FIVE

Juliet

I slowly turned to my mother in law.

“Provoked him?” I asked lowly, walking towards her.

She frowned, taking a step back.

“So that gave him the right to fucking hit me?!” I yelled, glowering at her.

My hands shook with the urge to hit something.

“Well…” she stuttered, shrinking away from me.

“If that is the case then maybe I should beat you into a pulp. Because all you have been doing is provoking me”, I threatened.

Her eyes widened. “Are you crazy?!”

“Of course I am. Your terribly raised son has been driving me insane!”

“How dare you say that, you ungrateful brat! I honestly don't know what Declan sees in you. You do not measure up to him in any way. And now you cannot even give him a child. And you think you have the right to complain when you've been nothing but useless?”

My eyes burned, muscles tensing as I tried to hold myself back. I would not break. I would not give her that satisfaction.

Dorothy Cooper had always been against my marriage to Declan. But he had continued to push until she reluctantly accepted. Scratch that, it was me sucking up to her and pleasing her. I was such an idiot.

“You’re right. I have nothing to offer him. But Declan has given me a lot. So much pain and misery”, I said through clenched teeth.

Her face twisted in anger. “If you're so miserable then leave. I’ll find a better woman for my son in no time”.

At a point, that statement would have hurt me.

“Well better get to it now, because I will soon be leaving. We don't want to waste time to find another woman for Declan to cheat on and disappoint”.

“You…”

I cut her off. “Best of luck, Dorothy”.

Her jaw dropped.

And then I walked away.

“Where are you going? How dare you walk out on me?!”

I tried to push her annoying yelling to the back of my head, walking even faster. Because if I stayed one more second, I might commit homicide.

Hours passed by in a drag.

Time does tend to be slow when you are sitting at alone at a cafe, tired of stuffing your face and scrolling through your phone.

I knew I had overstayed my welcome when the server started eyeing me suspiciously. The hoodie over my head plus the shades weren't helping.

After leaving the house because I felt suffocated, I had spent another hour driving around aimlessly. Nowhere to go, no one to talk to who wouldn't tell me to suck it up and go back to Declan on my knees.

I bit into my second burger of the day, thinking back to when I actually used to have friends. But somehow, we had all drifted apart. More like I was the one who drifted away, because Declan was not comfortable with his wife hanging out with young, single women.

It was easy to leave said friends, since they were not exactly supportive of my marriage to Declan.

And that was how I got to this point. Miserable and lonely.

After finishing my order, I left the cafe to use one of the nearby restrooms.

Standing in front of the sink in the restroom aisle, I washed my hands while checking my reflection. The swelling had gone down, but it still looked bad enough that I had to cover it.

I couldn't linger in the cafe forever. I had to go back at some point.

My stomach twisted with dread at the thought of seeing Declan again.

The other choice was to go to Mum. But when has she ever taken my side? I wasn't sure I would be able to bear it if she told me it was my fault. I was tired of hearing it.

“Juliet?”

I froze.

No.

“Grace?” I called, staring the reflection of the woman who used to be my best friend.

She had not changed much in four years. Except that she had longer hair and had somehow gotten more stunning.

She was wearing a black pencil skirt and white blouse, pin straight brown hair tied into a ponytail.

I turned to look at her.

“Hey”. That was all I managed to say, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat.

“It's… been a while”, she said, green eyes searching my face.

I averted my gaze, feeling a strong urge to draw my hood over my head.

“What happened to your face?” She asked.

For some reason, what came to my mind was the last time Grace and I had an actual conversation.

It was the night before graduation, when I told her I would be getting married in two weeks. She had questioned me on why I was rushing into marriage.

Somehow, the conversation had drifted into an argument on how I was abandoning my career goals for a man.

“You know what, Grace, I think you're just jealous”, I had told her.

Grace’s frown deepened. “Jealous?”

“Yes. Before Declan, it was always you getting all the men and all the attention. You just cannot stomach the fact that I bagged a man like Declan Cooper!”

The crestfallen expression on Grace's face had always been buried somewhere in my mind. At that moment, something told me I fucked up. But my stupid pride and insecurity held me back from apologizing for the damage.

It went downhill from there.

“Juliet?” Grace called, snapping me back to the presence.

“Sorry… um… I fell. I fell and hit something”. I had always been a terrible liar.

“That's what they all say”, Grace said quietly, looking at me with an expression I didn't like.

I was dying to know what was going through Grace's mind. Did she feel pity for me? Did she think I was pathetic to end up miserable after everything?

I cleared my throat. “When did you arrive in Stanton?”

Grace was quiet for a while, before talking. “Last week. I got called for an interview at Cornerstone”.

“Oh”, I said with a nod, remembering how we always daydreamed about working in the biggest law firm and the biggest architecture firm in Stanton city.

Something squeezed painfully at my chest. At least one of us got to keep her promise.

“Congratulations”, I said dryly.

“I don't think congratulations are in order yet”, she chuckled.

“I’m sure you'll get in”, I forced a smile. Grace had always been a hard worker, someone who dreamed big and was not afraid to achieve them. Once upon a time, I used to be like her, but without the optimism and confidence.

“Thanks”, she said.

“Okay”, I nodded.

What does one say to an old friend you once broke up with because you were a bitch?

My eyes burned. I turned away from her.

“I guess I’ll… see you around”, I forced out, turning to leave.

“Wait”, she held my arm, just as I was about to sprint.

I reluctantly turned to look at her.

“Are you okay?” She asked, concern etched on her face.

Why wouldn't she just let me leave? I could not understand the concern. After all these years?

“I’m good”.

I knew she wasn't going to buy it when my vision turned wet and blurry.