He Chose Her Over Me So I Chose Myself Chapter 20
A year later, Eli and I officially opened the studio in Providence.
Colored glass hung from the skylight, and the long tables were crowded with guests. We didn’t invite anyone from the Mercer family.
Just before the ribbon-cutting, I received a text from an unfamiliar number.
“Congratulations, June. Your work deserves to be seen by everyone.”
I glanced at it, locked the screen, and turned to take the scissors Eli was offering me.
In Boston, Grant sat alone in the Beacon Hill apartment.
The text had been sent long ago, and there was still no reply.
The house was so empty he could hear the pendulum of the clock. In the corner of the study were the design sketches June had drawn years ago, the paper yellowing now, though he had never been able to throw them away.
He had learned about the studio opening from Camille.
That day, he shut himself inside for a full night, searching the route to Providence over and over. Before leaving, he had even put on his coat, only to stop at the door.
He didn’t dare go.
He was afraid to see June standing beside Eli. Afraid that if she looked at him now, her eyes would hold nothing but the calm reserve of a stranger.
Most of all, he was afraid of losing control.
But he knew perfectly well that he no longer had the right.
The computer screen glowed in front of him, a blank document hurting his eyes.
Suddenly he remembered sitting down before the wedding with that set of vows written for Camille, replacing every “Camille” with “June” through Find and Replace.
At the time, he had even thought of it as a clever shortcut.
He had been certain June wouldn’t notice.
And even if she did, she would say what she always said.
*It’s okay.*
Now, looking back, those replaced names seemed absurd enough to be a joke.
Only now did he understand that he was the real joke.
He had treated June’s love like an investment that would never be withdrawn.
But it had been liquidated all the same.