My desk was covered in white roses.<\/p>\n
A small card peeked through the petals. “I’ll wait forever. I’ll change<\/p>\n
everything. Just give me one more chance. \u2013 M”<\/p>\n
I picked up the note. The handwriting was messy. Desperate.<\/p>\n
My coworker Jenna leaned over. “Someone’s trying hard.”<\/p>\n
I crumpled the card and tossed it in the trash.<\/p>\n
The roses appeared every morning for a week.<\/p>\n
Then came the gifts.<\/p>\n
A designer handbag I’d glanced at once in a store window. Diamond earrings<\/p>\n
I’d admired in a magazine. A first edition of my favorite book.<\/p>\n
Miles showed up at my usual coffee shop on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
“Fancy meeting you here,” he said, though his eyes were red-rimmed.<\/p>\n
He’d never woken up before ten in the five years I knew him.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, he was at the library near my apartment.<\/p>\n
On Friday, outside my gym.<\/p>\n
“It’s not stalking,” he insisted. “It’s coincidence.”<\/p>\n
Noah stayed away.<\/p>\n
He sent one text: “Take the time you need. I’m here when you decide.”<\/p>\n
No pressure. No gifts. No roses.<\/p>\n
Just space.<\/p>\n
Miles cornered me after work on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
“Bianca, wait.” He grabbed my hand. “I left her.”<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
“I moved out of Eva’s place. I told her it’s over.”<\/p>\n
His voice cracked. “Marry me tomorrow. We can go to the courthouse. No<\/p>\n
waiting.”<\/p>\n
My heart stuttered.<\/p>\n
Five years I’d wanted those words.<\/p>\n
Just not like this.<\/p>\n
“I’ll delete all her contacts. I’ll quit gaming. I’ll be the man you wanted.”<\/p>\n
He sounded sincere.<\/p>\n
His hands trembled.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I almost believed him.<\/p>\n
Then I saw the pattern.<\/p>\n
The same promises he’d made after every fight.<\/p>\n
The same desperation after every time he’d chosen her.<\/p>\n
“You’re thinking about it.” He stepped closer. “I see it in your eyes.”<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
Eva’s name flashed on the screen.<\/p>\n
I should ignore it.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
“Bianca, don’t trust him.”<\/p>\n
Her voice was raw. Not the polished manipulation I knew.<\/p>\n
“He’s at your apartment right now, isn’t he?”<\/p>\n
I didn’t answer.<\/p>\n
“He told me the same thing last night. ‘Eva, it’s over. I’m choosing Bianca.”<\/p>\n
Silence stretched between us.<\/p>\n
“Then this morning, he showed up with flowers. ‘One last time,’ he said. ‘For<\/p>\n
the baby’s sake.”<\/p>\n
She laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
“You think he’s changed? Bianca, he told me the exact same things he’s<\/p>\n
telling you now. Word for word.”<\/p>\n
The line went dead.<\/p>\n
Miles was still talking.<\/p>\n
“I’ll get us a house. In the suburbs, like you wanted. With a garden.”<\/p>\n
His eyes held mine.<\/p>\n
The same eyes that had watched Eva trip me.<\/p>\n
The same eyes that had flickered with disgust before his hand hit my face.<\/p>\n
I pulled my hand from his grasp.<\/p>\n
“No.”<\/p>\n
“Bianca\u2014”<\/p>\n
“The answer is no.”<\/p>\n
His face hardened. “You’re making a mistake.”<\/p>\n
“I made the mistake already. For five years.”<\/p>\n
I turned away.<\/p>\n
“This is about him, isn’t it?” Miles’ voice turned sharp. “Noah.”<\/p>\n
I kept walking.<\/p>\n
“You’ll come crawling back.”<\/p>\n
I stopped. Turned around.<\/p>\n
“Not this time.”<\/p>\n
For the first time, I meant it.<\/p>\n
My chest felt light.<\/p>\n
Not tight. Not suffocating.<\/p>\n
Just free.<\/p>\n
I pulled out my phone and blocked his number.<\/p>\n
The roses could wilt.<\/p>\n
The gifts could be returned.<\/p>\n
The past could stay in the past.<\/p>\n
I dialed Noah.<\/p>\n
He answered on the first ring.<\/p>\n
“Bianca?”<\/p>\n
“Can you meet me?”<\/p>\n
His voice softened. “Where?”<\/p>\n
“Anywhere.”<\/p>\n
“I’ll be right there.”<\/p>\n
I hung up and walked toward the subway.<\/p>\n
Behind me, Miles was still shouting.<\/p>\n
I didn’t turn back.<\/p>\n
I never would again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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