I Stopped Waiting for the Man I Loved for Ten Years Who Never Stood by Me Chapter 01

I Stopped Waiting for the Man I Loved for Ten Years Who Never Stood by Me Chapter 01

Dylan Thompson turned off my alarm. All because I didn’t eat the sweetest part of the strawberry he’d saved for me last night.

I missed the client presentation, and HR let me know I was fired.

I found Dylan at a bar, playing games with his friends.

Someone asked him what it felt like to be in a decade-long relationship.

He took a drag on his cigarette and thought about it. “Honestly? I don’t even remember when it happened, but at some point I just started thinking situationships are so much better than actual relationships.”

Then he turned his head and caught my eye through the smoke.

He raised an eyebrow like nothing happened. “What, you didn’t go work your dead-end job today?”

That’s when it hit me. I was never gonna wait around for him to grow up.

“We’re done.”

“You’re such a child.”

***

The only sound left was the music from the speakers.

He stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray. “All because I turned off your alarm?”

He stood up and walked over—six-one, casting me in his shadow.

“Paige, what’s one day of skipping that stupid meeting gonna do? You’ve gotten so rigid and boring, you know that?”

“I go out of my way to set up a romantic surprise, and you give me zero emotional support. You just pass out. Living with you is exhausting.”

Every word hit my eardrums.

And I was more sure than ever.

Breaking up was the right call. “If it’s that exhausting, then don’t do it.”

My time is expensive too.

I don’t have another ten years to waste on him.

Dylan pressed his lips together and didn’t answer.

I turned and walked away.

Behind me, the chatter started up.

“Wait, for real? You just broke up after Valentine’s Day?”

“Looks serious. Dylan, you gonna go after her?”

Tinsley Harper had a lollipop in her mouth, her words slurred.

“Go running back right after she dumped him? Dylan’s got too much pride for that.”

“You’re single now anyway. Let’s just be a thing. I’m not trying to actually date you.”

Someone passed Dylan a cigarette, and he let out a small laugh. “Don’t worry about it. She’s just being dramatic.”

“She’s been pushing me to propose for two years now.”

“This is just her way of trying to get me to cave. We’re not really done.”

Dylan thought I was trying to pressure him into marriage again.

I couldn’t even remember how many times I’d brought it up.

Every time, he’d say,

“Too soon.”

“I still want to have fun.”

“What are you afraid of?” he’d say. “I’m yours. That piece of paper doesn’t change anything.”

But I was thirty years old.

Ten years, from college sweethearts until now.

It wasn’t that I was scared of being too old to get married.

I just wanted to marry him. That’s all.

When I got home, I couldn’t even have a good cry.

Because I had to clean up the mess from last night.

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. I’d been forced to work late to finalize the meeting deck for today’s morning meeting.

Got home at three in the morning. Opened the door to flower petals all over the floor, burnt-out candles, and a passive-aggressive Dylan.

“Oh, you finally remembered to come home after Valentine’s Day?”

“You used to be the one who wanted all the romantic gestures. What, you’re allergic to romance now?”

I was so tired my head felt like it was splitting open.

He acted like he couldn’t see how exhausted I was.

He pulled the homemade strawberry cream vodka out of the fridge. “I picked the strawberries myself. Made the cream myself.”

“Great,” I said. “But I really just need to sleep.”

If I stayed up drinking vodka, I’d probably die of a heart attack.

I went to the bedroom and passed out as soon as I hit the pillow.

Woke up and looked at the time. Ten o’clock.

The meeting was at eight-thirty.

I should’ve been up at seven.

Checked my alarms. All turned off.

My phone was on silent.

A dozen missed calls and voice mails.

Ending with a text from HR, [The boss asked me to tell you to come in and process your termination as soon as possible.]

The thing was, Dylan had pulled immature stunts like this more than once.

When I worked from home, he’d password-protect my files and refuse to unlock them unless I played two hours of games with him.

During my video calls, he’d yell that he was hungry and make me drop work to go on a date with him.

Once in a while, he’d type a few words into my document. [Paige loves Dylan.]

I put up with all of it.

But this time, he’d gone too far.

I cleaned up the mess everywhere, then went to the office to deal with the termination.

HR sighed.

“The boss really valued you, but work is work.”

“You missed the entire meeting, and no one could reach you.”

I nodded. “I understand.”

No explanation. I shouldn’t have to explain.

Letting your personal life affect your work and cause losses—that’s a serious problem.

I carried my box of personal items back home.

A pair of ballet sneakers sat by the door. They weren’t mine. From the living room came Tinsley’s exaggerated voice, “Oh my god, you haven’t had sex in two months? Is she a cold fish or are you just that bad?”

He laughed lazily. “Wanna find out?”

The flirting stopped the second they saw me in the doorway.