Chapter 2

He didn't move, his eyes pleading.

"Emily, think about us. Everything we've built."

"You destroyed it, Kevin. Not me."

My voice was surprisingly steady.

He knew Emily Miller, the struggling marketing girl.

He had no idea about Miller Holdings, about the resources I could call upon if I chose to.

My father' s plan for "real-world experience" suddenly felt like a cruel joke.

I had wanted simple, honest love. I got this.

"This is a mistake, Em. You're emotional right now."

"The only mistake was me ever trusting you."

I pulled off my engagement ring, the diamond suddenly feeling cheap and dirty.

I placed it on the counter.

"It's over, Kevin."

He stared at the ring, then at me, his face a mixture of shock and anger.

"You'll regret this, Emily. You're throwing away everything."

"I'm saving myself."

He finally turned and walked towards the door.

He paused, his hand on the knob.

"Victoria is going to be very happy about this."

Then he was gone.

The silence he left behind was deafening.

I sank onto the sofa, the fight draining out of me, leaving me hollow.

Heartbreak was a physical ache, a crushing weight on my chest.

The next day, I started packing.

I had to get out of that apartment, our shared memories now tainted.

My phone buzzed. A text from Kevin.

"Victoria wants you out by tomorrow. She's moving in."

So fast. So brutal.

I felt a fresh wave of humiliation.

She wasn't just taking my fiancé; she was taking my home.

I found a short-term rental, a sterile, impersonal place.

The day I moved out, Victoria was there.

She lounged on my sofa, my sofa, as if she owned the place. Which, in a way, she now did.

Kevin stood beside her, looking uncomfortable but saying nothing.

"Emily, darling," Victoria said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "So glad you could make it quick. Kevin and I have so much to prepare for."

She patted her still-flat stomach.

I ignored her, focusing on getting my last few boxes out.

"Don't forget anything important," she called after me. "Wouldn't want you to have any reason to come back."

Her laughter followed me out the door.

The humiliation didn't stop there.

Over the next few weeks, it felt like Victoria was engineering situations to make me look bad.

She spread rumors at the old office, painting me as unstable, incompetent.

Mutual friends suddenly became distant.

I was isolated, adrift.

The Miami honeymoon was already booked, non-refundable as Kevin had ironically suggested.

A bitter laugh escaped me.

Going alone felt like a special kind of torture.

But staying in Austin, surrounded by their triumph, felt worse.

I needed to escape.

So, I decided. I would go to Miami. Alone.

Maybe the sun and the sea could wash away some of this pain.

Or maybe I'd just find new ways to feel miserable.

Either way, I couldn't stay here.