Chapter 3: Broken Glass

After Ethan left, the house was too quiet.

I sat in front of the TV, staring into the static. The silence pressed in from all sides, broken only by the whir of the AC and the neighbor’s dog barking somewhere outside. Life kept rolling on, whether I liked it or not.

I grabbed Ethan’s glass and hurled it at the TV.

The TV shook, but the glass exploded across the hardwood floor, shards skittering under the couch.

The crash sent the housekeeper running.

I hugged my knees and let myself cry, the sound echoing off the high ceilings. The housekeeper hovered, but I waved her away. Nobody could glue my pieces back together—not with a broom, not with kind words.

...

Ethan Callahan used to haunt my nightmares.

Back in high school, he was the ringleader. The one who made sure I never had a moment’s peace.

He’d toss my books out the window, just to watch me scramble. He’d rally the other kids, organize freeze-outs, get the girls to drag me to the bathroom and slap me.

With Ethan in charge, nobody dared help. He was untouchable—the son of a real estate kingpin. His family’s name was on the new gym at school.

He made cruelty look cool. For a while, bullying me was the hottest trend in class.

They all thought he was handsome—a dream for half the girls. To me, he was the devil in designer sneakers, the reason I lay awake shaking night after night.

That was Ethan.

And seven years after graduation—he says he wants to marry me.

The universe must have a sick sense of humor. The boy who ruined my life is now slipping a ring on my finger, calling it love. Some irony you can’t swallow.