I sent the text to my best friend, Sophie, then hopped in the shower. A simple message: We’re getting married next month. When I got out, my phone, usually quiet, was a bonfire of notifications. The group chat, dormant for weeks, had exploded with 99+ messages. Curiosity piqued, I opened it. Everyone was tagging Ethan. Congrats, man! Eight years, about damn time! Dude, when did you propose? You kept that locked down tight. Dibs on best man. I’m calling it now, no arguments. I frowned. Ethan was getting married? To whom? Then a message from Jess, Ethan’s lifelong best friend—the “one of the guys” girl—popped up. Son, getting married is a big deal. Why didn’t you tell your old lady? The next message was from Ethan himself, and it was tagged to me. @Olivia, what’s this? The silent treatment wasn’t working, so now you’re trying to force my hand? 1 After I texted Sophie about the wedding next month, I went to take a shower. When I came back, my phone, which was usually dead quiet, had blown up. A group chat I was in had over 99 new messages. I opened it, curious. Everyone was tagging Ethan. [Congratulations! After eight years, you’re finally tying the knot.] [Ethan, my man, when did you propose? You kept that under wraps.] [I call best man, don’t even try to fight me on it.] I frowned. Ethan was getting married too? Just then, Jess, his female best friend, sent a message. [Son, how could you not tell your mom about something as huge as getting married? You ungrateful child!] The very next second, Ethan tagged me. [What, the silent treatment didn’t work, so now you’re trying to force a wedding?] The lively chat went dead silent. The shock of his words hung in the air for a long, awkward moment. My heart stuttered. I frantically scrolled up through the chat history and there it was, a message I’d sent by mistake. [Hey gorgeous, I’m getting married on the 28th of next month. Make sure you book the time off. You’re my maid of honor.] I sighed, exasperated with myself. My thumbs were already flying across the keypad, typing out a clarification. But Ethan beat me to it. [@Olivia, forget it. I’m not marrying you. If you’re really sorry, pack your shit and come back on your own. Stop with these ridiculous games.] He added another message. [And on your way back, pick me up some tacos from that place you know I like.] Seeing his words, my hands froze over the screen. A friend in the chat, clearly confused, finally broke the silence. [Wait, so there’s no wedding?] Ethan replied instantly. [Of course not. You think I’m ready to be tied down? Please.] Jess chimed in. [Told you. As if my son would get married and his own mom wouldn’t know.] [But you guys have been together for eight years. I heard that if you date for more than ten, it’s hard to ever get married.] Ethan’s reply was casual, dismissive. [So it’s hard. Then we just won’t. Who cares?] One of the kinder friends must have felt the sting on my behalf. [Uh, dude… Olivia’s still in the chat.] Ethan just sent back a smug-looking emoji. Jess then typed, [Alright, can you guys just drop it? Think how awkward this is for Olivia!] Then she tagged Ethan. [Son, you on for some ranked matches?] Ethan: [You log on first. Daddy’s on his way.] And then, one last tag for me. [@Olivia, when you get back, tidy up the apartment and take out the trash. I’m about to game, don’t bother me.] I took a deep, steadying breath. I deleted the apologetic explanation I had been typing and started fresh. [Sorry everyone, I was in the shower and just saw this. I’m getting married on the 28th of next month at The Empyrean Ballroom. You’re all welcome to come if you’re free.] I paused, then typed the final sentence. [By the way, the groom isn’t Ethan.] I hit send. Then I exited the chat for good. 2 Ethan and I got together our freshman year of college. It was an eight-year relationship. He was the one who pursued me, a grand, campus-wide campaign that everyone knew about. But once he had me, it was I who did all the compromising. Every time we fought, I was the one to apologize. If I didn’t, he could go two months without speaking a single word to me. Our most recent fight was because he’d stayed up all night gaming with Jess. Jess was his childhood friend, and their jokes often crossed a line that made me uncomfortable. The worst I ever heard was when Ethan, on an open voice chat, said to her, “If I carry this match, you’d better be on your knees ready to worship me.” Jess, never one to be outdone, shot back, “If you can actually fly, I’ll blow you… all the way to the top.” I couldn’t listen anymore. I lost my temper right then and there. Ethan’s reaction was to call me dramatic. He said he only saw Jess as a brother. They used to go skinny-dipping in the creek as kids, for God’s sake. If he was going to make a move on her, wouldn’t he have done it by now? I cried all night, my hurt completely invisible to him. He just kept playing with Jess, duo-queuing until the sun came up. Only when Jess said she was tired did he finally put down his phone to sleep, without a single word to me. The next morning, my mom called. She told me a friend from my hometown had just gotten married and