“Are you joking?”

“Does it look like I’m joking?”

“Wow.” I slide the Cartier watch off my wrist that he’d bought me for my birthday and put it on the coffee table along with my engagement ring. “I’ll leave you this and any of the jewelry, but my MacBook was a Christmas present and I’m in law school. If you think I’m leaving you a year and half’s worth of papers and research and homework, including a paper that’s half written that’s due at the end of the semester, you’re crazy.”

I walk up the stairs, preparing to pack some of my clothes as it seems he might trash all of my things the second I leave. I hadn’t expected this level of petty but I suppose it might just be a knee-jerk reaction to the pain. I toss a suitcase on the floor and begin throwing clothes into it. I pick up my phone just as it begins to ring again and I silence the call. I notice I have three missed calls and a text message from Jacob.

Jacob: Baby, you’re worrying me. You said you’d call me in ten minutes and now you’re not answering. Talk to me.

Me: I got home and Parker was here. I told him. Not about you specifically, just that it’s over. Now, I’m packing.

I give him the bullet points so that he’s not left completely in the dark but I hope he’s not going to ask me to go into more details while I just want to get out of here as soon as possible.

Jacob: Are you serious? Whitney, are you okay?

Me: Yes. Just let me pack some of my stuff.

Jacob: Call me when you get in the car.

I thumbs up the comment and continue packing in a haste because I wasn’t sure what would happen the longer that Parker stewed in his anger. I turn toward the door when I see a figure there and I see Parker on his crutches staring at me angrily.

“You’re really doing this?”

My shoulders slump and I hate how this looks. Like I’m just leaving him on a whim.

“After everything we’ve been through together? Why the fuck did you even agree to marry me?”

I tuck a hair behind my ear and twist the end of it around my finger nervously. “I… I don’t know.” I bite my lip preparing to tell him a little bit about my past but also not wanting to give him the full scope of the truth because truthfully my parents did need to hear that part first. “I fell in love a long time ago. Things didn’t work out and…”

“You weren’t over him when you met me.”