made me laugh.

And some of the knot in my chest seemed to loosen too.

She was right. Wrecking my own life over a man who wasn't worth it, that was a bad deal.

That night I slept in Josephine's guest room.

No dreams.

When I woke the next morning, I pulled out my phone and saw a dozen missed calls from Cliff, plus dozens of texts.

They went from questioning and angry at first, to begging and apologizing later on.

"Where are you, Mandy? Just come home."

"I was really wrong, I messed up. Just forgive me this once, okay?"

"That place isn't a home without you."

I read through them with no expression at all, then hit delete.

And while I was at it, I blocked him everywhere.

In this world, not every "I'm sorry" earns an "it's okay" back.