Chapter 5

I went back to the apartment I had once shared with Jaxon. The place felt alien, tainted by his lies. The smiling photo of us in Paris still sat on the mantelpiece, mocking me. I took it and threw it in an empty box.

I started packing. I moved through the rooms with a grim efficiency, pulling my clothes from the closet, my books from the shelves. Every object held a memory, and every memory was now poisoned.

The front door opened and Jaxon walked in. He stopped in the doorway of the bedroom, taking in the sight of my suitcases on the bed.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice laced with confusion, as if he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

"I'm leaving, Jaxon," I said without looking at him.

"Leaving? What are you talking about? We're getting married," he said, stepping into the room. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened at the cafe. Janice is just... emotional. You know how she is."

"I know exactly how she is," I said, folding a sweater and placing it in my suitcase.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was his go-to move when he was trying to appear stressed and reasonable. "Okay, this is my fault. I shouldn't have left you at the hospital. I should have handled things better. Let me make it up to you."

He grabbed my hand. "Let's go shopping. I'll buy you anything you want. A new dress. Jewelry. Whatever will make you forget about this."

He thought he could buy my forgiveness. He thought a new trinket would smooth over his betrayals. The absurdity of it was almost laughable.

Before I could refuse, he was pulling me out the door, his grip on my arm firm. "Come on. It'll be fun."

He dragged me to the most expensive boutique in the city. He paraded me around, forcing me to try on dresses, holding up necklaces against my skin. "See? Doesn't this make you feel better?" he'd ask, a desperate edge to his smile.

I felt like a doll, a prop in his frantic attempt to put our broken relationship back together. I played along, my face a polite, empty mask.

As he was paying for a diamond necklace he insisted on buying me, a familiar voice called out his name.

"Jaxon, darling!"

Janice. She glided into the store, her eyes landing on the necklace in the velvet box.

"Oh, what a beautiful necklace!" she exclaimed, coming to stand beside us. She looked at me, a fake smile plastered on her face. "Elfrieda, you have such wonderful taste."

Before I could respond, she plucked the necklace from the box. "It would look just perfect with the dress I'm wearing to the fundraiser tomorrow night." She held it against her own neck, admiring her reflection in the mirror.

I looked at Jaxon, waiting to see what he would do.

He hesitated for only a second. Then he turned to me with a placating smile. "You know, she's right. The color of these diamonds really brings out her eyes. I'll buy you a different one, El. A bigger one."

He turned to the cashier. "I'll take it." He paid for the necklace and then personally fastened it around Janice's neck.

"Thank you, darling," Janice cooed, kissing his cheek. "You're always so good to me." She shot me a triumphant smirk over his shoulder.

That was it. The final, public, undeniable humiliation. He had taken something meant for me, an apology gift, and given it to his wife, right in front of my face. He had told me I was second best, that my feelings didn't matter, that her whims would always come first.

I didn't say a word. I turned and walked out of the store.

I didn't go back to the apartment. I walked to the nearest trash can and threw away the small, expensive earrings he had bought me earlier. I walked to a consignment shop and sold the designer handbag he'd given me for my birthday. I walked until my feet ached, shedding every last piece of him, of the life we had built on a foundation of lies.

When I finally got back to my parents' house, I felt lighter. The pain was still there, a deep, persistent ache, but it was now overlaid with a sense of purpose.

I sat down at my laptop and opened my email. An old message was sitting in my inbox, unread for months. It was from the Norwegian Royal Academy of Music, formally offering me a spot in their prestigious violin program. A full scholarship. The one I had turned down for Jaxon.

I clicked reply.

"Dear Admissions Committee," I typed, my fingers flying across the keyboard. "Thank you for your generous offer. If the position is still available, I would be honored to accept."

I hit send before I could second-guess myself. A wave of relief washed over me. This was my new beginning. A new country. A new life. A future that was entirely my own.

Later that night, Jaxon came to my parents' house. He must have gone back to our apartment and found it empty of all my belongings. He looked frantic, his hair disheveled, his eyes wild.

"Elfrieda, what is going on?" he demanded when I opened the door. "Why is all your stuff gone?"

"I told you, Jaxon. I'm leaving you," I said calmly.

"No, you're not," he said, stepping inside. "We're engaged. We're getting married." He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and waved it in my face. It was a pre-nuptial agreement, already drafted and ready for my signature. "See? I've had my lawyers draw this up. Everything is taken care of. We can get married next week."

He was still trying to follow his script, to check off the boxes. He couldn't comprehend that I had thrown the whole script away.

"I'm not signing that," I said. "And I'm not marrying you."

"Why are you being so difficult?" he asked, his voice rising in frustration. "Is this about the necklace? I told you, I'll buy you another one!"

My flight was in two days. Two more days of this madness.

He reached for me, a desperate look in his eyes. "Don't do this, El. We're meant to be together."

I looked at the man in front of me, the man I had loved so deeply. I saw a stranger. A weak, selfish man hiding behind a dead brother's wish.

"The only thing we are, Jaxon," I said, my voice cold and clear, "is over."