Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 110351 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110351 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
No; my disappearance from his life and my lack of response to his attempts to reach out will be what hurts him most.
“Thank god for that,” Laura comments. “Although he deserves for you to read him to filth as an absolute minimum, honestly.”
“As much as I would really love to, it’s not worth it,” I explain. “He’s a man-sized toddler, and any attention - be it positive or negative - is still attention. He thrives on it. It’s better to take it away from him altogether.”
Laura eyeballs me for a moment before smirking. “Clever,” she says. “I like it.”
“Well, you know me,” I tease.
“That I do. And you know, as much as I know that this hurts like hell right now, he actually did you an enormous favour here. Right? Because imagine an alternate reality where you moved in with him. Where you started an actual life together - fuck, even one where you actually had a family with him prior to him pulling a stunt like this?”
“That’s a very good point,” I tell her. “I didn’t even think about that.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” she smiles, breaking apart a spring roll. “All that being said… how are you really doing?”
I shrug, stabbing a piece of chicken with my fork. “I’m fine.”
Alright, perhaps I stabbed the chicken a little too forcefully for that to be believable.
Laura raises an eyebrow, her expression skeptical. “Liv, come on. You walked in on your boyfriend of almost two years cheating on you. Like, dick-inside-another-woman cheating,” she says, as if I need reminding. “That’s not something you just bounce back from.”
“I know,” I admit, leaning back into the couch. “I’m… angry. Of course. But I’m obviously really hurt, too. More than anything, I feel kind of - stuck, I guess. Lost, maybe. Like, what do I even do now?”
Laura chews thoughtfully. “You could key his car.”
I let out a snort of laughter. “Tempting, but no.”
“Fine,” she says, grinning. “In all seriousness, I can’t even imagine how this must feel. Fucking hell - you were supposed to be moving in together in a couple of weeks.”
“I know,” I frown.
Silence passes between us for a few beats. The comfortable kind, of course - it’s always the comfortable kind with Laura.
“You know what? Maybe this isn’t a bad thing after all,” she says suddenly, breaking the quiet that had settled around us. “I mean, come on, just look at you already. You’re young, beautiful, and you’ve got no ties to that loser anymore, thank god. Plus, we both know you’re miserable in your job. The firm has gone to shit ever since Rob retired in the summer. Maybe this is your chance to have a fresh start.”
A fresh start.
The words hang in the air like smoke.
“Hm,” I say - just so I can say something.
After all, I don’t really know how to respond.
“Want to watch something?” Laura asks, reaching for the remote and cutting off my thoughts. “Maybe it’ll help to take your mind off of everything.”
I chew on some more of my food as I nod my head. “Sure,” I say. “I’ll try anything once.”
Laura snickers as she flicks through Netflix, humming under her breath before landing on Emily in Paris.
“Have you ever watched this?” she asks.
“Never.”
“What?! You can’t be serious!”
I laugh. “Honestly, no.”
“Hmm. Well, it’s ridiculous and full of clichés, but you know what - I think you’ll love it. Plus, Emily makes everything worse for herself, so it’s a nice reminder that at least you’re not her.”
The opening scene rolls, and I sink further into Laura’s couch. About ten minutes in, my best friend glances over at me with a mischievous smile.
“You know,” she says, popping a piece of pork into her mouth, “you could do something like that.”
“Like what?”
“Move away. Start over somewhere new.”
Her words hit me like a slap and a hug all at once.
I mean… She’s not wrong.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I say, laughing nervously. “I can’t just pack up my life and leave.”
“Why not?” she counters, her tone matter-of-fact. “You’re miserable at work. You only have a few weeks to find somewhere new to live before your lease ends, and you’re freshly single. There’s literally nothing tying you to Manchester anymore. So, what’s stopping you?”
I open my mouth to argue a point, but nothing comes out.
What is stopping me?
Laura grins triumphantly. “Exactly. Think about it, Liv. France, Spain, Italy… the possibilities are endless. Ideally somewhere sunny, though. Somewhere with great wine and no cheating ex-boyfriends.”
“Don’t be daft. That sounds like something from a movie,” I say, shaking my head.
But the idea plants itself in my mind, stubborn and unshakable.
“It doesn’t have to be,” Laura says, nudging me with her elbow. “It could be your life.”
We fall silent, the episode playing in the background as Emily fumbles her way through some disastrous situation. I can’t concentrate, though; not as Laura’s words loop in my head so much louder than the dialogue on the screen.