Princess Without Pack by Mark Twain 3
Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Night fell, and the streets slowly emptied out.
I checked into a random hotel nearby.
Just got settled when my phone lit up.
Mom.
“Sweetie have you guys eaten yet? We’ve got so much food here!”
Photo attached. New Year’s dinner spread.
All my relatives gathered around the table, everyone smiling.
Cold air blew through the hotel window. I shivered.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to sound normal.
“Food’s almost ready. About to eat now. Don’t worry about us.”
I couldn’t tell them the truth-didn’t want to ruin their New Year’s.
Then, without thinking, I opened Ashton’s chat.
Empty as always.
Midnight, Fireworks outside.
Too loud to sleep.
I tortured myself scrolling through Ashton’s IG looking for proof he’d been cheating.
He’d hidden her well, covered his tracks perfectly.
Finally I found her username in a work group chat screenshot.
Jade Winter.
Distinctive name.
I searched it across every platform.
10:07
Surprise Visit Gone WRONG-Not Him Crying About Loneliness After Calling Me Dirty Sir???
22.29%
Chapter 3
Among all the duplicates, I spotted her instantly.
Profile picture looked familiar. It was the matching half of Ashton’s couple avatar.
When he changed his avatar back then, I’d happily searched for the matching one and switched mine too.
He looked annoyed.
Said he’d just picked a random image and didn’t want to broadcast our relationship like that.
In the end, he half-forced me to change it back.
Jade’s account had barely any followers.
But hundreds of posts.
All documenting her relationship with Ashton.
It started last May.
“Poor boss working late for a month, living on takeout. Brought him homemade chicken soup for lunch today. He literally cried. Wonder what kind of girlfriend he has.”
That was when Ashton’s dad broke his leg.
So he could focus on work, everyone kept it from him.
I took a month off and spent every day at the hospital helping his dad.
My boss took me off the promotion list after that.
“Boss canceled so many projects just to take me on this work trip. Being the favorite really feels amazing.”
That day was our ten-year anniversary.
And my birthday.
I’d pulled an all-nighter to finish a project, squeezed out three days off just to see him.
He told me he had some urgent business trip he couldn’t reschedule.
“Boss bought me a bag! The charm that came with it is ugly though. I’ll let him keep that part.”
I froze and looked at my phone case.
Chapter 3
Same exact charm-a ‘make-up’ birthday gift he’d given me later.
I’d treasured it, even put a protective film over it.
It took me two hours to scroll through her entire account.
My heart went ice cold.
None of the photos showed Ashton’s face.
But I recognized everything else-the clothes-the couple ring on his finger matching mine.
Ashton had been cheating for a long time.
Fireworks exploded in the distance.
I snapped out of it, ripped the charm off my phone, and tossed it into the trash.
Ding.
Jade posted again.
This time, it was an audio clip.
In it, she asked in a fake-sweet voice.
“Ash who do you love more? Me or your girlfriend?”
“Hm?”
Ashton sounded drowsy, voice soft and affectionate.
“You. I love you most. She doesn’t even compare.”
“Babe… wanna fuck again?”
The sound of heavy breathing said the rest.
I shut off my phone and rushed to the bathroom, dry heaving.
I looked up at the mirror.
At some point, my face was covered in tears.
I immediately booked a 7 AM train ticket home.
10:07
Surprise Visit Gone WRONG-Not Him Crying About Loneliness After Calling Me Dirty Sir???
27.8%
Chapter 3
I just wanted to leave.
As fast as possible.
Leave New York.
Leave Ashton Reed.
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