My Fiancé Said He Wouldn't Pick Me Again, So I Left

"Just a joke." Julian tossed the lighter aside. It clattered against the marble table.

He turned to me and covered my hand with his, his voice as low and gentle as ever. "You're not that petty. Right?"

I looked into his dark eyes.

There was no guilt in them, only the calm certainty of a man who thought he had everything under control.

Slowly, I pulled my hand out from under his.

"I'm not feeling well. I'm going home."

I stood without looking at anyone and walked out.

Behind me, the room erupted in gasps. Then came Summer's tearful voice. "It's all my fault. Nora must have gotten the wrong idea."

"It's not your fault." Julian's voice drifted through the door, tinged with irritation.

Without slowing down, I headed straight for the elevator.

I'd barely pressed the button when someone seized my wrist.

Julian had come after me.

Beneath his familiar Armani cologne lingered the faintest trace of freesia. It wasn't mine.

It was the scent Summer always wore.

"Nora, why are you making a scene?" He frowned down at me, sounding more exasperated than angry.

I met his gaze, surprised by how calm I sounded. "I'm making a scene?"

"What else would you call it?" He sighed and reached out to touch my face. I turned my head away.

His hand paused in midair. He held back his impatience and said, "You know Sunny's been struggling lately. Last week, you helped a former schoolmate get into the Linden Gallery show, and Sunny didn't make the cut. She thinks you did it on purpose to shut her out. It triggered another depressive episode, and yesterday, she even cut her wrist at home."

He looked me straight in the eye, his voice softening. Somehow, that only made his words hurt more. "You know she's had a crush on me for years. I only said her name in front of everyone to save her from embarrassment. That's all it was. You're the one I'm marrying. I proposed to you yesterday, for God's sake. She was never a threat to you. So why are you getting worked up over someone who's sick?"

I listened quietly. It all felt absurd.

Entries for the Linden Gallery show were judged anonymously and solely on merit. Summer didn't make it because her work simply wasn't good enough.

But Julian didn't care about any of that.

"So you get to humiliate me just to make her feel better?" I looked at him. "Julian, am I your fiancée, or just a prop you use to prove how generous and kind you are?"

Julian's face darkened.

"Nora, do you really have to make such a big deal out of this?" He dropped my hand, all the warmth gone from his voice. "I thought you'd be more reasonable than this. I proposed to you. I bought you the ring you've always wanted. What else do you want? Was I supposed to just stand by and let her die?"

The elevator dinged.

I looked at this man I'd loved for seven years, and suddenly he felt like a complete stranger.

"Then go back and keep her company."

I stepped into the elevator and turned to face him. "Don't let her die."

The doors slid shut on Julian's stunned, brooding face.