Chloe froze mid-chew, her cheeks puffed out, then snuck a look at my face and stammered, “Well… he must have learned from you. I didn’t know he’d gotten so good at taking care of other people.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’ve never eaten a single piece of fruit he’s cut for me.”
Chloe shot Jason a guilty look from across the room. Jason immediately lowered his head like he’d done something wrong.
I’d never seen him so obedient.
But when he looked back at me, his tone changed. “Do you have to be so sarcastic all the time? It’s just a piece of fruit. If you want me to cut you some, I will.”
I gripped the plate tighter.
“Later” was Jason’s favorite word. Later I’ll buy you a bigger ring. Later I’ll treat you better. Later I’ll cook for you.
But those “laters” were just empty promises. He said them and forgot them.
The way he treated Chloe never had to wait for later.
I slid the engagement ring off my finger and placed it on the bed in front of him. “I don’t need your apples. And I don’t need this anymore.”
The room went quiet. All I could hear was the beeping of the monitors, like tiny hammers against my ribs.
I thought I would feel sad. But the moment the ring came off, I secretly felt relieved.
After a long pause, Jason finally spoke, his voice rough. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I looked at him calmly. I thought about the day he proposed, how he said he would work hard and save up to buy me a big ring and a big house.
Chloe had laughed at him for being so pathetic, challenging him to buy one right then if he was so serious. Jason’s face had gone red, and he couldn’t even look at her.
Fool that I was, I comforted him. “It’s okay. A small ring makes my fingers look thinner.”
That night, Jason drank a lot. He held me, drunk, his head buried in my neck. “Am I really that useless? Even Chloe looks down on me.”
I blamed myself. I thought Chloe had been too harsh and bruised his ego. One was my best friend. The other was my fiancé. I was afraid they’d end up resenting each other because of it.
The next day, I cooked a huge meal and invited Chloe over.
Jason was unusually generous that day. He spent almost a hundred dollars at the grocery store, like he wanted me to prepare a feast.
I should have figured it out back then. Jason wasn’t angry at what Chloe said. He was angry at himself for not meeting her standards.
After that, he worked harder than ever. Late nights, overtime. I thought he was doing it for our future together.
He said once we saved up five thousand dollars, we would get married.
But when we were only a few hundred dollars short, he spent it all without a second thought.
I looked at the debit card on the table. “There’s no money left. There’s no wedding. We’re done.”