Substitute No More
I closed my eyes and said coldly, “Justin, ever since Stella passed, all you’ve done is push me farther away. You knew it, didn’t you? But you still didn’t stop.
“You’ve never been treated like a substitute by the person you loved most. You’ve never been abandoned so many times like I was.
“You hurt my body, trampled on my dignity, and wouldn’t even spare the people closest to me. So, what right do you have to ask me to come back now?
“I don’t want anything to do with you.”
As I spoke, Justin’s eyes turned red, tears slipping silently down his face.
I watched as he clutched the front of his shirt, like that could ease his heartache.