Echo
Every time Soren Sinclair and I had a fight, he would strip me of one of my rights as his fiancée and hand it over to my best friend, Kaelin.
The first time, he took away the right to hold hands.
When the three of us walked together, his fingers would be tightly intertwined with hers, leaving me trailing behind like a total stranger.
It never stopped until I broke down, sobbing and begging for his forgiveness.
With every fight that followed, Soren’s punishments grew increasingly cruel.
Hugs, access to his private spaces... he gave Kaelin more and more of what was mine.
But every time we made up, he would say gently, "It was just a joke. I just wanted to make you jealous. I care about you too much. She’s your best friend. No matter how close we get, it’s not a betrayal."
That is, until our fifth anniversary, when we fought again.
This time, his punishment was giving Kaelin the right to kiss him.
Kaelin went out of her way to video call me. Soren was sitting right next to her, a bright red lipstick mark on his cheek. She leaned into his chest and blinked playfully at the camera:
"Maeve, if you don't apologize soon, who knows? In a week, your place as his fiancée might just be given to me too."
They were both waiting for me to act like I always did—to get jealous, to cry, to beg Soren to end this punishment.
Instead, I just smiled and said, "Sure. You can have it."