My Ex Is Getting Married I Found A Better Man

It was past midnight, and I was scrolling through a toxic, post-bliss sub-forum after wed made love.
I found a post from a girl titled: [I Broke My Leg and Fell in Love with a Man in the Same Hospital Room. All in a Month.]
The commenters were a whirlwind of advice, urging her to be brave and confess her feelings.
But she refused, filled with a sudden, gut-wrenching dread.
[I only just found out he has a fiance. Someone hes about to marry.]
[He was on his way to see her when he ran into me. But now, all I see is him. I stole a kiss, and he kissed me back.]
[They're high school sweethearts, long-distance for four years. I'm just an accident.]
Some people were sympathetic; others were furious.
I typed out a reply, feeling a righteous anger for the fiance: [Since the man already emotionally cheated, he needs to end things with his girlfriend. Don't waste her time.]
She wrote back almost instantly: [Ive let go. He's already flown to NYC to see his girlfriend. I shouldn't have expected anything else.]
My brow furrowed. Why did her story feel so hauntingly familiar? Me and Liam, maybe?
Then, just before the thread was deleted, I read her final line: [Liam, please be happy with Ainsley. Ill forget you.]
A single, shocking wave of realization hit me: My boyfriend had fallen for someone else on his way to see me.
1
He was Liam, and I was Ainsley.
We grew up blocks apart in the same neighborhood.
He went to college in Boston, and I was here in New York City. Four years of a grueling, beautiful long-distance relationship.
Every single detail in that post matched our lives.
A sudden, paralyzing chill ran down my spine. My fingers trembled, and I nearly dropped my phone.
Liam was on the balcony, shirtless, playing a video game.
I slid out of bed and walked up behind him.
He had never been a gamer.
But since he got back from Philadelphia, he'd been logging in almost religiously.
I used to tease him, asking if he was gaming with some cute girl he met online.
Hed kiss me on the nose, that playful, boyish Liam kiss: "It's just relaxing, Ains. I team up with randoms in the lobby. Ill uninstall it if you dont like it."
Id laughed: "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not that petty. Play all you want."
Next to my mother, Liam was the person I trusted most in the world.
He was too immersed to notice me approaching.
From the phones speaker, a girls voice, sweet and choked, cut through the night: "Liam, let's stop talking now."
"You and herI hope you can be happy."
"Skye, wait"
The game closed, the call ended abruptly. Liam hadn't even finished his sentence.
I saw the distinct, telltale jerk of his broad shoulders.
He stared out at the dark city, then fumbled for a cigarette.
His lighter refused to spark.
A sudden, sharp, cold ache pierced my heart.
I took the lighter from his hand and flicked it, holding the small, fragile flame to the cigarette dangling from his lips.
He instantly pulled away, his voice hushed and gentle: "What are you doing out here? The smoke will bother you."
Then he immediately pressed the cigarette out.
I wrapped my arms around myself, gazing up at the sky.
"Liam, that month you were in Philadelphia... did you meet someone?"
Liam was a handsome manbroad shoulders, narrow waist, a nature that was both gentle and carried the easy swagger of a college athlete. Women had always gravitated toward him.
Every time I'd expressed a fleeting insecurity, hed wrapped me up and promised: "You're the only one I see. The only one I want."
Only this time, he didn't say it. He went silent. A silence I'd never heard from him before.
I pushed on, my voice cracking slightly: "You didn't notice, but you started using all these cute new emojis when you text me."
"You set the Philadelphia weather on your phone."
"You smiled at your screen sometimes, a slow, gentle smile, and when I called your name, you didn't even hear me."
Id noticed the small shifts. I had. But I'd always found a logical, innocent reason for them.
The silence was a surgical knife, cutting me to ribbons without a sound.
My nails dug into my palms. I mechanically turned to face his frozen profile.
"Liam, you fell in love with her, didn't you?"
A single tear escaped and landed silently on his arm.
He reached out and pulled me into his embrace.
"Ainsley, I have never done anything to betray you physically."
"But about this life we planned? I need to get off this train."
A little over a month ago, a lab firecaused by a careless undergradhad left me with severe burns on one arm.
Id been hospitalized, but I kept it from Liam, not wanting to worry him right before senior year finals.
