All Chapters of Roasted Her for Years, Loved Her Always: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The moment I reached the end of the street, I pulled out my phone and unlocked it. My best friend Carissa Chapman's latest post on my feed from an hour ago was a photo of her and her boyfriend, Gavin Ferguson, at dinner. She had the sweetest smile and a genuine sparkle in her eyes. The caption read, "He's so good to me."I stared at that photo for a long while. Carissa and I had been friends for a decade. I genuinely thought I knew her inside and out. On our first day of college, we'd moved into our dormitory together, and she'd claimed the top bunk. We used to skip our major classes just to go to the movies. When I'd gotten my heart broken, she was right there, weeping with me for three whole nights. I'd fallen in love with Wendell during my junior year. I'd confided in her, telling her I had a crush on an upperclassman. Her reaction at the time only hit me now. "What's his name?""Wendell Lowe. He's a senior in the literature department," I'd answered.Carissa's face had f

I didn't look up. I just continued stuffing my clothes into the suitcase.Wendell tossed the takeout onto the coffee table. "I asked you a question. Why are you giving me the cold shoulder?"I straightened up and looked him in the eye. "I'm not. I'm moving out." His brows immediately knitted together. "Is this about last night? I already told you there's nothing going on between Carissa and me. We're just friends." I chuckled. I turned on my heel and continued packing.Wendell walked over and yanked me by the arm. "Listen to me, Tania!"I wrenched my arm out of his grasp. "Let go of me, Wendell!"He didn't release his hold. Panic flared in his eyes. "Carissa called me earlier and told me she broke up with Gavin."I stiffened.Wendell continued, "Carissa cried in a cafe all afternoon. She said Gavin doesn't love her at all. It was all an act."I snickered. It was indeed an act. That much was true, but he didn't know the half of it. Wendell wasn't aware that Gavin was hired

When the elevator hit the first floor, I took a deep breath and walked out of the apartment complex gates. It was drizzling outside, and I didn't have an umbrella. The fine rain slanted into me, and it felt incredibly cold. It was a rather nice feeling.I took a cab to my mother Tamara Preston's house. The moment she opened the door and saw me, she was dumbstruck. "Tania, what are you—""Mom, I broke up with Wendell." Mom didn't say a word; she simply stepped aside and let me in. I rolled my suitcase into the living room. The room was filled with the comforting scent of freshly made risotto. Mom brought a bowl of it over and placed it in front of me. "Eat up. Everything else can wait."I stared at the bowl, and all of a sudden, the waterworks began. However, I wasn't crying over Wendell or Carissa, but over Mom. Mom had been an elementary school teacher all her life. She'd never commented on my love life. Instead, without fail, every time I returned home, she'd make me a bow

I hummed in response."She also claimed that Wendell promised her, 'as long as she took care of Tania', he would marry her. The cops went to interrogate Wendell, but he's fighting it tooth and nail. He insists he never said anything of the sort and that Carissa was slandering him."I chuckled. Just as I thought, Wendell and Carissa were permanently chained to each other for the rest of their miserable lives. I didn't even need to drop the receipts. Their scandal had already spread like wildfire through our college. Neither of them would ever be able to live this down. I wrapped up the call and went right back to revising my proposal.…During the third week, I received a call from Wendell. I was right in the middle of a meeting with a client that day. More than 20 people were seated in the conference room when my phone vibrated. I took a look at the caller ID. It was an unknown number. Hence, I answered. "Hello."There was a three-second silence on the other end. "It's me, T

Robin poked his head out from the kitchen. "Who was that?""An old acquaintance," I smiled. "It wasn't anything important."He walked out with two bowls. It was the risotto he had just learned how to make, and it tasted surprisingly like home, reminding me of Mom's recipe. I took a sip, looked up, and beamed at him. "It's delicious!"His eyes crinkled into a smile. "In that case, I'll make it for you every day from now on." Sleep eluded me that night. Robin was fast asleep. He was a quiet sleeper; he didn't snore or kick off his blanket.Gazing at his profile, I suddenly remembered that night a year ago and that single tear running down Wendell's face under the streetlight. Back then, I honestly thought I would never be able to move on for the rest of my life. Yet, here I am now, lying right beside a gentle man. I had a job that fulfilled me. Every morning when I woke up, my eyes were bright, my heart was warm, and my steps were light. I no longer asked, "Why?"I no longer