I Ran Errands for My Boyfriend Then Decided to Break Up Chapter 03

I Ran Errands for My Boyfriend Then Decided to Break Up Chapter 03

Graham claimed there was not enough money in the travel budget and told me to stay home until they returned from the business trip.

It might have been a work trip, but Madeline’s Instagram was full of updates.

One post showed her posing for pictures in a postcard-perfect waterfront town in New England. Another showed her sipping tea in a quaint tearoom overlooking the rain-washed streets.

Graham had always hated anything that felt like a hassle, yet he had even spent three hours taking a pottery class with her.

Then one of the coworkers traveling with them accidentally posted a message in the firm’s Slack channel.

[Breaking news! The hotel just told us they overbooked. Mr. Sullivan and Madeline are sharing a room!]

The message was deleted a few seconds later, and Graham called me almost immediately.

“The hotel really didn’t have any other rooms available. I knew you’d blame me if I didn’t take care of your best friend, so I reluctantly agreed to share with her.”

Madeline’s complaints kept drifting through the phone.

“Graham, where did you put my face wash?”

“Ow, you’re on my hair!”

A moment later, she grabbed the phone from him and spoke to me in a playful voice.

“Audrey, I wish you were here. I can’t even gossip with this uptight man around.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep a close eye on him tonight and make sure he doesn’t flirt with any other women!”

They had crossed too many boundaries while claiming everything they did was for my sake.

Graham claimed he was only helping my best friend fend off unwanted advances when he posed as her boyfriend for the evening at a client function.

Madeline was so afraid Graham might talk to another woman that she kept him on the phone for eight straight hours. He even missed my call for help.

Now, under the excuse of keeping me from worrying, they had gone as far as sharing a bed.

My nails dug into my palm as the words I had rehearsed countless times finally left my mouth.

“Graham, we’re done.”

Silence fell on the other end of the line.

A moment later, Graham laughed.

“Audrey Collins, you’re not eighteen anymore. Could you stop acting so childish?”

“Madeline and I have put up with your temper all this time. You should know how good you have it instead of making stupid jokes like this!”

Madeline snatched the phone back.

“Audrey, please don’t be mad at us.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologize to her!” Graham snapped. “If we keep coddling her, she’ll only get more entitled. She’s not some trust-fund princess.”

The line went dead.

I remembered how, back in law school, Graham had spent three straight months sending me gifts to win me over during a silent standoff between us.

Now he would not even give me an apology, the one thing that would have cost him nothing.

After the call ended, I contacted a real estate agent and told her to list the house Graham and I had bought for our future together below market value.

The agent hesitated before answering.

“Ms. Collins, the deed lists another owner besides you. A Madeline Pierce is listed as well.”

“I’m afraid you can’t sell the property without her consent.”

My blood ran cold.

A year earlier, while Graham and I were planning our wedding, we had agreed to save for the down payment on a home together.

I worked at the firm and took on several freelance legal consulting jobs online before I finally saved enough.

Graham had promised the house would be titled solely in my name and insisted on handling all the title and closing paperwork himself.

Without lifting a finger, Madeline had ended up listed on the deed as a co-owner.

All the blood, sweat, and tears I had poured into those years had been wiped away overnight.