Chapter 2

Mark looked every inch the impartial professional. For the first time, I no longer had the energy to argue with him.

Maybe that was when we began drifting apart. After that, we spoke less and less.

Later, Rachel was reassigned as Mark's personal assistant. On paper, it looked like a lateral move, if not a step down. In reality, it was a promotion. She got to spend every day at his side.

Mark came out of the situation looking fair and principled, while Rachel got everyone's sympathy. No one cared that I was the one who had been wronged, even though I had earned my promotion to associate director.

Even now, remembering how hurt and alone I had felt made my heart ache. Knowing I had wasted ten years of my life was even worse.

After dinner, Mark started to get up. Ever since we moved in together, whoever didn't cook did the dishes.

I kept my voice steady. "Mark, I want to talk."

He sat back down and looked at me.

I drew a breath. "Mark, we need to brea—"

His phone rang before I could finish. Rachel's name lit up the screen.

He answered, and I heard the panic in her voice. Something had gone wrong at work, and she needed him at the office right away.

Mark frowned and turned to me. "Erin, we'll talk later. I need to deal with this first."

He got up and left. Once again, he left me behind.

All the hurt I had been holding in came rushing back, and my chest tightened until I could barely breathe.

But it was a work emergency. What right did I have to complain?

Once he was gone, the house fell quiet. Then a notification lit up my phone.

The decision on my application to a graduate program abroad had arrived. I had been accepted. I could leave in three days.

Ever since I was young, marrying Mark had been my greatest wish. Graduate school had always come second, a dream I had kept tucked away for years.

Mark and I came from the same small town. That year, we were the only two students in our entire county accepted to a top university.

We had very little growing up, but we got through those years by relying on each other. We planned to attend graduate school together, then build a life in the city.

But graduate school cost money, and between us, there was only enough for one of us to continue. I gave up my chance, went straight to work, and paid Mark's way through graduate school.

He held my hand and looked me in the eye. "Erin, once I graduate and get on my feet, I'll marry you. I'll spend the rest of my life loving you and making it up to you. After everything you've given up for me, I'll never let you down."

After Mark graduated, he joined the company where I worked. In the beginning, nothing changed. We were still as close and in love as ever.

But as he climbed the corporate ladder and eventually outranked me, our relationship slowly began to change. He became increasingly concerned with how we looked to everyone at work.

It started with avoiding affection in public and making sure our coworkers never saw us together. Soon, even that wasn't enough. He barely spoke to me and kept me at arm's length, even when no one else was around.

Eventually, protecting his reputation and maintaining those boundaries mattered more to him than our ten years together.

A text from Mark pulled me from my thoughts.

"Remember that pasta place in the old part of town? The one we used to love?"

It had been our go-to spot when we first moved to the city. We were so broke back then that we could only afford one order to share. Mark barely ate, quietly leaving most of the pasta and toppings for me.

Later, work took over. By the time we went back, the restaurant had moved, and we never managed to find it again.

Strangely, I found comfort in the memory. Whatever we had become, the love we shared back then had been real.

I typed my reply carefully. "I remember. Why?"

His response came almost immediately. "Rachel loves their pasta too. She's been craving it, but she can't find their new location. Do you know where it is?"