She's Not A Rose

I was completely stunned. So, this was how he defined our relationship.

Charles realized he'd said something wrong. He walked over and ruffled my hair. "Be good. Don't make a fuss. I was out of line just now."

After he finished talking, he didn't even care about how I felt. He grabbed his jacket and left. I sat on the couch, not understanding what was going through his head.

He'd clearly been in love with someone else all along, yet he still chose to be with me. Then, when I finally started to care about him, he turned around and went after other women. And now that his true love was back, I offered to leave, but he wouldn't even take that.

He didn't love me, but he wouldn't let me go. I thought about it for a while and couldn't figure out how his mind worked.

I guess I could only blame it on him being a jerk. He really thought he could have it all. Well, he might be a jerk, but I was dead set on leaving him for good.

After we parted on bad terms, Charles didn't contact me for a whole week. Without having to wait on him anymore, I suddenly had way too much free time.

I boxed up almost everything in the house and sent it to a resale shop. I didn't even leave the vases or decorations behind. The price they offered left me pretty satisfied.

Seeing the balance in my bank account go up again, all my gripes about Charles vanished.

Who would hate money, after all?

To ensure I could run off with my money without drawing suspicion, I decided to throw Charles a bit off.

I went on social media and posted a touched-up selfie. I deliberately darkened the shadows under my eyes to look even more like Charlotte.

Then, I wrote the caption, "I don't need a lot of money. I just want a lot of love."

That post seemed to please Charles. He messaged me, saying he'd come home that evening. After a week off, I felt a bit rusty getting back into this "job."

When Charles came back, he was shocked by what he saw. "Was the place robbed?"

The sprawling villa only had a few large items of furniture left. Everything else had been swept clean.

I went over and deftly helped him out of his suit jacket. "No. Looking at all that stuff was giving me a headache, so Mark took it away to sell them."

"Then go pick out new things. Charge it to my card."

I wrapped my arms around Charles' neck. "Have a drink with me tonight."

He was about to agree when his phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the screen and picked up immediately. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of the caller's name. It was Charlotte.

"Chloe, something's come up at the company. I have to go take care of it."

I tugged on his hand. "Charles, can't you stay?"

"Don't mess around. This project's really important."

I didn't push it any further. Letting go, I looked at him for a long moment. "Alright, then. Be safe."

I admit I was being selfish. After all, he was once the person I had loved so deeply. I wanted to have a proper farewell at the end of our story.

But when it came down to choosing between me and Charlotte, I was the one he threw away. I looked around the house where I had spent three years. I didn't feel anything for it anymore.

Then, I got on a plane and left Hullston without looking back.