I decided to see Babur one more time and talk things through. I would tell him I didn't blame him for what he had said.
As long as he still loved me, I would stay with him.
I would even start learning how to be a proper wife. One day, I would stand by his side and fight my way up Gilded Row with him.
I told Lacey every detail of my plan. Her eyes flickered for a moment, but she didn't interrupt.
As we were heading out, she gently removed the necklace from my neck.
"Valeria, Babur said he didn't like you looking like that. Maybe he wants you to dress more… simply?"
Lacey handed me a few photos. I recognized the girl in them. She had been the top student in our class, and I'd heard she was already studying at an outstanding school.
I styled myself to match the photos.
I tied up my long blonde hair, removed my manicure, skipped the makeup, and put on a plain pair of glasses.
The sexy mini skirts were replaced with jeans that covered my legs completely.
"Oh my God, Valerie, you look like a total academic overachiever now," Lacey exclaimed dramatically.
I looked at myself in the mirror and managed a small smile.
This time, I thought, Babur would finally believe I was serious.
I would tell him I wasn't just someone who knew how to dress up. For him, I could learn anything.
I left quickly and headed toward the apartment where I had lived for three years.
Every minute on the way, I replayed the scene of our reunion in my mind.
He would hold me like he used to, kiss my face, apologize for everything. Maybe he would even take out a ring and propose, fulfilling the promise we had made.
With that hope, I hurried all the way to Babur's place.
Babur was indeed kissing a girl. She had golden curls, flawless makeup, and the trendiest manicure.
A sexy mini dress clung to her curves. She looked so much like the old me.
And the man who had claimed he hated that version of me was kissing her like he meant it.
My body reacted before my mind could catch up. I screamed and rushed forward, forcing them apart.
For a split second, panic flickered in Babur's eyes. Then it hardened into contempt.
"Who is she?" the girl asked, confused.
Then I heard Babur's cold voice. "A fan. You know how it is. I used to be captain of the school baseball team. Plenty of girls had crushes on me. I just didn't expect her to be crazy enough to follow me home."
Babur's words pierced my heart like arrows.
All the strength drained from my body.
Even as he wrapped his arm around the girl and walked away, I couldn't move to stop him.
I watched Babur help her into the car. The smile on his face was sweet, just like the one he used to give me.
The car drove off, shrinking into the distance until it disappeared completely.
I leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the ground. The pavement was hard. The rug I had once bought for the doorway was gone.
I remembered when we first moved in together. I told him I loved pink, and he had laughed, wrapping his arm around my waist, indulging me as I replaced all the furniture with pink pieces.
"Valerie, this is our home. You can turn it into anything you like."
He knew I had grown up living in my aunt's house, always longing for a place of my own.
He had placed the key in my palm and promised that I would be the only lady of this home.
I had believed him. Slowly, I had left pieces of myself in every corner of that house.
And now, those traces had been wiped away by his own hands, just like his love for me, erased without a mark.
Leaning against the door, I felt sorrow spreading through me.
How had it come to this?
He said he didn't like girls who only cared about dressing up. So I traded my pretty mini skirts for plain jeans.
Yet he had just been kissing another girl dressed exactly the way I used to be.
The image of their intimacy replayed in my mind again and again.
Tears kept spilling from the corners of my eyes.
I had to ask him.
Why was it acceptable for someone else, but unforgivable for me?
I didn't know how long I had been sitting there. My tears had nearly run dry when headlights suddenly washed over my face.
I opened my eyes just in time to see Babur stepping out of a car.
The girl was gone. He glanced at me, frowned, said nothing, and tried to walk past.
Just as he was about to close the door, I gathered what little strength I had left and forced my way inside.
