Scorched

Tristan let out a sharp snort. "Don't worry. Esther won't run off. But if she did, I'd actually thank her. Chloe's been with me long enough. I think it's time to make her official."

"Jesus, you're heartless."

His friends shook their heads. Tristan slowly exhaled a ring of smoke and spoke with an indifferent expression.

"It's been eight years. I'm really done with her. Plus, she's like a plank in bed. Chloe's more on the same page with me."

I clenched my fists. My nails dug into my palm, drawing a deep red line of blood, but I didn't feel it.

After Tristan left, I packed up my things and went back to my parents' house.

Only Tristan and his close friends knew I brought up the breakup, but no one seemed to care.

When I got home, he was off celebrating Christmas with Chloe, then went skiing in Weisse before traveling to Egrein.

Meanwhile, I wasn't exactly idle either. I went on date after date.

Throughout the three months, neither of us contacted the other.

It wasn't until Mason sent us an invitation for our class reunion that we finally spoke again.

"What did you say? We've broken up?"

Tristan raised his voice, as if the idea just hit him. "Esther, you really need to know when to stop!"

"Did I say something wrong? We broke up over three months ago. You agreed to it, remember?"

He stood frozen, clearly unprepared for this, but I didn't care.

After a long pause, he scoffed. "You think you can just call it quits whenever you want?"

I didn't want to drag this out, so I turned and walked away.

His furious voice echoed behind me. "I'm giving you a way out, and you won't take it? Fine! Whoever begs to get back together first is the loser!"

I walked back into the room where the others were.

One of my classmates teased, "Esther, I'm really jealous of you and Tristan. You two have been together for so long, but you're still so close."

I decided it was time to set things straight. "You're all mistaken. Tristan and I have broken up."

As soon as the words left my mouth, every pair of eyes turned toward me.

"Esther, you're kidding, right?"

"No way. You and Tristan broke up?"

"What happened?"

"Things just weren't right anymore, so we ended it." I kept my explanation formal.

Just as I finished speaking, Tristan walked in. "Yeah, we broke up. I dumped her."

I didn't want to argue with him. I came to this reunion not just to catch up with old classmates but also to make it clear that Tristan and I had broken up. Otherwise, people would keep tying us together.

With that accomplished, I grabbed my bag, apologized to everyone, and made my exit.

"Tristan, did you two just have a fight? Go after her."

"Looks like Esther's really hurt."

"What are you doing? Why are you just standing there?"

"Hey, Esther, wait! Tristan's sorry!"

A few of our classmates tried to push Tristan to come after me, but he was reluctant. After a bit of pressure from Mason, he got up, dragging his feet.

A couple of classmates hurried after us.

"Esther, is there some misunderstanding? You've been together for eight years. Don't be stubborn. Just talk it out."

I stopped walking and turned to them. "There's no misunderstanding. We really broke up. It's been over three months now. We're both doing fine. It's just a breakup. I'm getting married on October 1st. I'll send you an invite."

Just then, the elevator doors opened, and a tall man stepped out. I glanced at him and then turned to my classmates.

"My fiancé's here to pick me up. I'll be going now. You all have a good time."

The classmates who had been trying to play peacemaker were stunned. They stared at the man, mouths agape, not knowing what to say.

"Are these your classmates, Estie?"

The man walked over to me and took my hand.

Just as I was about to introduce him, Tristan's shout rang out behind us. "Esther Wilder! Who is he?"