Chapter 3
Two hours passed, and Ethan still hadn’t returned. His phone was still in the room. I accidentally bumped it, and the screen lit up.
It was a picture of Ashley. She was smiling at the camera, surrounded by the colorful backdrop of a theme park.
I recognized the scene. Ethan had posted a picture on social media from that same theme
park.
He said it was their hangout spot.
I had been surprised at the time. Ethan had never liked theme parks. He had promised me that we would go to one someday, when we had time.
I thought I was his exception.
It turned out I wasn’t his only exception.
All his boundaries had been broken by another girl.
Something compelled me to enter his passcode.
It hadn’t changed. It was still our anniversary date.
I opened his messages.
There was a new contact pinned to the top.
Ashley.
I scrolled through their conversation. They talked about everything – what they ate, funny things that happened, interesting people they met, the little gifts he bought her, the takeout they ordered, the invitations to hang out.
It turned out that his desire to share hadn’t disappeared; it had simply been transferred to someone else.
12.29%–
Chapter 3
Every “busy” and “tired” he told me was a moment spent with Ashley.
His social media was filled with pictures I had never seen.
One comment stood out.
“Ethan, when are you going to make it official with Ashley?”
I closed the phone, feeling empty.
Where was I supposed to go now?
I had come all this way, and now what?
Shattered Promises
