He Chose Her Over Me So I Chose Myself Chapter 41
Before moving out, he opened his computer and looked at the vows one last time.
Every “June” still bore the scars of Find and Replace.
He didn’t edit the document again.
He simply deleted it.
Those were never vows for June.
At last, even he no longer dared pretend they belonged to her.
When the first spring rain fell over Providence, I received an email confirmation that the settlement had been fully carried out.
My lawyer kept it brief.
“All public images removed, fees paid in full, case closed.”
I archived the message without reopening it.
Across the workbench, Eli was helping me sort the registration forms for a new class.
“Saturday morning is full. We have two spots left in the afternoon.”
“Keep one open.”
“For who?”
I tipped my chin toward the door.
His brother stood there holding a child-sized toolkit, nervously showing a new student how to put on safety goggles.
“For the ones who aren’t ready to walk in right away.”
Eli smiled.
“Okay. Your call.”
And he really did leave that space empty, without asking whether anyone would ever take it.
Only then did I realize what real respect looked like.
It wasn’t forcing the best option on me.
It was recognizing that every decision I made didn’t have to prove itself more correct than anyone else’s.