y mind, leaving a sour taste. "Faithful to your memory," she'd said. The words were so clean

me fee

n-year relationship had shattered into a million pieces

led up in a cheap motel, my phone buzzing nonstop with calls and texts from people who either pitied me or condem

of me still hoped for an apology, for some acknowledg

d calm as ever. There was no anger, no pa

n. "I know this must be

lent, my th

her voice. "He's young. He acts without thinking sometimes.

ublicly accused me of cheating on him with a dead m

re pointed. "A man in Ethan's position needs stability. He needs a p

. I was the source of his worry. I was the one

inal blow, wrapped in th

e's so intelligent, so poised. She understands his work, his ambitions. She's been a tremendous he

ife for years. The woman who had been by Ethan'

posed affair. It was never about my love for my deceased brother, whose p

lthy family and business connections, was a more suitable match for the future CEO than I,

heartbreak anymore. It was a kind of grim awakening. I had been ju

nother word, I h

cision, I opened my phone. I blocked Mrs. Vance's number. I blocked Ethan's number. I bloc

dia accounts. I packed

host in their perfect, calcula

fee and new beginnings filling my senses. I was no longer that broken