Chapter 2

Next, I carried two large storage bins out of the walk-in closet and started packing.

But once I actually started, I realized just how little in this apartment was truly mine.

I packed my everyday clothes and a few personal items. I left behind every piece of expensive jewelry and every designer bag he'd bought me; none of them had ever suited my style anyway.

At the very bottom of the closet, I found a pink envelope.

It was a love letter Julian had written me himself.

When he was trying to win me over, Julian said that in the age of instant messaging, anyone could confess their feelings anytime, anywhere.

So he wanted to write me a love letter by hand, using an old-fashioned gesture to show me how sincere he was.

I opened the envelope and saw his bold, sweeping handwriting. My heart, which had only just begun to settle, twisted tight all over again.

I gritted my teeth and tore the letter I'd treasured for eight years into shreds.

Then I threw the pieces in the trash.

Walking out of the closet, I stared at the empty living room, my mind drifting.

The apartment was huge, over two thousand square feet. Julian had told me I'd been with him through his hardest days, and this place was his gift to me.

I'd accepted it with joy, but in all the years since, he never once mentioned putting my name on the deed.

The truth was, I should have seen it sooner. In this relationship, I was nothing more than a pathetic, laughable extra in someone else's story.

My phone buzzed.

It was Julian.

"Nora, I've arrived at the hotel. Don't worry."

Normally, I would have called him right away, asking if he was tired, if he'd eaten, what his schedule looked like.

But this time, I couldn't bring myself to care.

After a long pause, I replied with a single word: "Okay."

Julian texted back. "You've been acting weird today. If something's wrong, tell me, okay? Don't just tough it out on your own."

"And don't forget to eat dinner."

His tone was gentle, impossible to find fault with.

"Fine."

I replied flatly.

Julian didn't text again after that.

He was probably too busy with Mia.

At the thought, my stomach lurched. I rushed to the bathroom and dry-heaved for a long time.

Meanwhile, Mia's secret Instagram account was quite a spectacle.

Pose after pose, every single shot styled to perfection.

The last one was taken at a seaside restaurant. The person sitting across from her was cropped out of frame, but the tie clip I'd given Julian caught my eye immediately.

My gaze drifted downward. The engagement ring was gone from Julian's left ring finger.

All that remained was a faint, pale band of skin where it used to be, stark and glaring.

As if mocking me, the loser in this love story.

I sucked in a sharp breath and forced the tears back.

Without knowing why, I scrolled through every single post Mia had ever made.

Their affair had begun just two months after Mia joined Julian's studio three years earlier.

What they shared ran so much deeper than I'd ever imagined.

"He said I was working too hard commuting by subway and bus every day, so he rented me a gorgeous apartment downtown."

My hands trembling, I tapped on her location tag. The apartment was in my neighborhood.

For three whole years, they'd been carrying on right under my nose, and I had no idea.

"Told my favorite photographer I was hungry, and he left his girlfriend waiting at home to make my favorite chicken and dumplings. So good!"

My heart broke, piece by piece.

For eight whole years, I had cooked for Julian. I never knew he could cook like that for someone else.

"Finally got to see the northern lights. He stood in the freezing cold with me for hours, and we got the shot!"

It felt like a fist had reached into my chest and crushed my heart completely.

The scenery was beautiful. Mia was beautiful.

Julian had been photographing Mia for three years, yet he wouldn't even take a single tourist photo of me.

I curled up on the couch, crying and laughing, laughing until I cried all over again.

Under her latest post, I left a comment:

"I think your boyfriend is my fiancé. You didn't know?"