Chapter 4

Aria Chen POV:

The annual departmental gala was in full swing, a chaotic blend of faculty, students, and a few corporate sponsors. I was supposed to be enjoying it, but I felt like a ghost, drifting through conversations, detached and numb. Donovan was across the room, as always, surrounded by his adoring public, Brie firmly by his side.

Suddenly, a voice cut through the din. "Aria!"

I turned to see Kevin Morin, a former colleague from my tech days, walking towards me. He looked different, sharper, more confident. He' d left the university admin job a while ago for a venture capital firm. He' d always been kind, but I hadn' t seen him in months.

"I' ve waited so long to say this," Kevin said, his voice earnest, drawing the attention of those around us. "Aria, I... I' m in love with you. I always have been. Please, give me a chance."

My jaw dropped. The room seemed to fall silent, every eye on me. The embarrassment burned. I had no idea how to respond.

Before I could, a hand clamped down on my arm, dragging me away. It was Donovan, his face a thundercloud. He pulled me through the crowd, past the stunned faces, his grip bruising.

"What was that?" he snarled, pushing me into an empty hallway. "What the hell was that, Aria? Are you trying to make a spectacle of yourself?"

My arm throbbed. "He was just... expressing his feelings."

"His feelings?" Donovan' s voice was laced with disbelief. "And you just stood there? You didn' t shut him down? Are you two involved behind my back?"

The sheer audacity of his words hit me like a physical blow. The hypocrisy was a bitter taste in my mouth. My own humiliation faded, replaced by a cold, searing anger.

"Me? Involved?" I scoffed, a dry, humorless sound. "You' re accusing me of cheating? Are you serious, Donovan? After you and Brie' s little performance at the mixer? After the peanut butter? After the guinea pig? After every single lie you' ve told me, every time you' ve dismissed me for her?"

His eyes flashed with something akin to jealousy, but it was possessive, not loving. He grabbed my face, pulling me roughly towards him. His lips crashed onto mine, a desperate, angry kiss. I tasted cheap wine and something else, something cloyingly sweet, like the artificial flavor of the artisanal ice cream Brie loved. It made my stomach churn.

I struggled, pushing him away with all my strength. My hands found purchase on his chest, shoving him back.

Smack!

The sound echoed in the empty hallway. My palm stung, but the satisfaction was immense. I had slapped him.

My lip was bleeding where his teeth had scraped it. I touched it, then looked at the smear of crimson on my fingertip.

"It' s over, Donovan," I said, my voice shaking with a mixture of rage and relief. "We' re done. Don' t ever touch me again."

His eyes, wide with disbelief and hurt, stared back at me. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Then, with a roar of pure frustration, he punched the wall beside him, leaving a dent, and stormed away.

The next few days were a blur of his frantic attempts to "fix" things. He started showing up at my office, bringing me flowers and coffee, something he hadn't done in years. He even started publicly acknowledging me as his partner, holding my hand, introducing me to colleagues he' d once kept me hidden from. He changed his phone password to my birthday, a detail I only discovered when he "accidentally" left his phone unlocked. He even mentioned arranging for Brie to transfer to another department.

I watched him go through the motions, a cynical smile playing on my lips. It wasn't love. It was possessiveness. He hadn't wanted me until someone else did. I saw through it all. He wasn't trying to win me back; he was trying to win himself back – the image of the perfect, respectable professor.

Meanwhile, Brie' s social media feed, once vibrant with pictures of her and Donovan, turned melancholic. Cryptic posts about heartbreak and unfairness replaced her usual bubbly updates. It was clear Donovan' s sudden attentiveness to me had come at her expense.

One afternoon, I found Brie waiting for me outside my office. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her face pale.

"Why won' t he marry you?" she demanded, her voice raw. "He told me he would never marry you. He said you were just... comfortable."

My blood ran cold. The audacity of this girl.

"He told me you were clingy," she continued, tears streaming down her face. "He said he felt trapped. But he said with me... with me, it was real passion."

I stared at her, a wave of nausea washing over me. I wanted to scream, to cry, to lash out. But I just took a deep breath.

"Brie," I said, my voice calm, almost detached. "Donovan doesn' t belong to anyone. And he certainly doesn' t love you. If he did, you wouldn' t be here crying to me, would you? You' d be with him. Where is he, by the way?"

Her eyes widened, her bravado faltering. "He... he' s busy."

"Or maybe," I continued, a cold smile forming on my lips, "he' s busy trying to 'fix things' with me, because that' s what he does. He uses people. He used me for stability. He used you for... excitement. And when you stop being convenient, he' ll discard you too."

Her face crumpled. "You don' t know anything! He loves me! He promised me a future!"

"A future where he hides you away just like he hid me?" I countered, my voice sharp. "A future where he forgets your existence when it suits him? A future where he tells you how much he wants you, then runs back to the comfort of his old life?"

Brie recoiled, her face contorted in a mixture of anger and despair. "You' ll regret this, Aria! You think you' ve won? You haven' t!" She spun on her heel and fled, her sobs echoing down the hallway.

I walked back into my office, feeling a strange mix of emptiness and resolve. The plane tickets to Europe were already booked. I' d set the departure date for our anniversary. A quiet, symbolic escape.

That evening, Donovan called. "Meet me for dinner tonight, Aria. I have a surprise for you. A real surprise. Something that will change everything."

"I have something important to tell you too, Donovan," I said, my voice devoid of emotion.

He chuckled. "I' m sure you do, sweetheart. But my surprise is better. I' ll see you at eight. Don' t be late."

I hung up, then started to prepare dinner. It was a special meal, one of his favorites, one I used to make for him every anniversary. A final, silent ritual of goodbye.

Eight o' clock came and went. Then nine. Then ten. My phone remained silent.

Finally, a message popped up from Donovan. So sorry, babe. Work emergency. Just wrapped up a meeting. Running late. Be there ASAP. Don' t wait up!

At the exact same moment, another message arrived. From Brie. It was a picture. A blurry selfie of her and Donovan, faces flushed, eyes sparkling, nestled intimately in bed. His hand, unmistakable, was wrapped possessively around her waist. A triumphant caption underneath read: Happy Anniversary to us! Best decision ever!

My hands trembled, the phone slipping from my grasp. It clattered onto the polished table, the image of their smiling faces still glowing from the screen.

Then, Donovan's messages started flooding in again. Still stuck. This project is a nightmare. Missing you. Can' t wait to see your beautiful face. Almost home. Each message a fresh stab, a lie layered upon a lie.

Finally, Brie' s last message chimed. He' s all mine now, Aria. What are you going to do about it?

I sat at the table, the elaborate dinner I' d prepared growing cold around me. The anniversary, the surprise, the meal, the lies. It was all a grotesque farce.

Then, slowly, I stood up. My suitcase, packed and ready, stood by the door. I picked it up.

Donovan had just posted an update to his social media. A picture of two champagne glasses clinking, with the caption: New beginnings. Sometimes you just have to choose happiness.

Another message from him. On my way home now, love. Can' t wait to tell you about my crazy night.

I looked at his message, then at the picture of the champagne glasses. I pressed delete.

I glanced back at the dining table, at the untouched food, the flickering candles casting long shadows. It was a monument to a love that had died a long, slow death.

Without another word, I switched off the lights, locked the door, and got into the waiting taxi. As the car pulled away, I felt a strange sense of liberation. It was over. Truly over. And I was finally free.