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“I’m ready to let go of all the pain you’ve given me.
“Bailing on our wedding wasn’t about getting revenge on you. It was my decision. From now on, I want nothing to do with you. Let’s just split up and never look back.”
With that, I blocked Antonio’s number.
I tried to give my mom a smile, but tears kept streaming down my face, no matter what.
I wasn’t sure if I felt relieved or just sad.
My mom gently patted my shoulder. “It’s all water under the bridge. I will help you move on, and we’ll face a new life together.”
My mom had her own way of moving on. She spent a few days getting things in order for me and then took me to the swankiest bar in town.
The place was rocking with loud music, and the air was heavy with the scent of strong alcohol.
For a moment, all my troubles and frustrations seemed to vanish into thin air.
By the end of the night, my mom, exhausted, had a few bodyguards keep an eye on me while she went home to rest.
I danced the night away, lost in the rhythm until I was
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completely drained and had to lean on a bodyguard to get out.
With my groggy mind, I thought I heard a voice that sounded familiar.
He was striding toward me.
My blurry vision focused, and I realized it was Antonio.
He said, “Grace, let’s go home.
“I’ll explain it to my parents, and I’ll make sure my family and friends understand. No one will blame you.
“Come on back with me. I’ll let go of you leaving our wedding and your cheating. I’ll take care of it all, and we can start over.
“I promise that I’ll be the man you deserve, never let you down, and never cause you pain.”
He’d left a trail of cigarette butts on the ground where he’d been standing.
I hadn’t a clue when he’d arrived, or how long he’d been skulking around.
I was just taken aback by his nerve.
“Antonio, what makes you think I’d be asking for your forgiveness?”
Antonio puffed on his cigarette, his eyes getting a bit bloodshot.
“I saw you getting down with that topless guy, living it up. How’s that not cheating?
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“Grace, it’s because I love you that I’m offering to forgive you. Without me, you won’t find anyone better!”
I burst into laughter, “Did you forget? We’re history, remember?”
For Antonio, it wasn’t cheating when he kissed Stella after we got engaged.
It wasn’t cheating when he was daydreaming about Stella while I was dealing with a miscarriage.
It wasn’t cheating turning me into Stella’s substitute.
But hitting the bar right after our split was what made me the ultimate betrayal.
It was just plain absurd.
I had no interest in engaging with Antonio. I just wanted to get
away.
But he wasn’t getting the message and kept on my tail.
Antonio continued, “Grace, we both screwed up, but it wasn’t on purpose. Can’t we just let it go and move on?
“We’ve known each other for more than twenty years and have been lovers for ten. How can you just erase all that?”
He reached for my hand, but my bodyguards weren’t having it.
I didn’t look back but just kept my cool and said, “I can let it go.”
“You can let go of us as soon as you’re with Stella, and I can do the same.
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“Go back to Stella, or whoever, just leave me alone.
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“I’m focused on what’s ahead. Unlike you, I’m not stuck in the past.”
Antonio wasn’t ready to call it quits.
He left his business back home, didn’t care what anyone else thought, and just wanted to stick around me.
Stella came chasing after him too.
She burst in, seething with anger. “Grace, you’re really something, running away to get his attention. But don’t get complacent. I’ll find a way to win him back.”
I just gazed at Stella, unblinking.
She took my dad, my joy, all my friends, and the people I loved. She took everything I had, whether she truly wanted it or not.
Back in the day, I hated Stella and her mom to the core.
But now, seeing her, all I felt was a pang of pity.
Their world was devoid of love.
It was just a constant battle.
Every woman was a foe and every man was a prize to them.
They had lost sight of the fact that there was more to life than the guys they couldn’t let go.
“Just do whatever, but take him away from me and give me
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some damn pèace.”
Stella stopped for a beat.
She tossed out the blank pages from the diary.
“You might think you’ve won, but he’s mine!”
She laid out every little detail of their time, all the stuff she and Antonio got up to.
The dreams I held dear? To her, they were just plain old regulars.
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Chapter27
