Five Years Together… And He Gave the Ring to My Old Bully Chapter 02

Five Years Together… And He Gave the Ring to My Old Bully Chapter 02

I’ve kept a diary ever since I was a kid.

Five years ago today, we had our last practice exams before graduation.

Alex had always been disciplined. Even with a fever, he’d still finish an entire set of papers.

But that day, he took a sick day—something he never did.

I texted him, asking to come check on him.

He turned me down, saying he didn’t want me to catch his cold.

On this day during freshman year, he’d sent me a picture of a birthday cake and told me his roommate was celebrating.

Sophomore year, we’d planned a trip out west together. But then he told me he’d landed a rare internship and couldn’t go with me.

The more I flipped through my journals, the harder my hands shook.

A terrifying possibility started taking shape.

I pulled out our yearbook photo from high School.

“I’m a student at Kingsley University,” I told the server.

“Mr. Thorne and I were high school classmates.”

“I happened to be in town and saw he was proposing. Just wanted to give him my best.”

“My friend just found out her boyfriend’s been cheating, so she’s a little emotional and saying things she doesn’t mean.”

After I pleaded with them for what felt like forever, the server finally agreed to let me in alone.

By the time I found the private room for the birthday party, the cake had already been cut.

Everyone was lounging on the couches and chatting.

I stood in the doorway.

Alex was sitting there, his fingers intertwined with the woman who had once bullied me.

A moment later, he walked out with another man to smoke.

I clung to one last shred of hope and texted him.

[Where are you right now?]

He replied almost instantly with a photo.

[Still in the lab, babe. So tired.]

The man beside him caught a glimpse of the screen and looked surprised.

“Wait, you’re still in touch with Clara?”

That was when I recognized him. He used to be Alex’s closest friend back in high school.

He was also the one who’d told me that Savannah had cornered Alex in the alley behind the school.

I rushed over without thinking and walked straight into her trap.

After what happened, Alex cut him off right in front of me. Or so I thought.

Now here they were, arms slung over each other’s shoulders like none of it had ever happened.

Before Alex could answer, the man kept talking.

“But then again, she was so into you. No way a little distance would’ve made her leave you.”

“Back then, you got a low score just so you’d end up at the same college as Savannah.”

“Clara almost gave up her own future to stay with you.”