\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 2\u00a0<\/p>\n
When my hearing cleared, I caught Kai\u2019s loud announcement:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStarting today, everyone better like our couple photos. Hit a thousand likes, and I\u2019ll dump Lia and marry Olivia\u00a0<\/p>\n
tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With that, he grabbed Olivia\u2019s hand and stormed out without looking back. Right before leaving the private room, Olivia shot me a smug, triumphant look.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After they bounced, people started clearing out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some were straight-up gloating: \u201cGirl thought she could act all high and mighty. Well, look how that worked out. Karma\u2019s a bitch, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Others tried playing advisor: \u201cLook, swallow your pride and just apologize. You really want him to actually marry his assistant?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew this whole social media stunt was just Kai\u2019s way of forcing me to crawl back and beg.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But this time? Fuck that. I\u2019d rather die than grovel again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room that had been buzzing with birthday energy was now just me and empty champagne glasses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I grabbed the leftover bourbon and knocked it back. The burn hit my throat and chest, making my eyes water.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two decades of history, and this is how we end? Honestly, it\u2019s not as devastating as I thought it\u2019d be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moving clear across the country to Seattle for the Vanderbilt arrangement-at least Kai won\u2019t be able to mess with my head anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though I have no idea why tears are streaming down my face right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back home, I started throwing stuff into suitcases.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kai and I went way back-like, sandbox and juice box back. We\u2019d spent most of our lives attached at the hip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That kind of history meant I had a shit-ton of memories to sort through.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This little red paper flower was from kindergarten-Kai\u2019s first gold star. He ran over with his gap-toothed grin to give it to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I can still hear five-year-old him saying: \u201cI wanna give Lia all the best stuff ever.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
seband\u2019s Affair\u00a0<\/p>\n
26.5%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 2\u00a0<\/p>\n
This photo was from my traumatic first period experience. Kai secretly took a picture of my horror movie-level panic face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thirteen-year-old me, who completely zoned out during health class, was convinced I was dying. I dramatically told him to live his best life after I was gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He could get a girlfriend, I said, just not one prettier than me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Poor guy was totally lost until he realized I\u2019d just gotten my period.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He sprinted to CVS for pads, then we spent an hour watching YouTube tutorials on how periods work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He roasted me for not paying attention in sex ed. I got so embarrassed I chomped down on his arm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Years later, he told me that bite didn\u2019t hurt at all-but it was the moment he stopped seeing me as just his annoying little neighbor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We became official after that, but different colleges meant four years of FaceTime dates and Greyhound bus trips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our entire relationship became a collection of boarding passes and gas receipts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Four years straight, 120,000 miles-that\u2019s how far we\u2019d travel just for weekend visits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back then, I was his entire world. He never bitched about those brutal eight-hour drives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers found the small velvet box with our promise rings inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I moved back to Silicon Valley right after graduation, just for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The day I got back, he dragged me to this fancy jeweler in Palo Alto.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I still remember what he said sliding that ring onto my finger;\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLia, once this ring goes on, you\u2019re stuck with me forever. You\u2019re never getting away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Turns out, he\u2019d be the one running away in the end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2661 (0)\u00a0<\/p>\n
(0)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Hot Shower, Cold Heart by Mark Twain 32 \u00a0 Chapter 2\u00a0 Chapter 2\u00a0 When my hearing cleared, I caught Kai\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-giving-my-husband-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22900\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}