After several weeks of me dodging his video calls, he figured out I was hiding something.
When he learned the truth, he video-called me, and his eyes were already red.
"Ainsley, if you ever hide an injury from me again, I swear Ill be worse off than you are!"
That night, he booked a flight to NYC to see me.
On his layover in Philadelphia, he rushed out to get me the one thing I craved most: the famous local butter bread.
"Remember that trip to Philly? You couldn't stop raving about this bread. NYC doesn't have a branch. I figured I'd bring some back to cheer up my favorite patient."
Tragically, he got into a car accident on his way back to the airport.
The butter bread remained intact on the seat, but his leg was severely broken, requiring a cast and a month of bed rest.
When I heard the news, I tried to rip out my IV and check myself out, ready to fly to him.
My roommate physically restrained me.
Wed video-called, and while I was dissolving into tears on my end, he was the one comforting me.
"Ainsley, you're still recovering. I can't have you taking care of me."
"My leg is fine, honestly. I'm a big guy, this is nothing."
"It sucks I can't get you that butter bread now, though. I guess I'll see you in about a month."
He had grinned, completely carefree.
Eventually, I insisted on hiring him a private nurse.
He'd called every day, reporting on his meals and meds.
And while I was counting the seconds until he finally arrived back in NYC, he was falling in love with a girl across the room.
I fought back the tears, but my body wouldn't obey, trembling violently in his arms.
"Liam, tell me. What did you find so appealing about her?"
"We have so many years of history, and youre jumping ship? You owe me a reason."
I looked into his eyes and saw the pathetic, desperate reflection of my forced smile.
He paused for a moment, unable to meet my gaze.
I tried to sound casual: "Is she prettier than me? Does she make you laugh all the time? Do you guys talk about, what, astrophysics and philosophy?"
I was rambling, lost.
Liam let go of my shoulders and sat down on the edge of the bed. His lips curled into a gentle, reminiscent smile. His eyes held a light I'd never seen him direct at me.
"Her name is Skye. She broke her leg skateboarding, and she came into the room crying her eyes out."
"Shes a total chatterbox. If she wasn't sleeping, she was chirping away. The old man next to me ignored her, so she latched onto me."
"She had this weird, gravitational pullshe was completely unburdened. We listened to music, traded book recommendations, talked about skateboarding... stuff I hadnt even realized I was missing.
His lips kept curling upward, completely oblivious to the cruelty he was inflicting on me.
When he finally snapped back to reality, his eyes were full of apology.
"Ainsley, you know my character. I didnt cross any line with Skye. We never did anything physical. You can trust me on that."
Tears streamed down my face and tasted like salt.
My voice was a whisper lost in the breeze: "What about us? Liam, does twenty years of history mean nothing to you compared to one month with her?"
Had I loved him for so long that Id become stale?
Before he could answer, I started laughing, a high, panicked, breathless sound.
"How about this: We pretend this never happened, okay?"
"Liam, were graduating. Were going to work our asses off, buy a place, move Mom here. Everything was falling into place. We cant throw away the future we planned."
I told myself I didn't care about his momentary distraction.
With Liam, it was all or nothing. I wanted the wedding, or I wanted a total, definitive severance.
The air solidified. My heart felt like it was being violently emptied.
He sighed, a sound heavy with resignation: "If I told you that for the past five days weve been here together, all I can see when I close my eyes is Skye's face, could you still accept that?"
"Ainsley, I don't want to live a lie, and I won't sacrifice your future for my guilt."
His blunt honesty was the final, clean cut, showing me the futility of my fight.
I gave a short, self-mocking laugh, then walked back into the room, my feet bare on the cold floor.
Soon after, a storm of deafening crashes erupted from the apartment.
He stood on the balcony, a silent, beautiful executioner.
He watched me become hysterical, destroying the small home wed built.
The floor was a war zone of shattered glass. Fragments pierced my skin, but I felt nothing.
Our dog and cat watched me, terrified, until I collapsed from exhaustion.
I huddled in the bathroom, hugging my knees, biting down hard on my index finger to muffle the sobs.
At 5:30 AM, I dragged my weary body to the balcony.
My voice was hoarse as I looked at him. "Liam, we're done."
