The Battery Rule That Only Applied To Me Chapter 08

Caleb waited outside the hospital all night. When I 

came out the next morning, he jumped to his feet. 

“Winnie, please. Let’s talk.” 

Owen looked at me. 

“I’ll go by myself,” I told him. 

There was a coffee shop next to the hospital. Caleb and I had been there a few times before. 

Whenever my phone was low, he’d made me sit in a corner and charge it. He’d never waited with me. 

Now he sat across from me, looking noticeably 

thinner. 

“Sophie tricked me at the airport.” 

“She lied about someone tampering with her 

front–door lock.” 

“And at the engagement party, she was just 

playing the victim.” 

“Winnie, I didn’t know she’d go that far.” 

I listened without interrupting. 

When he finished, I asked, “Did she force you to 

cancel my birthday party?” He froze. 

I continued. 

“When my father was hospitalized, did she force you to ask about my battery before anything 

else?” 

“And at the engagement party, when you told 

everyone I was just an old friend–was that her 

decision, too?” 

The color slowly drained from his face. I looked 

him straight in the eye. 

“Caleb, Sophie lied to you. That’s on her.” 

“But hurting me was your choice.” 

His hand trembled against the table. Then he 

pulled a brand–new phone from his bag. 

“I got you a new phone.” 

“No more location tracking or battery alerts.” 

“Even if your phone’s below 50%, I won’t cancel our 

plans again.” 

“Wherever you want to go, I’ll go with you.” 

The words came out in a desperate rush. 

“Winnie, I know I was wrong. We can still start 

over.” 

I looked down at the phone. 

“No, thank you.” 

“When my phone runs low, I have someone who’ll 

help me charge it.” 

“And I have someone who actually listens to me.” 

His hand froze in midair. 

When our conversation ended, Owen drove over to 

pick me up. He simply waited at the curb. 

I headed toward him, but Caleb grabbed my wrist. 

“You’re really leaving with him?” 

Owen’s face hardened. 

“Let her go.” 

Caleb glared at him. 

“Owen Sinclair, are you honestly going to pretend 

you didn’t take advantage of her when she was 

vulnerable?” 

I yanked my arm free. 

“While I was with you, Owen never crossed a line.” 

“You were my boyfriend, yet you stood at another woman’s engagement party as her fiancé.” 

Caleb’s lips moved, but nothing came out. I took out my phone. 

“If you don’t leave me alone, I’m calling the police.” 

It was the first time I’d ever spoken to him like that. The last light went out of his eyes. 

That evening, a post about me blew up on a local online forum. 

The headline was impossible to miss. 

[Woman Exposed as Homewrecker at Best 

Friend’s Engagement Party Marries Rich Man to Save Her Reputation] 

The post included pictures of me being 

surrounded by people at the party. There was even 

a photograph of my father lying in his hospital bed. The comments were vicious. 

I stared at the comments, my fingers going cold. 

Owen gently took the phone from me and read a 

few lines. 

“Let me handle it.” 

I looked up. His voice was steady. 

“This time, you won’t have to defend yourself 

alone.” 

Within half an hour, his attorney had obtained the 

hotel’s security footage. 

It clearly showed Sophie’s mother slapping me. The footage showed Caleb pinning down my phone as he told the crowd: 

“Winona and I used to be friends.”