Seven Years, A Cruel Lie

ntent to be in her orbit. I fell hard. I remembered our first date, a cheap diner where we talked for hours. I remembered the first ti

dismissive. "It's so much travel, Ethan. We'd never see each other. And the money isn't stable." I loved her, so I listened. I put my dream on a shelf, conv

e handbag she pointed at in a store window, the one that cost me three months of savings. I did it because I thought that's what you do wh

discussion, no chance for reconciliation. A line had been crossed that could nev

w packing up. It was filled with her things. Her clothes still hung in the closet, her perfume still l

s, expensive shoes, clothes I had bought her. I didn't fold them. I just stuffed them into the bag, one after another. The

exico. Us at a friend's wedding. Us on our first anniversary. I looked at my own face in the ph

ut I couldn't look at them either. I sealed the box with tape, a final, symbolic act of closing a chapter of my life. I packed my own thin

ed at me, her face young and free of worry. "You have to choose yourself, Ethan," she said, her voice clear and strong. "You deserve to be happy." I woke up with tears o

let it ring. She called again. A

you answering me?

y? I'm getti

nny, Ethan. Pic

ment. I had left the trash bags full of her belongings by the front door. I received a notification that a cour

hone rang again. Th

"My parents just called me. They said a bunch of trash bags full o

ge. My own voice, when it came, was calm and q

bout? Are you breaking up with me? Over

, the words simple and heavy. "My

think I wanted to be away? You're being so selfish, yo

nadulterated nerve of it almost made me laugh. "A work tr

end of the line. I had her. The silenc

she finally whispe

id. "We're done, Chloe. I

ed, her voice rising in panic. We were eng

," I replied coldly. "I'll hav

re grieving. You're not thinking straight!" she pl

fog of my love for her had finally lifted, and I could

ice firm. "For the first t

t a strange sense of peace settle over me. It was over. Truly, finally over. I