She Said She’d Watch My Man. Then She Stole Him Chapter 05

She Said She’d Watch My Man. Then She Stole Him Chapter 05

On the plane, I silenced Sera’s seventh call.

Her messages kept coming.

[The rain flooded the streets. Dorian’s car stalled.]

[We can’t get a cab. We can’t come to you.]

[Mira, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to drop the charm.]

[Please forgive me. Just say something. You’re my only best friend.]

Only best friend.

I laughed.

I turned off my phone and leaned back in my seat.

She was my only best friend too.

We’d been close since middle school.

In college, when my mother died, she stayed with me through the funeral.

She held me and said,

“If you ever need anything, I’m here. I’ve got your back.”

I looked out the window. Tears kept falling.

Sera was the person who’d been with me longest, after my mother.

And now I was losing her too.

My phone buzzed again. A different ringtone.

I’d set it for Dorian.

I didn’t pick up. He messaged:

[How was the fitting? I told the manager to keep everything you tried on.]

[Take a cab home after. It’s cold and raining. Don’t catch a cold.“]

I didn’t reply.

The year we graduated, Sera’s boyfriend of seven years cheated on her.

When she confronted him, he just flicked his cigarette and said,

“I’m bored. I don’t want to get married.”

I was furious. “Seven years, and that’s all you have to say?”

She cried for a long time. They broke up for good.

“Men are all the same,” she said,

“Once the excitement fades, all that’s left is duty.”

After that, she kept a close watch on anyone I dated.

That same year, I met Dorian.

He was polite. Generous.

Sera slammed the table and said she didn’t trust him.

He didn’t get angry. He just told her to watch and see.

When he gave me gifts, he’d also get something for Sera.

My coworkers warned me, “He’s too nice to her. Watch out.”

I shook it off.

They didn’t know–Sera and Dorian didn’t even have each other’s contact info.

When the three of us were together, they stood so far apart you could fit two of me between them.

But at some point, that changed.

I thought about the post.

She was right–I didn’t know he was allergic to alcohol.

They had crossed a line long before I knew it.

Before takeoff, Dorian messaged again:

[The charm wasn’t Sera’s fault. I’m to blame too.]

[Just reply to her. She’s crying so hard she might pass out.]

I closed my eyes. I typed back:

[I won’t reply to her.]

[We’re done.]

I blocked him. I turned off my phone.