My Boyfriend Chose Her Birthday Over Our Year Chapter 07

My Boyfriend Chose Her Birthday Over Our Year Chapter 07

Derek stared at his phone, still half–drunk. 

It took him a minute to process what just happened. He’d been searching everywhere for Maya, and she just said a few words and hung up? 

He tried calling back. No answer. 

“Maya said to ask you why we broke up. What’s that 

about?” 

He turned to Lauren, still sitting on the couch. 

Lauren bit her lip. “Maya always blamed me for your relationship problems. I knew she never actually forgave me. If she’s gonna be that upset about it, fine, I’ll just go.” 

She grabbed her purse and started to stand. Derek pulled 

her back down. 

“I’ll explain everything to her. You’re her best friend. You 

don’t deserve to be treated like this.” 

Lauren lowered her head, her expression blank. 

She’d thought that once Maya left, she could confess to 

Derek. He was so good to her–he’d say yes for sure. 

They’d fall into place naturally. 

But she hadn’t expected Derek to care this much about the 

breakup. 

Ever since Maya left, he’d stopped going to work. Spent all his time calling around, trying to reach her. 

He even made a scene at her office–someone filmed it 

and put it online. 

Back in college, Derek was student council president. 

Graduated as a top student. Got into a top firm right away. 

He cared a lot about his image. But now he was acting 

obsessed. 

Lauren drove drunk Derek home. 

She thought about going in with him. But he hesitated at 

the door. 

A minute later, he opened it again. “You should go home. 

Otherwise Maya will get upset when she finds out.” 

“She’s never needed me to worry about her. She barely 

ever gets mad. But this time she’s really angry.” 

Lauren froze. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. 

Before, if it got late, Derek would always let her stay in the 

guest room. Never thought twice about it. 

The first time she stayed over, she’d even sent Maya a 

photo. 

[It’s too late to go home. Derek’s letting me stay at his 

place.] 

[This room looks so new. You’ve never even slept here, have you?] 

But now–for the first time–Derek was actually considering Maya’s feelings. 

A chill ran through Lauren. Everything had spiraled out of control since Maya left. 

She looked at Derek with tear–filled eyes. “It’s late. I’m not safe alone. And I only stayed out this late because I was driving you home.” 

Derek frowned, thought for a few seconds, then nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” 

Lauren’s face lit up. 

“So you stay here. I’ll get a hotel.” 

The door closed in her face. 

Lauren stood there, stunned. 

At the hotel, Derek took a photo and tried to send it to 

Maya. 

He remembered how he’d once told her to check in with 

photos. She’d done it every single day after that. 

He’d never paid attention. Never even opened the images. 

He texted her: [Lauren’s staying at my place tonight. I got 

a hotel.] 

Red exclamation mark. Blocked. 

He scrolled up. 

Maya used to text him all the time. He rarely replied. 

[Cute cat outside the office. Brought it a treat today.] 

[I found a photo of you giving a speech at school. I think 

that’s when I started liking you.] 

[How does this outfit look? I feel like I’ve lost weight. 

Should eat more.] 

He’d read every single one. Just never answered. 

He liked knowing she kept him updated. Made him feel important. He just didn’t think the little things deserved a 

response. 

Then he saw the food photos. 

He’d asked once–casually, not even caring what she ate.And she’d sent a picture every day for a year. 

The same picture. Over and over. 

His hands trembled as he opened each one. 

All identical. 

His thumbs kept scrolling. All the way back to the day 

Maya confessed.