Chapter 2

My phone buzzed with another notification. Lawrence had posted on Facebook.

The photo showed a locked front door, captioned: You can't spoil a woman who won't listen. If she doesn't want to break up, she'd better get on her knees and beg.

At some point, he'd unblocked me. The post was meant for my eyes.

I could feel his smugness through the screen.

The comments were even better.

"Lawrence, you're a role model for all men."

"Even a woman as gorgeous as Camilla gets trained like a dog by you."

"Lawrence, give me some pointers, quick. My girlfriend just dragged me by the ear and beat me up."

"Your sweet little girlfriend must be so heartbroken right now, waiting for you to come comfort her. Too bad she's in for a disappointment."

One profile stood out, a girl named Anna. It stood out because her picture and Lawrence's formed a matching couple set.

She was his "close friend" from the bar, and the reason behind our fight and this breakup.

Because I'd seen the photos she sent him, several shots of lingerie, asking him to pick the prettiest one.

Lawrence took the task seriously, even telling her that sheer black panties would look stunning in bed.

I confronted him about why he was picking out lingerie for another woman.

But he didn't care at all. "It's just underwear, what's the big deal? Stores don't put up 'no men allowed' signs on the lingerie section. Camilla, if you're going to get jealous over something like this, then there's no point in us being together."

Just because I objected to him shopping for another woman's underwear, he broke up with me again.

This time, I didn't think I was wrong, so I didn't rush to apologize. And I wasn't planning to.

The comments kept piling up. Riding high on the attention, Lawrence started a group video call on Messenger.

He even pulled me into it, not recognizing my profile picture or name. That's how little I mattered to him.

But only he and Anna connected.

"Hey baby, miss me?"

That was the first time I'd ever heard the word "baby" come out of Lawrence's mouth. He'd never called me anything but "Camilla."

Anna tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled coyly. "I just ordered takeout and I have to go pick it up myself. Nobody to bring it to me. It's so hot outside.

"Look, Lawrence, my face is all flushed from the sun." She angled the camera down deliberately, her cleavage practically bursting out of the screen. "I wish I had a boyfriend to help me out. Your girlfriend is so lucky to have such a great guy."

Even after all this time, even with someone else mentioning picking up takeout, Lawrence still hadn't noticed I'd never come home.

He put on a convincing show of sympathy for Anna.

"She's the lucky one. Meeting me was God's gift to her. She's not as high-maintenance as you, either. She does all the housework. Whenever she asks me to help, I threaten to break up with her, and she never dares ask again."

I laughed. All my daily care and devotion had become nothing but a trophy for Lawrence to brag about.

Without hesitation, I joined the video call.

When my face appeared on screen, Lawrence clearly wasn't expecting it. "Camilla?"

I ignored him and said one thing. "I'm your ex-girlfriend now, Lawrence. I accept your breakup."

I hung up, blocked him, and cut all ties.

Since he loved breaking up so much, who was I to say no?

I expected Lawrence to take me at my word and disappear from my life for good. But just ten minutes later, my phone rang.

I kicked myself for forgetting to block his number.

When I picked up, his furious voice blasted through the speaker. "Camilla, where are you? Why haven't you come home? You broke up with me in front of all those people. Do you have any idea how humiliating that was?"

"Wrong, Lawrence. You were the one who broke up with me. I just agreed." I hung up before he could say another word.

I used to think his voice was pleasant. Now it was just noise.

Wasn't he the one who wanted to break up? So why did he sound so reluctant on the phone?

He didn't call again, but a text came through shortly after.

"Camilla, who gave you the nerve to block me? I'm warning you, don't play games with me. I'm not in the mood to coddle you. Finish that twenty-page apology and hand it in. My birthday is in three days. If you don't show up, you're dead."

I already knew that if I replied, the text wouldn't go through. He'd blocked my number.

One-way communication, designed to make me panic and cry. That was his specialty.

But this time, he'd be disappointed. Breaking up with him was exactly what I wanted.