asked, again, when it would be my turn. I suddenly remembered a conversation from a few weeks prior. I had asked Ethan if he ever thought about marriage. He had laughed, that careless, charming laugh of his. “Don’t even think about it. I don’t have a single thought about marriage right now. If that’s what you really want, you’re with the wrong guy.” In that moment, something inside me settled. A profound, quiet clarity. I hung up with my mom. I calmly got out of bed and looked at my reflection in the mirror, my eyes swollen like walnuts. I packed my bags. When Ethan finally got up, I placed my key on the counter by the door. “Ethan, I’m leaving.” He just scoffed, said nothing, and walked back into the bedroom. After breaking up with Ethan, I let my family set me up on a few dates. It was clumsy and discouraging at first. I was ready to give up, convinced that you couldn’t shortcut your way to real connection. But then, on the very last setup, I met him. The man I had always hoped for. With our parents’ blessing, we dated for two months and decided to get married. When I was with Ethan, marriage felt like an impossible mountain to climb, fraught with obstacles and endless considerations. But when I met the right person, I realized it wasn't a mountain at all. It was just the natural flow of a river reaching the sea. I had, for the most part, already forgotten Ethan. If it weren’t for today’s misfired text, he might have stayed a ghost. I used to think that forgetting him would be the hardest thing I’d ever have to do. I won’t deny it; the first few weeks after moving out of his place were brutal. I was constantly checking my phone, my moods swinging from irrational anger to deep, hollowing sadness. I had no appetite. I couldn’t sleep. I know exactly how painful that process is. It feels like being pulled into a bottomless abyss, sinking so fast you can’t even catch your breath. And it went on like that. A day, then two, then a month… Until one day, I was eating, and I tasted something I loved. Really tasted it. I finished my plate and went back for seconds, then thirds. I knew then. Ethan and I were finally a closed chapter. 3 The next day, Daniel and I went for our engagement photoshoot. Daniel is my fiancé. He’s thirty, tall, with a quiet, refined grace. He’s the complete opposite of Ethan. Daniel is mature, stable, and his emotions are a calm sea. He discusses things before they become problems. Being with him feels safe. It feels like coming home. Ethan was a wildfire. Passionate, full of restless energy, completely impulsive. He would wake me in the middle of the night to go on a spontaneous hike, or he’d invite a dozen of his friends over on a Tuesday night when I was exhausted from work, without a word of warning. He never once considered anyone’s feelings but his own, his actions dictated solely by the whim of the moment. I used to believe that love was about mutual sacrifice, about bending yourself to fit another person. But with Daniel, I’ve learned that with the right person, you don’t have to change or force anything. You just… fit. We were halfway through the photoshoot when my phone rang. I was taking a break, sitting in a folding chair, and I saw Ethan’s name on the screen. Honestly, I was surprised. I never thought Ethan would be the one to call me first. Especially since he hadn’t so much as sent a text after I blew up the group chat last night. I answered. “What’s your game?” he asked, his voice cold and clipped. “What’s this ‘the groom isn’t me’ bullshit? Your little tricks are getting more elaborate.” It was true that our cycle of fighting, me giving the silent treatment, and me leaving had happened before. Each time, I was pathetically trying to make him care, to make him miss me, to prove that he loved me. And each time, it had failed. In the end, it was always me who caved, who apologized, who begged to come back, dragging my suitcase back to his apartment. And he would always greet me with a smug, dismissive, “If you knew this was going to happen, why did you bother in the first place?” Looking back now, I can’t fathom why I allowed myself to be so utterly spineless. It was like I was possessed. So this is what it’s like to have your brain completely hijacked by love. “It’s not a trick, Ethan. I’m really getting married. And the groom isn’t you,” I said, my voice calm and distant. “Hah.” A scornful laugh. “Olivia, I’ve already taken the step of calling you. I’d advise you to take the win and quit while you’re ahead.” “Believe what you want.” I had nothing more to say and was about to hang up. “When you come home tonight, grab me some tacos from that place I like. We’ll call it even for this whole mess.” And with that, he hung up on me. I was genuinely furious. But was I angry at his staggering arrogance, or at the pathetic, weak version of myself who used to put up with it? Clenching my jaw, I opened the group chat from last night. I selected a candid shot the photographer had just taken—of Daniel and me, laughing, our faces close together. And I posted it.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "385191", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel