His Fake Proposal Led Me To My Real Husband Chapter 21
“Liking you was my choice. Who you liked was your right.”
I didn’t answer. I just turned my face toward the window.
Streetlights passed one after another, laying stripes of light across my knees. The car was warm.
Later, I realized that a healthy relationship doesn’t make you shrink. You don’t have to measure every word or guess at what the other person is thinking. You can say what you need, and you can still be yourself.
One weekend, I went to Whole Foods by myself.
I pushed my cart past the dessert aisle and saw that chocolate cake on the shelf. The packaging had changed.
I stopped for a second, picked it up, glanced at the ingredients, and set it back down.
It was just too sweet. I didn’t like it anymore.
My phone rang. It was a voice message from Julian.
I tapped it open and heard him say with a laugh, “I got the chicken soup. The clerk gave us extra parsley. Could you pick up a bottle of apple cider vinegar on your way back? We’re out.”
I replied with an okay and kept pushing my cart forward.
When I reached the condiments aisle, I saw a familiar figure.
Mason was standing at the end of the shelf with a bottle of barbecue sauce in his hand. The moment he saw me, his entire body went stiff.
I gave him a small nod of acknowledgment.
Then I walked past him, took a bottle of apple cider vinegar off the shelf, and dropped it into my cart.
No voice called after me.
I pushed my cart to the checkout.
My phone buzzed again.
*No rush,* Julian had texted. *The soup isn’t hot yet. Take your time.*
I replied: *Almost done. Home in ten.*
The cashier finished scanning my items, and I walked out carrying my paper bags.
The evening wind carried the scent of the bakery on the corner.
At the door, I looked up at the sky.
An orange sunset was spread across the rooftops of Boston. The weather was beautiful.
Then I carried the apple cider vinegar and headed home.
On the way, I passed an old maple tree. A new kite was caught in its branches, brightly colored, swaying gently in the wind.
I smiled and kept walking.
No matter how much time has passed, people can always begin again.
By the time I reached the apartment building, I had a new email.
It was from Natalie.
The body contained only one sentence.
*Becca, this time I’m not unsending it.*
Underneath were all the group chat screenshots and original audio files she’d saved over the past four years.Â