A Lie for Me, a Yacht for Him?

The call ended abruptly.I turned down the reckless driver's offer to give me a ride and slowly headed toward the rundown rental. Today marked my anniversary with Julia Rivers, and it was also her birthday. I was crossing the street with her gift in hand when a speeding sedan ran into me.I was rushed to the hospital and had to get 15 stitches. I didn't want to worry Julia or miss out on celebrating her birthday, so I turned down the doctor's suggestion to stay for observation.Before I even left the hospital, I got a photo from Tobias Atwood, Julia's childhood sweetheart. "Austin, thanks for the awesome gift from you and Lia. That yacht is impressive."I was frozen in place, feeling lightheaded and disoriented.Julia always played the part of the fragile, helpless maiden as if her family was weighing her down. How the heck did she manage to buy a yacht?I called her for answers and heard the sound of glasses clinking and people cheering from the other end.Julia was obviously

The company Julia worked for was one of the top 500 in the city. She'd mentioned before that she landed an internship there and that things were only going to get better for us.Back then, I held her close and said, "Lia, I'm happy as long as I'm with you."I shook off those unwanted memories that suddenly popped up in my head and walked into the company. As expected, Julia's office was on the highest floor.I kept my face blank as I went along. The more extravagant the office looked, the more our past of relying on each other felt absurd.Julia wasn't in her office, but a photo of her with Tobias, her childhood sweetheart, was on her desk. They were hugging each other on the yacht I'd seen once and couldn't forget. Julia puckered her lips, ready to kiss Tobias on the cheek.My fingers froze up and started shaking on their own. Suddenly, it felt like all the noise just vanished, and all I could hear was my heart pounding. My blood was on fire, and it went straight to my head.I

"No way! You're lying! There's no way Austin would've been in an accident! He was acting totally normal!" Julia shot back without thinking.Mark's frustration boiled over, and he slapped the diagnosis report against her shoulder. "Stop playing dumb! Can't you read this? He's clearly sick. Are you blind, or is Tobias the only person you see?""I have no idea. I honestly don't know. He never told me anything about this…" Julia's voice trailed off. She looked at me and added regretfully, "I was still mad at him. He didn't bother to make it right or talk things out. How was I supposed to know?"Mark gritted his teeth in frustration. He probably would've slapped her if they weren't in the hospital. "You're mad at him? Seriously? You bought into every lie Tobias fed you! Austin's just someone who works his ass off to get by—how could he have set Tobias up?"Tobias claimed someone reported his company, and you instantly jumped to the conclusion it was Austin. But Austin doesn't even know

Julia saw me looking at her phone and quickly hung up.A heavy silence settled in the car.After what felt like forever, Julia tried to start a conversation. "Mark looks super tight with you! He wouldn't even let me through the door when I came by! I've been trying to make you some chicken noodle soup recently. I'm not sure if it's good. You can try it when we get back."Back when Julia and I were together, I was always the one trying to keep the conversation going. She'd respond like she couldn't care less, but I didn't mind. I used to be happy just talking to her.But now, watching her try so hard to find something to say feels like a cruel twist.I cut to the chase. "You didn't really have to hang up on him."Julia's lips twitched nervously. "Austin, that's not what I meant—"I cut her short. "We're already done. If you want to be with him, then go for it. I don't care."I kept my gaze on the scenery outside and didn't bother looking at her again. The rest of the ride was si

I turned Julia away again, and she left looking defeated.Mark called me a week later. He was laughing so hard on the other end. "You have no idea how pathetic Tobias is! After Julia cut him off, he wouldn't leave her alone—he even went to her office building and hung up a banner that said, 'Lia, forgive me!'"I felt sick just imagining that scene. "Didn't they truly love each other? How could Julia stand by and watch him make a fool of himself like this?"Mark scoffed. "Love, my ass! Didn't you see? Tobias sent a truckload of roses, but Julia didn't even look at them. She chucked a lighter onto the flowers, and before they knew it, they got reported for arson and called into the station!"I laughed from the heart, their antics just cracked me up. Nothing they did would bother me anymore.But Julia wasn't giving up. She showed up again a week later. She had sunglasses and heavy makeup, but it didn't mask how drained she was."Austin, I miss you so much," she said, tears streaming