Bailey Glass POV:
"No, August. Just stop. I'm done. I'm really, truly done." Saying the words out loud, finally, felt like exhaling after holding my breath for seven years.
August stared at me, his jaw clenched, but he didn't argue further. That was his way. Avoidance. Conflict was for me to initiate, him to deflect. He' d learned that trick early in our relationship. A quick apology, a vague promise to do better, and then back to ignoring the problem until it festered again. But not this time. My resolve was a cold, hard stone in my chest.
I knew this dance. I' d danced it a hundred times before. Every hurt, every slight, every broken promise was cataloged in my mind, a silent ledger of pain. I didn' t want to add another entry.
The next morning, I signed the papers. Not divorce papers, but the transfer of my graphic design business. For seven years, it had been a side hustle, a way to keep my skills sharp while August chased his dream. Now, it was a painful reminder of what I'd put on hold. Selling it meant letting go of a piece of myself. The thought burned.
"I'm leaving, August," I told him later, packing a small suitcase. He was scrolling through his phone, barely looking up.
"Leaving? To where? Your mom's?" he mumbled, still absorbed in his screen.
My mom. The irony wasn' t lost on me. I remembered moving to LA with him, so excited, so full of hope. He' d promised me the world, promised we' d build our dreams together.
"You don' t have to work, Bailey," he' d said, pulling me into a tight hug after I quit my stable design job in Portland. "I' ll take care of everything. Just support me, be my muse."
We lived on ramen and dreams for two years. There was a time when he truly appreciated my sacrifices. The time he almost died.
He' d been filming a low-budget indie movie, a gritty drama in the desert. One night, a prop malfunctioned, and he suffered a severe head injury. I rushed to the hospital, terrified. He looked so pale, so fragile, hooked up to machines. When he finally woke up, he grabbed my hand, his eyes filled with tears.
"Bailey," he rasped, "I don't know what I'd do without you. You're my anchor. My everything." He swore then, if he ever made it big, I' d be right there beside him, sharing in his success. We nearly lost everything that night. He promised to cherish me.
But success changed him. The small gestures, the whispered reassurances, faded. Slowly, subtly, they were replaced by a growing chasm between us. My anxiety, a shadow that had always lurked in my periphery, began to consume me. It stemmed from an unstable childhood, where my father died young, and my mother abandoned me repeatedly for new relationships. I craved stability, crave security. August' s unpredictable world, and his even more unpredictable affections, chipped away at my fragile peace.
I hated myself for it, but I became clingy, suspicious. Especially when his roles became more intimate.
"It's just acting, Bailey," he'd say, after a particularly steamy scene with a beautiful co-star. "It's not real."
But what about the way he'd laugh, a little too easily, with her during rehearsals? What about the late-night calls, the "creative discussions" that seemed to extend well past what was professional? I tried to push it down, to believe him. But the fear gnawed at me.
One day, I went to visit him on set. He was doing a "chemistry read" with a new actress. They were simulating a passionate kiss. It was supposed to be a short, innocent peck. But it lingered. His hand cradled her face. Her fingers tangled in his hair. They melted into each other, the line between acting and reality blurring before my eyes.
My stomach churned. I felt a cold wave of nausea. I wanted to scream, to run. But I stood frozen, watching, a silent observer in my own nightmare. Later, I scolded myself. It's just work. Don't be crazy. Don't be that girlfriend. But the image was seared into my mind.
My insecurity grew, festering. I started checking his phone, something I swore I'd never do. One night, I was caught.
He exploded. "What the hell, Bailey? Don't you trust me? This is a complete violation of my privacy!"
I stood there, tears streaming down my face, unable to defend myself. All I could think was, If you had nothing to hide, why are you so angry?
"Do you have nothing better to do than snoop through my phone?" he yelled, his voice laced with contempt. "Get a life, Bailey! Get your own ambitions back!"
The words hit me like a barrage of stones. He was right. I had nothing. I had given it all to him. But it was his suggestion. He had encouraged me to quit, to focus on him. "I'll support you!" he'd declared, years ago, his words a hollow echo now.
Two years ago, I decided to take back some control. I opened a small floral design studio near our apartment. It was modest, but it was mine. It gave me a purpose beyond August, beyond the endless cycle of waiting and worrying. I buried myself in flowers, in orders, in the delicate artistry of petals and stems. It was a distraction, a way to keep my mind from spiraling into the dark corners of suspicion.
But even then, the thoughts lingered. Is he with someone else right now? Is he laughing with another woman? Is he telling her all the things he used to tell me? The anxiety was a persistent hum beneath the surface of my new, seemingly independent life.
