Not Enough For You

Chapter 2

Allison POV

I stared at Jake, searching for any shred of the man I knew, but all I could find in his eyes was a toxic mixture of loathing and resentment.

A sickening realization settled in my chest. How long had he been harbouring these feelings? Had our entire relationship been a lie? Was I simply the punchline to his cruel joke?

I stood frozen, my mind racing as I replayed every moment we had shared.

Julie reached out, her hand light on my shoulder as she tried to pull me away.

“They aren’t worth your breath, Ally. Let’s just leave.”

But I couldn’t move. Not yet. I needed the truth, no matter how much it burned. I opened my mouth to demand an explanation, but he beat me to it.

“You want the truth? Fine. Ruth and I have been seeing each other for over a year.”

A year. The words echoed in my mind like a tolling bell of doom, drowning out everything else until the harsh reality of his voice dragged me back.

“And don’t you dare start,” he snapped. I could feel my nails digging sharply into my palms as I struggled to breathe.

I chuckled. Everything started to make sense now—the way they always seemed a little too comfortable around each other whenever the three of us hung out, the inside jokes, the lingering stares. Even the time Ruth suddenly knew about Jake’s seafood allergy when we went out for dinner last month.

I had assumed it might have just slipped out at some point, but I never questioned it because I trusted them.

Trusted him. Trusted her. But who was the fool now?

“You were never around,” Jake continued, his voice entirely devoid of remorse as he took a step toward me.

I stared at him. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. You were so busy working and attending to your needs. What happened to my needs?”

“Even when you were around, you complained that you were too tired or made another excuse,” he continued. “It’s not like the sex was good anyway. You would just lie there doing nothing.”

“When I’m with Ruth, I feel like a man. Besides, who could ever love someone who spends all their time working and never has time for their boyfriend? I guess… ex-boyfriend now, since you caught us.”

Every word felt like a blow to my chest. He wasn’t satisfied with just watching me break down—he wanted to humiliate me too.

No. I won’t give him the satisfaction of thinking he won.

Before I could react, Julie stepped in.

“That’s your excuse? That she wasn’t around?” Julie said, her voice rising. “I’m so sorry that she had a life aside from being your girlfriend. Unlike some people who go around sleeping with other people’s boyfriends!”

“Ally has a career and a future—one that you are never going to be a part of.” Julie glared directly at Ruth as she spoke. Then she turned to me, holding my face in her hands, and gave me a firm nod, silently asking if I was ready to stand my ground.

I nodded back. As Julie stepped aside, I looked past Jake.

Ruth sat on the edge of my bed, cowering behind his shadow as if I might attack her. The sight of her playing the fragile victim in the wreckage she helped create made me sick. I had had enough.

“Get out,” I said, my voice cracking slightly. They both stared at me.

“What?” Jake asked.

“You heard me.” I stepped forward, my voice turning sharp. “Get out of my house! Take your things and leave. I never want to see either of you again.”

Holding back tears, I couldn’t look at them any longer.

“You can’t kick me out,” Jake argued. “I live here—”

“Lived,” I corrected. “Past tense.”

“This is my house as much as it’s yours,” he insisted.

I paused, staring him down with every ounce of strength I had left, and reminded him of the one detail he had forgotten.

“It’s my name on the lease, Jake. Not yours.” Jake fell silent, realizing the reality of his situation.

“You have until I get back to leave,” I continued, my voice trembling but firm. I glanced at Ruth one last time. She was still cowering behind him. They were a match made in heaven.

“I have nothing to say to you.” I turned on my heel and stormed out of the bedroom, heading straight for the door.

Julie stayed behind a few seconds longer. Her voice echoed down the hallway as she yelled and cursed at them before joining me.

My mind blurred as we reached the hallway. The elevator doors opened, and I rushed inside, fighting back tears. Once the doors closed, separating me from my apartment, I collapsed.

I couldn’t breathe or stay strong any longer. Agony and betrayal poured out in ragged sobs. Julie held me tight as I wept on her shoulder.

“How could they do this?” I cried, my chest aching. For four years, I’d poured my heart and soul into the relationship, only for him to shatter it with my best friend. I had given him every part of myself, just to be told I wasn’t enough.

When the elevator finally stopped on the ground floor, I scrambled to wipe my cheeks with my sleeves.

As the doors opened, Mrs. Johnson stepped into view, nearly buried beneath a shopping bag that looked far too heavy for her. She lived on the floor below mine. I remembered that she and Mr. Johnson had celebrated their three decades of marriage last spring.

I used to look at them and wish for that kind of love and longevity with Jake. I suppose that dream is dead now.

We exchanged greetings before she stepped into the elevator. As the doors slid shut behind her, Julie and I walked out of the lobby and toward the parking lot.

“What is the plan?” Julie asked, her voice soft as we reached my car.

“I have no idea,” I admitted, throwing my purse onto the back seat with a frustrated sigh. “I just need to be away from here.”

Julie climbed in, her eyes full of pity. Seeking a distraction, we eventually chose Jinx, a nearby bar.

The drive was silent, heavy with unspoken words and the engine’s hum. Why me? I wondered how the friend I trusted most could betray me. I fought back tears as we arrived at Jinx.

As Julie and I made our way to the entrance, searching for a place to sit, we spotted an empty booth in the corner near the bar. Slumping into a seat, I felt the nightmare of Jake’s infidelity and Ruth’s betrayal sinking in.

Julie tried to comfort me, but Jake’s cruel insults about my lack of passion echoed painfully in my head. The crowd became suffocating. Unable to stay while my life lay in ruins, I grabbed my keys.

“I can’t stay here, Julie,” I whispered, standing up with a hollow resolve. “I’m leaving the city for my mother’s.”