Liam hadn't expected me to cave so quickly. His eyelashes fluttered wildly.
The collection of cigarette butts on the floor showed he'd had a long, agonizing night, too.
"Ainsley, I am so sorry. Just hit me, yell at me, and lets end this."
I lunged, gathering all my strength, and slapped himhardtwice.
Then I grabbed a ceramic planter from the railing and hurled it at him. The tears started again, but they were tears of pure rage now.
He didn't move. He didn't flinch. He made no effort to comfort me.
After the torrent of rage had passed, I calmed down.
"We split. Gus stays with me. Roux goes with you."
"I rent this place. You need to move out."
We'd rented this apartment in NYC, dreaming of a simple life with a cat and a dog. Now, we were simply parting ways.
He squeezed out a single word from his chest: "Okay."
An hour later, he was standing at the door with his suitcase and Roux tucked under his arm.
Then, I heard a sweet, high-pitched cry.
"Liam! I finally found you!"
"I just got to NYC, and my phone, ID, and wallet were all stolen. I honestly didn't know who else to call"
Skye had followed him from Philadelphia.
I stumbled backward, my eyes involuntarily fixed on the door.
Liam immediately dropped his suitcase and the cat, sweeping the crying girl into his embrace.
"It's okay, it's okay, I'm here now. I'll take you to the police precinct to file a report."
"II really didn't mean to interrupt you and your girlfriend. Just lend me some money so I can get a place and retrieve my things. I'll pay you back."
"If you're worried about her misunderstanding, I can explain everything."
Skye was shaking like a leaf, radiating absolute helplessness.
Liam kept murmuring reassurances, stroking her hair. His embrace grew tighter.
It looked exactly like the way he had held me, years ago, when my father died.
I tilted my head back to stop the tears and walked to the door.
"You don't have to worry about an explanation. Liam and I have already broken up."
"Now, I'd like you both to leave my apartment."
As I met Skye's timid, tear-filled eyes, a wave of sour resentment washed over me.
She was so young, so sweetly vulnerable. That's why Liam gave up on me.
I forced the words out: "Liam, if you don't want Roux, I'll take him."
Skye jumped in instantly: "Liam, take him! I love cats too! We can raise him together."
Liam smiled, a quick, easy, joyful smile. "Okay."
I fought to swallow the metallic taste of blood in my throat.
I watched them pick up Roux, lace their fingers together, and push the suitcase out the door and down the stairs.
Gus, my dog, let out a mournful bark, trying to call him back. Liam never looked over his shoulder.
"You stop barking," I choked out, wrapping my arms around my crying dog. "Your father doesnt want us. Dont humiliate us anymore!
Outside, I saw Skye smiling up at Liam, who was radiantly happy as he picked up a stray silver ginkgo leaf and placed it in her hand.
I watched silently. This was what he looked like when he loved someone else.
2
The apartment was dark. Sunlight hadn't touched it in three days.
The floor was a ruin of empty liquor bottles and cigarette packs.
I tortured myself by scrolling through Liams updateshe'd changed his profile picture to a cute couple avatar. His background photo was him and Skye posing happily at Universal Studios.
Then my mother called. I forced my voice to sound level.
"Ainsley, sweetheart, where's Liam? You two should come home for dinner now that youve graduated."
I bit down hard on my lower lip. "Mom, we broke up."
"Oh, you're coming tomorrow, then? Good. Ill make you and Liam his favorite walnuts. Don't try to steal his, you two!"
I quickly hung up, burying my face in my knees.
Mom had Alzheimer's. Sometimes she was lucid, but often her mind reverted to simpler, earlier times.
She had been talking about having Liam over for dinner for weeks.
I hesitantly called Liam.
"Liam, can you please come see my mom one last time? Just pretend we're still together. Just dinner, and then you can leave." I hated myself for begging.
Instead of Liam's voice, I heard Skye's, too sweet and innocent: "Ainsley, sweetie, Liam is in the shower..."
Then Liams voice boomed from the background: "Skye, the water's ready! Come join me"
A violent tremor tore through my heart. The sound was like a final lightning bolt.
I hung up, utterly broken, and immediately blocked him on every platformmy final farewell to our past.

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