Too Late to Love Me Again

On the eve of our wedding, my boyfriend of three years cheated on me and ended our relationship. I decided to walk away and start over. What I never expected was for him to regret it. His eyes were bloodshot. Blood dripped from the puncture in his hand onto the toes of his shoes. “Then fall in love with me one more time. I’m begging you. Please?” We had been together for three years, and we were getting ready to marry at the end of the year. I was excitedly going through everything we needed for the wedding, completely oblivious to Ethan Hayes’s expression. “Lily, I think… we’re not right for each other. Maybe we should put the wedding on hold.” My heart skipped a beat. I looked up at him, unable to believe what I’d heard. Three years together, a wedding just around the corner, and now he was telling me we weren’t right for each other? “Don’t pressure me. I’m really confused right now—” No matter what I said, he just kept repeating that. My phone screen went dark, then lit up again. The bright red wedding design on it stung my eyes. “Is there someone else?” His gaze dimmed, and his voice was barely audible. “My mom thinks your job isn’t stable. And your figure… isn’t really suitable for marriage.” My hand froze in midair. I couldn’t make sense of what he was saying. I earned twice as much as he did. And I wasn’t too thin or too heavy. My figure was perfectly normal. Neither excuse held up, no matter how I looked at it. Ethan lowered his head without a word. Smoke curled around him. Finally, as if he’d made some enormous sacrifice, he said, “You’ll find someone better than me someday.” He took my hand with a show of tenderness and laced our fingers together. It only made him seem more fake. I grabbed my purse, swung it at him, and walked out. I sat in the park all day, trying to work through my feelings. But I couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. We’d been together since college. We were one of the few campus couples still going strong. When our classmates received their wedding invitations, they’d all promised to come celebrate with us. How could he just call it off? My legs had gone numb. I was about to stand when I heard a woman’s playful squeal from the trees nearby, followed by a man’s bright laughter. I looked up and saw them walking toward me. The moment he saw me, his smile froze. Ethan? Only then did I notice the girl beside him. Her long brown dress hugged every curve. Between her gleaming gold bracelet and the designer bag on her arm, she practically advertised her money. Ethan awkwardly turned away, trying to steer her in another direction. But she complained that she was tired and sat on the bench next to mine. Their legs tangled together. They couldn’t have looked more intimate. They acted as if I didn’t exist. “It’s our one-month anniversary today. I booked a hotel—” Ethan hurriedly covered her mouth. She planted a loud kiss on his hand, then shyly snuggled into his chest. Before she could say anything else, I stood and threw my water over them. “Who the fuck are you? Are you insane?” The girl frantically wiped at the water. Ethan’s face turned an ugly shade of red as he glared at me. “We haven’t even broken up yet, and you’re already pulling this disgusting shit?”He looked away, humiliated, and pulled the girl to her feet without offering a single explanation. “Have your things packed and get out of my apartment by three tomorrow afternoon.” We hadn’t officially broken up, and he was already romancing someone else. For more than a month, no less! If I hadn’t happened to run into them, I might never have known. Disgusting. Back home, I threw his belongings onto the floor and waited for him. He stormed in and marched up to me. “You’ve gone too far!” So what if I had? I’d already been more considerate than he deserved. I scoffed. “She’s loaded, isn’t she?” That hit a nerve. His face went pale, then flushed with anger. “Lily, you have an ordinary job and an ordinary family. What exactly do you bring to a marriage with me?” For some reason, something he’d once said suddenly came back to me. “My goal is to work hard, make money, and build a home for us.” Back then, his eyes had shone with confidence and hope. The man in front of me was no longer that boy. “If I hadn’t caught you cheating, I might actually have fallen for your devoted-boyfriend act.” If he’d simply admitted he’d fallen for someone else, this wouldn’t have been so laughable. His lies crumbled at the slightest touch. A cigarette butt fell beside his shoe. He stared at it for two seconds before grinding it viciously underfoot. “You and I are ordinary people. Just like that cigarette. One second we’re burning, the next we’re out.” He stood and looked around, his voice smug and arrogant. “You and I aren’t on the same level anymore.” “People have to move up in life. Don’t blame me for it.” The door slammed, and silence settled over the room. I looked at our wedding portraits on my phone and forced myself to tap Delete. Within seconds, every photo was gone. Just like my three years. Then I sent out a notice canceling the wedding. Messages flooded my phone. Before long, the unread count read 99+. Noah Parker’s message jumped to the top. —Come on. Let’s get a drink. 