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“Ok, sweety. Can’t wait to have you back home.”
After ending the call with my dad, I look up and lock eyes with Sean. He’s standing in the doorway of the guestroom with a sad look on his face. His mistress has gone, and he wants to talk, but what’s there to talk about? How he’s a lying, cheating dog who will never be satisfied with any woman he chooses?
How he ruined my life by bringing me all the way to California only to betray my trust and make me want to question any man I choose moving forward? Or maybe he wants to talk about what my dad said, how he only saw me as a meal ticket.
“You’re leaving?” he asks.
“I am,” I say sharply. “I’m done being your doormat.”
He lets out a heavy sigh and hangs his head like he always does. Nothing ever changes for us. I don't know why I ever thought I could marry this guy. I should have left him the first time he stepped out on me.
“Felicia,” he says, sounding apologetic. “I never meant for things to be this way for us. I really wanted a different life with you. I just, I don’t know, I can’t do this right. I know you deserve better.”
“I do deserve better. A lot better,” I say. “I can’t believe I've wasted so many years hoping you’d change; hoping you’d finally grow up and be the man you promised you’d be when we moved here. It was all a lie. All of it. And I’m never going to forgive you for this. Not again.”
He stares at me. The seriousness in my tone must have stricken a nerve. He looks worried, confused even. I don’t know why he’d be the one confused. He’s the one who broke our commitment. Not me.
“I’ll be out of here in the morning,” I say. “I’m going back to New York to start fresh, and I don’t ever want to hear from you again.”
“Not even as friends?” he asks.
I can’t believe he has the nerve to ask if we can still be friends. Why would I want to be friends with the man who broke my heart? Why would I want to be friends with someone I can’t trust? This is just another one of his manipulation tactics and I’m not falling for it again. This time, we’re through for good.
“Not even as friends.” I stand to leave the room. “I’ll start packing my things tonight and by tomorrow morning, I’ll be gone for good. I hope you're happy with the choices you made and with whom you made them because I will never look back from here. You hurt me for the last time.”
As I try to walk past him, he gently grabs my hand and holds on for a moment. He’s taking in the realization that I’m done for real this time. As badly as it hurts me to leave him and start over, his actions hurt me even more.
“Goodbye, Sean.”
I leave the apartment and head for the bar at the corner of our street. It’s one of my favorite places in SoCal. My friend, Melissa, works here and she’s always coming up with some fancy drink combo that takes the edge off. I’m not necessarily a drinker, but right now, I could use something stiff.
“Hey Fee-Fee!” she greets me with a smile from behind the bar. “Surprised to see you in here today. What’s up?”
The second I sit down, she reads my facial expression and knows something is wrong. It's not hard to tell when something is off with me. If my mouth doesn’t say how I feel, my face certainly will.
“I need a drink,” I say. “It’s been a long day.”
“I have just the thing.”
Melissa whips me up a fruity cosmopolitan and comes around the bar to have a seat with me. She's been my closest friend here and I'm so thankful for her. If it weren’t for having her around most days, I would have lost my mind a long time ago.
“Everything alright?” she asks. “You don’t look like your normal hot self.”
“I don’t feel like her either,” I say. “I fucking came home early from work and found Sean in bed with another woman.”
“Are you kidding me!?” her eyes widen. “That asshole! You're too good to be with someone like him, Felicia. Seriously.”
“I know. I'm leaving for good this time. My dad is sending a plane for me in the morning. I just can’t believe this. After all we've been through. All the times he promised to change. I gave up my entire life in New York to come out here and be with him because I actually believed we would get married and live the fairytale ending.. Wishful thinking.”
I feel so embarrassed right now. I know I'm not the only woman who’s going through a breakup, but this has been countless times for Sean and me. At some point it has to end, and that point is now.
“I’ll miss you.” Melissa throws her arm around me. “It sucks that you have to leave, but it’s for the best. You can’t keep weighing yourself down for Sean. He's not worth it. And besides, going back to New York will give me a reason to visit the Big Apple. I've always wanted to see what it’s like there.”
It is a sad ending in SoCal, but I'm happy to know that Melissa will visit me. I don’t have many friends back home and I'm sure I'll be too busy finding a job to make any. I don’t know, seclusion might do me some good for a while. I can finally focus on my career and rebuild my confidence after all of this.
Chapter Two - Marc
“Everything okay, Jep?”
