That was it. The one-sided marriage was over.
The next day, I moved into the loft apartment I’d already lined up in Pioneer Square. When I woke up, my phone showed several missed calls from Nigel. His voicemail was a sharp, irritated interrogation. "What is this, Jules? All your stuff is gone. We were supposed to celebrate our anniversary. Where the hell are you?"
I deleted it without a second thought. I was used to it. The late nights I worked in the ER, my own birthday, every moment I needed him—one call from Chloe was all it took for him to vanish. He'd show up the next day with a gift, his indignant questions painting me as the unreasonable one. It used to be that a small peace offering was all it took for me to swallow my pride and become his shadow again. But this time, I was just... done.
After work, he cornered me in the hospital parking lot. Dressed in a deep blue suit, he looked tall and imposing against the setting sun.
"Jules, Owen is throwing a welcome party for me tonight. You're coming." His tone was a command, not an invitation.
Against my better judgment, I got into his car. Maybe it was the familiar pull of his authority, or maybe I was just hungry.
On the way, a faint, sweet perfume hung in the air—the niche brand Chloe adored.
"When did you start wearing cologne?" I asked, feigning nonchalance.
He hesitated for a fraction of a second. "I don't."
I said nothing. If he was telling the truth, it only confirmed they were close enough for her scent to cling to him. The thought was nauseating.
We drove the rest of the way in silence. The moment we arrived, Owen Grant’s face split into a wide grin. "Nigel, you finally made it." Then his eyes landed on me, and the smile froze on his face.
In the private room, Owen's friends surveyed me with expressions ranging from indifference to outright hostility. Owen and Chloe had been inseparable since medical school. From the moment Nigel and I became official, Owen had treated me with unconcealed disdain. In his eyes, I was just a trauma surgeon, leagues below Seattle’s youngest neurosurgery prodigy. I wasn't just unworthy; I was an anchor dragging Nigel down.
In the past, to save Nigel from embarrassment, I would force a smile and try to blend in. Not anymore. I now understood the problem was never me. In their world, only Chloe was good enough for Nigel.
So I dropped the pretense, walked directly to the most secluded corner, and sat down, opening my patient files.
"Dr. Barnes, this way, please." Owen gestured with a tight, insincere smile, leading me to an even more isolated table by the bar. He then turned and reverently escorted Nigel and a fashionably late Chloe to the central booth.
