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We were ten minutes away from getting our marriage license, for the eleventh time.
Just as we neared the office, her phone buzzed with a call from Liam, her 'sick' ex, instantly draining her face of color and her devotion from me.
She abandoned me again, speeding off to his side for what felt like the hundredth time, leaving me alone in the car.
Hours later, while I drowned my sorrows in whiskey, she called not to check on me, but to furiously worry about her image after I posted a raw, heartbroken selfie.
Her voice wasn't concerned; it was furious, demanding I consider 'her reputation' and 'Liam's friends' rather than my pain.
This was a recurring nightmare, a pattern of abandonment and emotional manipulation that had plagued our seven-year relationship.
Each time, her loyalty to Liam, a man who always seemed to experience a 'critical episode' whenever Chloe and I neared a milestone, overshadowed any commitment to me.
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