crushing line. The picture of the couple put a ball of emotions in her throat so tight she couldn’t swallow .
Frantic , she whipped out her cell phone to call the lying, cheating ass. Damn it all, she got voice mail. Briar o pened her mouth to speak when the beep for her to leave a message sounded , but no words came out. What could she say on a voice message? How could she possibly respond impersonally to such betrayal? Pain constricted her chest, leaving her wind ed. The newspaper she’d been holding was strewn about. A breeze was taking various pieces of it across the pavement. Her life in that moment was much like that paper, scattered and floating apart. The muffled ringtone of her cell gradually penetrated the numbing fog in her mind. It wasn’t until it started to vibrate did it snap her out of her trance. Briar pressed redial after taking a moment to clear her thoughts with a deep breath.
“Westly.” She s aid his name in cracked syllables , unable to maintain composure.
“Briar , what can I do for you ? ” She’d never heard him sound so distant, cold.
“How could you?” s he cried.
“How could I what?”
“ Did you think the news wouldn’t cover your marriage? I … saw the local paper . ” The second she uttered the words, s he died a little more inside . She swallowed hard . “ Y ou’re married. I d-don’t understand.”
“ Damn press. Fuck . We ga ve orders for a private ceremony .” Her heart shattered as his words echoed what was in the news paper. He left her, without a word, without a thought , for another woman.
“ How could you hurt me ? We have a life, a condo, our friends , our families . This doesn’t make sense , ” s he said between sobs.
“Quit crying , Briar. You know tears don’t work on me. I’m sorry , I guess I should’ve come clean, told you I wanted out.
“You wanted out? Six years later? We’ve been together since high school . We were plan ning to have children . Their names picked, the best preschools lined up. How can you , out of nowhere , do this to us? To me? ” Briar shrieked , through her cell phone at him causing people to gawk as they passed by on the sidewalk.
“Sometimes couples outgrow each other Briar. There’s no way around the truth. I outgrew you.”
“That’s a load of bullshit. Just two days ago , you said you loved me. You were lying then? Just when did you fall out of love with me? ” She sobbed into the phone, her hand gripping the tiny plastic piece like a lifeline.
His long drawn-out sigh met her ears, followed by dead air. “I haven’t been in love with you for a while. You let your need to please destroy our relationship, always settling instead of following your own dreams. I need a woman not afraid to take a chance, one who uses her own min d. You tiptoe around doin g what you want to do instead of going all out . Briar you aren’t the woman I fell in love with . You h ave n o t been for a long time. The attraction is gone.”
“Sweet Jesus.” His venomous words made acid churn in her stomach. She stumbl ed backwards , until the back of her knees hi t the edge of the bus bench behind her . She sat hard, staring blank ly at her phone. “I thought we were building a life together.”
How could he have no compassion, no heart for what he’d put into action. Where did the man she fell in love with go ? M ore importantly, why didn’t she see the change in him ?
“Look, my wife is back. I have to go.”
She heard the rustle of the phone accompanied by static. In the distance , Westly g ave his new wife the rundown o n the conversation . Moans and laughing followed, then a dial tone.
“ Miss, are you okay ? D o you need help?”
A horn blared , jerked her back to reality. Headlights blinded her. She froze in horror. When had she moved off the bench into the path of oncoming traffic? The car, driven by an angry older woman, honked again , waving a fist as she zoomed away. Briar put her hand to her head while
Frantic , she whipped out her cell phone to call the lying, cheating ass. Damn it all, she got voice mail. Briar o pened her mouth to speak when the beep for her to leave a message sounded , but no words came out. What could she say on a voice message? How could she possibly respond impersonally to such betrayal? Pain constricted her chest, leaving her wind ed. The newspaper she’d been holding was strewn about. A breeze was taking various pieces of it across the pavement. Her life in that moment was much like that paper, scattered and floating apart. The muffled ringtone of her cell gradually penetrated the numbing fog in her mind. It wasn’t until it started to vibrate did it snap her out of her trance. Briar pressed redial after taking a moment to clear her thoughts with a deep breath.
“Westly.” She s aid his name in cracked syllables , unable to maintain composure.
“Briar , what can I do for you ? ” She’d never heard him sound so distant, cold.
“How could you?” s he cried.
“How could I what?”
“ Did you think the news wouldn’t cover your marriage? I … saw the local paper . ” The second she uttered the words, s he died a little more inside . She swallowed hard . “ Y ou’re married. I d-don’t understand.”
“ Damn press. Fuck . We ga ve orders for a private ceremony .” Her heart shattered as his words echoed what was in the news paper. He left her, without a word, without a thought , for another woman.
“ How could you hurt me ? We have a life, a condo, our friends , our families . This doesn’t make sense , ” s he said between sobs.
“Quit crying , Briar. You know tears don’t work on me. I’m sorry , I guess I should’ve come clean, told you I wanted out.
“You wanted out? Six years later? We’ve been together since high school . We were plan ning to have children . Their names picked, the best preschools lined up. How can you , out of nowhere , do this to us? To me? ” Briar shrieked , through her cell phone at him causing people to gawk as they passed by on the sidewalk.
“Sometimes couples outgrow each other Briar. There’s no way around the truth. I outgrew you.”
“That’s a load of bullshit. Just two days ago , you said you loved me. You were lying then? Just when did you fall out of love with me? ” She sobbed into the phone, her hand gripping the tiny plastic piece like a lifeline.
His long drawn-out sigh met her ears, followed by dead air. “I haven’t been in love with you for a while. You let your need to please destroy our relationship, always settling instead of following your own dreams. I need a woman not afraid to take a chance, one who uses her own min d. You tiptoe around doin g what you want to do instead of going all out . Briar you aren’t the woman I fell in love with . You h ave n o t been for a long time. The attraction is gone.”
“Sweet Jesus.” His venomous words made acid churn in her stomach. She stumbl ed backwards , until the back of her knees hi t the edge of the bus bench behind her . She sat hard, staring blank ly at her phone. “I thought we were building a life together.”
How could he have no compassion, no heart for what he’d put into action. Where did the man she fell in love with go ? M ore importantly, why didn’t she see the change in him ?
“Look, my wife is back. I have to go.”
She heard the rustle of the phone accompanied by static. In the distance , Westly g ave his new wife the rundown o n the conversation . Moans and laughing followed, then a dial tone.
“ Miss, are you okay ? D o you need help?”
A horn blared , jerked her back to reality. Headlights blinded her. She froze in horror. When had she moved off the bench into the path of oncoming traffic? The car, driven by an angry older woman, honked again , waving a fist as she zoomed away. Briar put her hand to her head while
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