The Replaced Lover's Thirty-Day Silent Escape

“Four years. I poured the best years of my youth and every ounce of my heart into my boyfriend Damian, becoming the perfect live-in girlfriend. But when his childhood sweetheart, the woman he'd always carried a torch for, returned from London, he gave her every bit of his care and affection. On my birthday, just because his sweetheart liked mangoes, he ordered a mango cake despite my severe allergy. When the sweetheart faked concern for me, he said casually: "Amelia's just my housekeeper. She's sensible. She won't make a scene." That was when I woke up. I was nothing but a substitute, a bed-warmer to fill the years she'd been away. This time, I didn't cry. I didn't make a scene. I didn't beg for his attention the way I'd done so many times before. I started a thirty-day countdown. "Damian, it's time to say goodbye."”