😏 Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day. The last thing I wanted was to go out and watch happy couples everywhere. But he actually drove over to pick me up. “Come on, Lily. I’m trying to keep you from drowning in misery. There are plenty of men out there. This one’s defective? Get another.” He gave me a mysterious little grin and deftly opened a few beers. Then he joined me in trashing my cheating ex. The alcohol left me dizzy. Our years together played backward in my mind, every memory wrapped in a beautiful glow I could no longer reach. Remembering what I’d seen those two doing made me physically sick. I went to open a window for some air. “Don’t jump!” Before I could react, my feet left the floor, and I landed in a warm pair of arms. His breath brushed my neck like a feather, making my skin tingle. “Don’t move.”His face slightly flushed, he set my drunken self on the couch and went straight to the bathroom. The cold air had given me a headache. My eyelids grew heavier and heavier until I passed out completely. When I woke the next morning, he was lying on the floor. All around me were throw pillows of every size. Noah shook out his stiff arm. “I tried to get you into bed last night, but you wouldn’t let go of the couch. So I put some pillows down in case you rolled off.” My mouth twitched awkwardly. That… did sound familiar. It was my first time spending the night at his place, and I felt strangely embarrassed. After breakfast, we headed out for work. We’d barely left his apartment building when I collided with the girl from the park. “Are you bl—You!” I stared at her in surprise. Seriously? What were the odds? She lived in the same building as Noah? Ethan hurried up behind her and frowned. “Lily, I don’t love you anymore. Stop following me.” Before I could explain, his gaze landed on Noah behind me. His voice sharpened with anger. “We’ve only been broken up a few days, and you’ve already found a replacement?” Hilarious. He was the expert on lining up replacements. The girl clearly hated him talking to me. She rolled her eyes dramatically, grabbed him, and walked away. Anyone watching would have thought I was the one who’d stolen her boyfriend. Noah kept glancing at me with concern. Scenery flew past the car windows as I closed my eyes and tried to shut out the turmoil. Over and over, I reminded myself. He was just a cheating asshole. There was nothing worth holding on to. Those three years of my youth? I’d thrown them away on a dog. Unfortunately, life refused to cooperate. Our families lived one street apart. We’d once called that fate. Now it just felt like a curse. I couldn’t even go grocery shopping without running into him. Out of sight, out of mind. I decided to take a trip. I hadn’t even said where I wanted to go before Noah sat down across from me and started planning. “For the record, I’m perfectly capable of traveling by myself—” He looked at me seriously. “What if some creep targets you?” My eyes fell to his pages of detailed travel notes, and I fell silent. I remembered wanting to take a trip with Ethan once. I’d excitedly held out my phone to show him. He’d said traveling was too expensive and refused to go. “With your looks, you’re perfectly safe. Any creep would be more scared of you.” At the time, I’d only felt a little disappointed. Looking back, he’d already stopped caring about me. I came back to the present as Noah waved a hand in front of my eyes and asked what I was thinking. I smiled without answering. The trip went smoothly. We didn’t argue once, and we discovered we shared all kinds of interests. I’d known him for four years. Only now did I realize how little I actually knew him. “Lily, what do you think of me?” Moonlight fell across his face, outlining his usually reserved features. His dark eyes seemed to melt into the night. I counted off a few of his good qualities on my fingers. He turned toward me, his expression unreadable. “You know that’s not what I mean.” Maybe the night was too beautiful. Maybe the breeze was too gentle. For some reason, my heart skipped, and my thoughts tangled. I pretended not to understand. Without answering, I hurried back to my room. I tossed and turned all night.After that trip, I felt something quietly shift between us. Things