I Turned and Left, She Regretted It1
I was deeply in love with Olivia Wallace. I spent my very first paycheck on a gift for her.
As I stood on the path she’d take, holding a new phone I’d bought her, my heart pounded with anticipation.
But then, she appeared – walking out of a hotel with a man, a step ahead of him.
I told myself it was just a coincidence, but then he reached over and gave her a hard smack on her backside.
She didn’t protest; instead, she let out a playful, almost giggly squeal, “Oh, easy! You’re hurting me…”
“Oh, really? Then why didn’t you say anything earlier when I was squeezing even harder?” he laughed, his face lit with a sleazy grin under the dim streetlamp.
“Stop it,” Olivia replied with a flirtatious tone as she nestled into his arms.
Watching them, I felt like my heart was being ripped apart, the pain tearing right through me.
I’d tried telling myself it was just my imagination, but there was no escaping the truth now.
——
They were about to leave my line of sight, and I couldn’t help myself; I called out, “Stop right there!”
Olivia froze, surprised to see me, but her expression quickly turned composed. “What are you doing here?” she asked, frowning.
“Good thing I am here. Otherwise, how much longer would you have kept lying to me?” I said, smiling bitterly.
With a shrug, she dropped all pretense. Still holding onto the man’s arm, she stepped closer, right in front of me. “Well, I guess now you know. Now I don’t have to keep tiptoeing around anymore.”
I could barely get the words out, my heart aching so much I could hardly breathe. “Why would you betray me?” My eyes were blurred with tears.
She glanced at me with disdain. “Because you’re broke, Brian. I don’t see any future with you.”
I’d been poor for as long as she’d known me, so why accept my love in the first place if that was a problem?
If she’d turned me down at the start, at least it wouldn’t hurt this much now.
I pointed to the man standing next to her. “And…being with him gives you a future?”
At that, her eyes lit up. “Of course! Charles here is the real deal – he’s got a huge trust fund, and his family owns, like, a massive cattle ranch. I’d be crazy to stay with you!”
She even blushed, looking at him like he was her entire world, a look I’d never seen her give me.
So, she really did love him.
But I recognized the guy; I’d seen him at a job fair before.