Chapter 3

Cassie POV:

He didn't come home that night. Of course, he didn't. The man who had drained our joint account two months ago, then lied to my face for weeks, wouldn't bother with an explanation. He was too busy being Kiera's hero.

My phone, still clutched in my hand, buzzed with another notification. It was Kiera's latest Instagram story. A blurry photo, clearly taken in a dimly lit, expensive restaurant. Ethan's arm was slung casually around her shoulders, his head bent close as they laughed. A private joke, a stolen moment. It twisted my stomach into a tighter knot. He looked happy, carefree. He looked like a man who hadn't just destroyed his fiancée's dreams.

He'd spent holidays with my family, shared intimate moments with my parents, called them "Mom and Dad." But Kiera? She was "family." Her son was "like a nephew." His loyalty, his affection, was a shifting tide, always flowing towards whoever needed him most, or perhaps, whoever was best at making him feel needed. I was just the steady shore, always there, always taken for granted.

My thumb hovered over the "unfollow" button, then the "block" button. No. Not yet. I needed to see it, to feel the pain, to cauterize the wound. But enough was enough. I slammed the phone face down on the counter, silencing the stream of digital torment. The photos, the laughing faces, them together-it was a poison I refused to keep ingesting.

The first call I made the next morning was to Brenna. Her voice, usually bright and energetic, was laced with concern the moment she heard mine.

"Brenna," I started, my voice flat, devoid of any inflection. "I'm canceling the wedding."

A beat of stunned silence on the other end. Then, a rush of questions. "What? Cassie, what happened? Are you okay? Did he finally-"

"I'm fine," I cut her off, though the word tasted like ash. "Just... it's over. All of it."

"Over? Cassie, that's it? You're just saying 'it's over'?" Her journalist's instinct kicked in, demanding details, context. "Tell me everything. I knew he was trouble with that Kiera situation, I told you-"

"I can't right now, Brenna," I interrupted again, my resolve wavering slightly. "I just needed to tell someone. I need to make the calls. To everyone. The caterer, the venue, the florist..."

The next few hours were a blur of polite apologies, strained explanations, and the hollow ring of a future dissolving. Each cancellation confirmation was a small cut, a tiny gash in the fabric of my life. "We regret to inform you..." "Our deepest apologies for the inconvenience..." Each word, each forced pleasantry, felt like a nail in the coffin of my dreams. Yet, with each call, a strange, cold sense of relief settled in. It was painful, yes, but it was also a liberation.

I returned to the silent apartment, the echoes of my own voice still hanging in the air. The place felt enormous, empty. His absence was a physical presence, a gaping hole where our shared life used to be.

He still hadn't called. Not a single text, not a voicemail. Nothing. He was too engrossed in his new role as Kiera's savior to spare a thought for the woman he was supposed to marry. It infuriated me, but also cemented my decision. He didn't care. Not really.

I walked into the bedroom, the room we had shared, and began to pack. Not the wedding dress, not the heirloom jewelry, not the sentimental gifts. Just my clothes, my sketchbooks, my tools, my essential documents. The things that were undeniably mine. Everything he had bought me, everything that reminded me of us, I left behind. The diamond earrings, the designer handbag, even the small, engraved locket he' d given me on our fifth anniversary. They were tainted. Worthless.

This apartment, once my sanctuary, now felt like a stage from which I was making my final exit. I was an actress in a play I hadn't chosen, and now I was walking off-script. The judgment, the whispers, the pity-it would all come. But it didn't matter. Not anymore. I wasn't leaving because I was weak; I was leaving because I finally understood my worth. I would not be a supporting character in his emotionally stunted drama.

Sleep didn't come easily. I curled up on the sofa, a blanket pulled tight around me, not daring to enter the bedroom. My mind drifted, not to Ethan, but to the fellowship, to the distant city, to new faces and new challenges. I saw myself in a bright, airy studio, a new pen in my hand, sketching a new future.

The apartment door creaked open, startling me awake. Ethan stood there, a secretive, almost smug smile playing on his lips. He hadn't even noticed the packed suitcase by the door, the absence of half my wardrobe, the quiet devastation in the air.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he said, his voice annoyingly cheerful. He didn't even look at me. He was already shrugging off his jacket, his attention elsewhere. "I've got some great news about the wedding plans."

My breathing hitched. He was still so blissfully unaware. And I was ready to drop the bomb.