All Chapters of I'm Not One of Your Options Anymore: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

There was a brief silence in the room. Edward Parker's hand froze above my head.Renee Lane laughed, as if she'd heard some harmless joke. "Tanya, don't be like this, okay? It's your birthday."Edward retracted his hand, his brows furrowing. "Tanya Cullen, everyone's watching us. Don't sulk just because you lost."Whenever he called me by my full name, I would back down, afraid of upsetting him, afraid our friends would pile on, and afraid they'd accuse me of making a fuss over nothing.But this time, I simply removed the candles from the cake one by one. "I'm not the one who looks bad here."Renee tugged on Edward's sleeve. "Edward, let's just forget it, okay? I don't want to watch the movie anymore."Although that was what she said, her fingers tightened around the movie ticket.Our friends immediately chimed in."The vote's already decided. We can't make an exception now.""Come on, Tanya. Be the bigger person, okay? Edward can still make it up to you tomorrow."Edward gla

Chapter 2

At 1:00 am, Edward returned home to see me packing up his things.After three years together, bits and pieces of him were everywhere. His sneakers were by the door, his razor sat in the bathroom, and I could always find a lighter buried somewhere in the couch. Even the pillows I'd bought had been replaced with his favorite gray ones.The sound of the lock clicking came just as I was placing the last book into a cardboard box.Edward stood in the entryway as the night wind carried a faint scent of perfume into the house. It was the same one that Renee always wore.His expression darkened when he spotted the box. "Pulling this stunt again?"I started sealing the box. "Have someone come pick it up tomorrow."Edward walked over to stop me. "Tanya, I've already given you a way out over what happened earlier. How much longer are you going to act out?"I looked up at him. "I'm not acting out. I'm clearing out your things."Edward sneered. "It was just a movie with Renee. Do you have t

Chapter 3

The next day at noon, I received a call from my friend Courtney Bale, her voice hesitant. "Tanya, Edward just called me. He said you left something in the club yesterday. Since you wouldn't answer his calls, he came to me."I didn't say anything.Courtney quickly added, "I'll go with you. We'll leave after we grab your stuff."But we arrived to find the private room filled with people.Courtney's expression dropped as she cursed in a low tone, "He told me you left your gift. Why didn't he mention there were so many people here?"Edward was at the head of the table. Renee sat beside him, her eyes red and swollen, as though she had cried all night.A small cake sat on the table, the candles already lit.The moment Renee saw me, she picked up her glass and walked toward me, her voice trembling. "Tanya, I'm sorry. I was wrong yesterday. I shouldn't have joked about it. Please don't break up with Edward because of me, okay?"Edward fixed his gaze on me. "Renee has apologized. You ca

Chapter 4

The sky was cloudy on the day I moved out.I stood in the empty living room and looked at the cardboard boxes stacked along the wall. The wall still bore the faint marks left behind by the picture frames I'd taken down.They resembled the old scars left behind when a relationship was torn apart by force.The landlord sounded troubled when she called. "Ms. Cullen, Mr. Parker just called and told me you were throwing a tantrum. He asked me to hold off on processing the lease termination."I slipped the last spare key into an envelope. "Just follow the terms of the lease."The landlord hesitated. "He said you'd regret it."I smiled. "That's what he thinks."The doorbell rang just as I hung up. Edward appeared on the screen. He was still wearing last night's black jacket, and his face was tense.Edward didn't ring again. Instead, he texted me. "Open the door. Don't try to scare me with this moving-out nonsense, Tanya. I'm running out of patience."I didn't reply.Ten minutes late

Chapter 5

Edward stood downstairs for a long time.At first, he was simply furious that I had embarrassed him in front of the movers, angry that I had returned the keys and the bracelet to him. What infuriated him even more was hearing me say that I chose to cut him out of my life. In the past three years, every time we fought, he never had to chase after me for long. I would always text him first. "Edward, can we please not make this into a thing? I'm not asking you to choose me."A quiet sense of relief would settle over him. He knew that as long as I was still texting him, it meant I hadn't left.But this time, I made no effort to text him first. There were no careful attempts from me to smooth things over.Edward called me.I didn't answer the first time, and my phone was off the second time. Then, on the third attempt, an automated message told Edward the line was busy.He realized that I had blocked him.Renee's call came in then. Her voice was soft, as though she was genuinely wo

