2: Avery’s POV

“Elias?”

My voice barely comes out.

He jerks upright in bed, eyes wide, face draining of color.

“What the hell? Avery? What are you doing here?”

The woman beside him doesn’t bother feeling ashamed.

She just looks at me with a smug little smirk like she’s amused.

“Elias?” I could barely breathe. “Wha….I don’t understand what’s happening. Who is this? What’s going on?”

“Avery,” Elias starts, scrambling for the sheets. “You shouldn’t have come here”

But the woman cuts him off with a bored sigh.

“Ugh, is this her? Seriously?”

She swings her legs over the edge of the bed like she owns the place. “

You didn’t tell me she was… this. I mean, honestly Elias, of all the girls on the planet? This ugly chick was your pick”

Her gaze slides down my body like she’s assessing trash someone left at the door.

Elias grabs his pants and shoves his legs into them.

“Avery, what are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me that you were on your way?”

My fingers tighten around the hem of my sweater.

“I came to be with my boyfriend… I came so we could go out and celebrate our anniversary.”

The woman laughs.

It sounds just as cruel as that of Claudia and Dalia.

“Anniversary? Awww, Elias You didn’t tell me you were still dating your maid.”

“I’m not dating her!” Elias snaps.

That one sentence hits harder than anything Claudia said today.

Harder than Dalia’s mockery.

Harder than the high heels and lingerie scattered across the floor that belongs to this naked, awful woman.

“You…..what? What did you just say, Elias?” My lips tremble.

He avoids my eyes completely.

“We’re done, Avery. I told you things were getting complicated.”

“That’s not possible. We’ve been together since we were kids”

“Yeah, well maybe it’s about time that we grew up”

I couldn’t believe that I was hearing this. There was no way that this was real. This was not the man that I had loved with all that I had.

“Elias…..you said you loved me. We love each other. Together forever. You promised!”

“That was before I realized that you were never going to be someone I could show my people”

Never someone he could show his people?

Oh.

So he was ashamed of me? How could I have been so blind.

“You said that you loved me just the way that I was and you weren’t ashamed of me”

“I know…..”

“You lied to me!! You lied!!”

“Yes, Avery I lied! And that’s my fault but come on, ” he tried to touch me but I moved away, “You can’t expect me to still date you. We’re not on the same level anymore”

“You don’t mean that”

“It’s like you never wanted to be better. You’re just stuck in your pathetic life and I am above all of that”

“You’re dumping me?”

“Yeah. And honestly, I should’ve done this sooner,” he mutters.

The woman gets up, sauntering across the room, not even bothering to cover her perfect, toned body.

She walks straight up to me, leans close, and snatches the house key from my trembling hand.

“This? Yeah, I don’t think that you will be needing it anymore.” She winks. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll take good care of him.”

I jerk back as she closes the distance, practically pushing me into the hallway.

When I don’t move fast enough, she shoves harder.

“I think it’s about time you leave.”

“What are you…..”

“ Get Out. Now.” She yells at me while pointing to the door.

“Wait…..Just stop it please ” I look at Elias, desperate, crying, shaking. “Elias, please. We’ve been together for years. You can’t just do this to me”

He runs a frustrated hand through his hair.

“Avery, please don’t make this embarrassing. Just go home.”

Embarrassing.

Embarrassing?

Like I’m the shameful one.

Is that all I am? An embarrassment? Nothing but a silly mistake that desperately needs to be done away with?

The woman shoved me outside while Elias watches.

The door slams in my face.

I bang on it and scream for Elias to come out and please talk to me so we can sort this out.

Nothing.

I stare at the door.

For seconds.

Minutes.

My chest hurts so badly I can’t breathe.

The key.

The anniversary.

The surprise dinner.

All of it—

Worthless now.

Just like me.

Worthless and good for absolutely nothing. What was the point of living is this is the kind of life I am destined for?

My legs move on autopilot.

Down the stairs, out of the building, into my car. My vision is already blurring from tears, but I don’t care.

I start the engine.

“He never loved me.”

The words fall out.

“He never… he never loved me.”

My chest tightens until I can barely suck in air.

I speed onto the road, gripping the wheel so tightly my knuckles go numb.

“Stupid. Stupid. Stupid!!!! YOU FAT, UGLY, DUMB BITCH!!!! Who is ever going to love you?! Nobody will ever love you!”

Another sob rips out of me.

“Nobody will ever love me!! I’m worthless. I can’t keep living like this!”

I can’t see, I sure as hell can’t think, and everything hurts.

The images play in my head like a cruel movie: Her perfect body and His annoyed face. Of course he left me for someone like her.

Who wouldn’t?

The way he said we’re done and the way she took my key.

He said I was embarrassing myself? Because I was trying to save ten years of a love he was more than willing to toss away.

Tears blur the headlights ahead.

I blink hard. Once, twice, but my vision only gets worse and the tears won’t stop.

The last thing I see is bright white light sweeping across my lane.

A horn blares.

I scream as I try to regain control of the car and then I hear the crash, feel the impact of my car coming in contact with something at top speed and then everything goes black.