that had never bothered me before suddenly made me self-conscious. I deliberately kept some distance. I had the day off and was about to treat myself to a big meal when a message ruined my mood. —Lily, I’m getting married. Make sure you come. Below it was Ethan’s digital wedding invitation. I didn’t understand. After everything that had happened, why would he invite me? Was he really that desperate for a wedding gift? I blocked him in disgust. Then, one after another, several classmates sent me news of their own upcoming weddings. I checked my bank balance and sighed. Dressed for one of those weddings, I arrived at the hotel. A man’s voice made me stop outside. “Victoria Reed and Ethan Hayes. Even their names sound perfect together. What a match!” A sharp ache went through my chest. I followed the voice and saw a wedding welcome sign bearing Ethan and Victoria’s pictures outside the neighboring ballroom. So their wedding was today too. Even the style of their wedding portraits was exactly like ours had been. Just my luck. Before I could leave, Victoria appeared in a fitted red reception dress, her arm linked through Ethan’s. They greeted a few guests, then headed toward me. “Well, if it isn’t the ex! You really won’t go away, will you?” She spat out the words through clenched teeth. Her friends started whispering, looking at me like I was trash. Everyone there probably assumed I couldn’t let him go and had come specifically to find him. Ethan’s expression stiffened, his lips pressed tight. He looked as if he were facing some terrible threat. Did he really think he was that irresistible? Before I could speak, he said, “I don’t know her.” I’d long since stopped loving him. Still, the instant he said those words, I felt like I’d been dropped into a vacuum. I could barely breathe. “You heard him. He doesn’t know you. Some people should stop making a spectacle of themselves.” Victoria grinned broadly. Her bridesmaids covered their mouths and laughed. “Come on. It’s almost time.” Ethan gave me a complicated look, then pulled her away. A classmate standing nearby awkwardly took my arm and led me into the other ballroom. After my classmate’s ceremony ended, I left the matching rings Ethan and I had once worn outside his ballroom. Then I nodded goodbye to my classmates and left that miserable place.From that day on, I told myself I would put my own feelings first, no matter what. I devoted my time to work. I would never, ever cry over a man again. Fortunately, my hard work paid off. In just two months, I landed a major contract. I went to my manager’s office. Before I could speak, he looked at me with an awkward, troubled expression. “Lily… I’ve reassigned that account to someone with more experience.” I’d handled it from start to finish. Why was he giving it to someone else? He pressed his lips together, looking deeply uncomfortable. Finally, he told me I’d offended someone. Senior management had specifically ordered the reassignment. “Go home and think about who it might be. Once you figure it out, tell me. I’ll try putting in a request for you.” I walked out of his office in a daze and found Victoria tapping her fingers on a desk, watching me with open provocation. “Want to talk?” In the conference room, she crossed her legs, completely at ease. She clearly didn’t think I was worth taking seriously. “Losing your project hurts, doesn’t it?” So she was behind it. They were already married. Why couldn’t she leave me alone? She deliberately left the glass door cracked open. Her voice was just loud enough for everyone outside to hear. “Remember this. Crushing you would be as easy as squashing an ant.” I couldn’t help scoffing. So this was her way of putting me in my place. She really was obsessed. The company didn’t belong to the Reeds, but they clearly had connections here. Losing my project was bad enough. Her attitude pushed me over the edge. I raised my voice, refusing to back down. “Well, look at you, princess. So proud of breaking up someone else’s relationship. That takes a special kind of shameless.” Her face drained of color. She glared at me, her expression twisting, but couldn’t get a word out. “Hit a nerve?” My coworkers peered over, practically radiating curiosity. “Stealing someone’s boyfriend must make you feel so accomplished. Go home and play the perfect little wife. Stop embarrassing yourself out here.” Her face went pale, then livid. She didn’t bother hiding her hatred. “You bitch—!” I caught her wrist as she raised her hand. Then I swung my free hand and slapped her. “It wasn’t enough to be the other woman? You had to steal my project too?” Ethan was trash. As far as I was concerned, she’d taken out my garbage. But now she was messing with my money. That was where I drew the line.