He Wanted My All, I Took His

voices echoing in my head. They were to be the "concerned" family, ready to swoop in and manage the a

s I remembered them: loud, arrogant, and reeking of cheap cologne and entitlement. They carr

sophisticated calm I had cultivated in my home. They looked around the spacious living room, with i

slapping Liam on the back.

at me. The gesture was meant to be end

ce, looked me up and down. "So, this is the queen of the cast

ion, the implication being that my succe

ied, my voice

ost unsettling, just stared at me with an unnerv

gliding in as if she owned the plac

eyes scanning my face for any sign of wea

g to crude jokes and stories of their college days, a world of toxic masculinity that Liam had supposedly left behind. They treated m

ghtly. "So, Ava, what's it like being the breadwinner?

ve observer in the disrespect happening in his ow

d himself with these disgusting, pathetic men because they made him feel powerful. Their crassness was a reflection of his own inner u

any lingering sentimentality vanished. There was no love to mourn, becaus

d up a

anger. "I'm not feeling well. Your friends are incred

e bedroom. This was the moment. I had to create the conf