Chapter 6

The next time Edward saw me was a month later, at a friend's engagement party.I sat by the window, my hair trimmed a little shorter. A man draped my coat over the back of my chair.It was nothing intimate, but Edward found it harder to look at than any real intimacy.Our friend introduced Bruce Smith, sounding a little cautious. "This is Bruce Smith, Tanya's college classmate. He had just returned from abroad. Courtney added him to the group chat at the last minute during Tanya's birthday as she wanted him to order a bouquet."Edward paused when he heard that.Bruce offered his hand. "Mr. Parker."Edward ignored him and looked at me. "Did you change your number?"I looked up. "Yeah.""Why didn't you tell me?""Why should I notify my ex when I change my number?"The table went quiet at the word "ex". Renee, sitting beside Edward, curled her fingers around the glass. "Tanya, don't say that. Edward has been looking for you this whole time."I turned to her. "What's it to you?"

Chapter 7

Edward started looking into the polls, and it was not because he suddenly realized his mistake. He just couldn't let it go. He wanted to prove that those screenshots were nothing more than jokes between friends. He wanted to prove that he wasn't as awful as I had made him out to be.But the more Edward dug into it, the worse he felt.Most of the polls had been started by Renee. She always seemed to know exactly when to drop a question into the group chat.When I asked Edward if we could make our relationship public, Renee posted, "Will dating affect a friendship?"When I told him I didn't want him driving her home, she posted, "Is it dangerous to let a friend take a cab home alone at night?"When I got upset about Renee taking the passenger seat, she posted, "Should a girlfriend really fight a friend over a seat?"When I asked if we could spend our anniversary alone, she posted, "Is it really that bad if friends change their plans at the last minute?"Every time, the options w

Chapter 8

Edward came looking for me one raining evening.I had just walked out of a flower shop. Around that time, I was taking flower-arranging classes. It wasn't a career or anything. I just wanted to have something of my own.Bruce helped me carry the floral materials to the entrance. He paused when he saw Edward. "Do you need me to stay?"I glanced at Edward, who was standing under the streetlight, his shoulders damp from the rain. He was holding a paper bag. I shook my head. "No need."Bruce didn't press further and simply handed me his umbrella. "I'll wait for you by the car."Edward finally spoke after Bruce walked away. "He treats you very well."I didn't respond.Edward held out the paper bag. Inside was a stack of printed poll results. The corners were wet from the rain and a little crumpled, and some had red circles around them. "I went through all of them. Tanya, I thought they were just jokes. It wasn't until I finished reading them that I realized you never won a single p

Chapter 9

Edward vanished for two weeks. I thought he had finally learned to leave me alone.Then it was Renee's birthday. A friend posted a photo from the party. Renee was sitting in front of the cake, trying to smile.There was no sign of Edward.Someone commented, "You and Edward aren't going to the premiere this year?"Renee didn't reply.That night, she sent me a voice message. "Tanya, I never meant to hurt you. I'm just used to having Edward by my side. If you suddenly make him change, it scares me too."Her voice was soft and careful, with just enough hurt in it. She didn't admit to doing anything wrong. Yet every word reminded me that she'd once been the one Edward put first."Just because you're scared doesn't mean I have to step aside for you. Renee, don't contact me again." I texted her back before blocking her.Ten minutes later, an unknown number called.I answered.It was Edward, his voice hoarse. "She contacted you?""Yes.""I'm sorry."I leaned against the window, wa

Chapter 10

Six months later, Bruce and I got together. There was no grand confession, and no friends to witness it.That day, we took shelter from the rain in an old bookstore. Bruce picked out a collection of poems he knew I liked and wrote a line on the first page. "Tanya, I hope you never have to be compared to anyone again."I stared at it for a long time before finally putting my hand in his. "Bruce, I can say yes to you now."He was stunned for a few seconds before his eyes gradually lit up. "Can I hug you?"I nodded.He was very gentle, as though afraid of hurting me.Later, I opened a small flower shop and named it "Not an Option". When Courtney saw the sign, she laughed. "That's quite an attitude."I tucked a bunch of white flowers into a vase. "It's not. That's my answer."A lot of my friends came to the opening, and Bruce stood by the entrance, greeting people as they came in. He took every introduction so seriously."This is Tanya's shop. She picked this place herself and cam

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