They Voted Me Out After Fifteen Years Together Chapter 02

They Voted Me Out After Fifteen Years Together Chapter 02

I didn’t sleep.

I deleted every photo connected to them. One by one.

Fifteen years of memories. Wiped clean in a few hours.

By the end, my photo album was nearly empty.

I stared at that hollow grid for a long time. Then I got up and started sorting through my things.

So much of it was tied to them.

So much of it should’ve been tossed out years ago.

I opened the closet to pack.

My fingers stopped without thinking on a gray scarf.

I was fourteen. My parents had just died. Not a single relative would take me in.

I sat on the steps outside the funeral home, crying so hard I couldn’t breathe.

Dax knelt in front of me and wrapped this scarf around my neck.

He said, “Sable. From now on, my family is your family.”

Every birthday after that. He was there.

The little cake at eighteen.

The cheap takeout in our rented apartment at twenty-two.

At twenty-six, after his startup failed, he held me and swore that when he made it, he’d give me the biggest blowout for my thirtieth.

My thirtieth.

He gave it to another woman on Vireo Island.

The doorbell rang.

Dax stood at the front of the group. Cake in one hand. White roses in the other.

Bree popped out from behind him, grinning like nothing had happened.

“Sable, surprise! I was out of town with my family yesterday. Brought you back some candles.”

Daphne pressed some cash into my hand.

“Got so swamped I forgot your birthday. Making it up to you, sweetie.”

A few mutual friends pushed inside, dumping balloons and streamers all over the living room.

“Why the long face, birthday girl? We’re throwing you a make-up party.”

The faces in front of me blurred. Overlapped with the video from last night.

They were standing there talking. I couldn’t hear a word.

All I could hear was the group chat.

[She’ll throw a fit for a day or two.]

[Dax will sweet-talk her and she’ll come crawling back.]

Dax opened a jewelry box.

A necklace inside.

He reached around and fastened it on me. His thumb grazed the back of my neck. Same as always.

“Babe, yesterday really was insane.”

“Don’t be mad. Come work at the company. We’ll be together every single day.”

The cold chain hit my skin. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

I pulled it off. Dropped it back in the box.

Bree’s smile locked up.

“Sable, you need to cut it out. We all showed up to make you feel better, and you’re still giving us attitude?”

Daphne sighed.

“You’re thirty years old. Stop acting like a child.”

I looked up at them. My throat was so dry it hurt.

“Done with the performance?”

The living room went dead silent.

I bit off every word. “The wedding on Vireo Island. Good show?”

Bree’s face paled. Then she frowned fast.

“If you already knew, why didn’t you just say something? Why do this passive-aggressive crap and make everyone uncomfortable?”

One of the friends chimed in.

“Willa waited ten years for Dax. That wasn’t easy for her either.”

“So what if you waited fifteen years? Love isn’t a deli counter.”

I wanted to laugh. My lips just trembled hard.

Dax reached for me.

“Sable. Stop.”

“Willa and I just had the ceremony. We didn’t sign a marriage license.”

My head snapped up.

He had exhaustion in his eyes. And certainty.

“I told you I’d give you what you deserve by thirty. I didn’t forget.”

“If you’re willing, we can go to the City Hall tomorrow.”

“She wanted the ceremony. You want a home. I gave her the wedding. I’ll give you the certificate. Nobody loses.”

A buzz exploded in my ears.

The heat in my chest surged so fast I almost laughed out loud at how insane this was.

Dax softened his voice.

“Sable, you don’t have a family. That’s exactly why I can’t leave you.”

“You quit your job. Who’s going to spend your birthday with you? Who’s going to pick you up after work? Who’s going to take care of you when you’re sick?”

His voice was gentle.

But every word reminded me I had nothing.

I looked at the balloons covering the room. The gifts. The cold chain of that necklace.

My eyes burned hard. The tears wouldn’t fall.

I stepped back. Just one step. Out of his reach.

He frowned. “Babe?”

I looked at him. My voice came out soft.

“You’re right.”

“I do need to find myself a home.”