My Wedding Gift: His Public Execution

Higgi

y favorite flowers, cooked my favorite meals, and left little notes professing his undying love and regret all over the apar

But something inside me had fundamentally shifted. I was no longer looking at him thr

ence as grief he could eventually overcome. I let him believe he had a chance t

, and mementos. Each one was a fresh stab of pain. A picture of us on our first trip to Paris, his arm

into a box. He would find them after I was go

orn copy of "Pride and Prejudice," and the box containing her wedding dr

a social media app I rarely used. The profile name was anonymous, but the picture was a selfie of Cory

e' button, but a morbid curiosity, a need to see the

s a d

and Derek kissing on a yacht, the city skyline sparkling behind them. Cory and Derek in bed, tangled in white sheet

clicked on a video. They were in a hotel room, champag

u love me,"

ly, looked at the camera. "You kn

formed in my stomach. He had never called me a troublemaker. He ca

y heart hammered against my ribs. I knew I shouldn't answer. I knew i

made-up face filled the screen. She was in a car, the

ping with fake sweetness. "Oops, I

ry?" I asked, my voic

nks she's marrying Derek Gomez. Newsflash, sweetie. He' s with me righ

ice, muffled but unmistakable.

k cashmere sweater I had bought him for his birthday stretched across his broad shoulde

y?" he hissed, reac

you, you know," she purred, her eyes glinting with malice. "He said you're like a fragile litt

targeting my deepest insecu

he idea of saving you. But you know what? He's with me. Right now.

. My hand flew to my chest, trying to phy

marry him?" she taunted. "Ar

ung

aring from my throat. It wasn't just pain anymore. It was humili

ut. I cried for the woman I used to be, the one who believed in forever. I cri

en, I

ght rose from the

s is the last tear I will

l give him the perfo