Chapter 1

Austin was twenty-seven. I was thirty.

He despised it when I tried to act sweet, and he hated the faint smile lines near my eyes.

"Chloe, acting needy when you're twenty-two is cute. At thirty, it's just pathetic."

I merely nodded. Then, I turned around and picked up a gorgeous, fresh-faced twenty-year-old boy toy.

What Austin didn’t know was that men peak at twenty-five. After that, it’s all downhill.

So yeah, this older woman was moving on to someone younger and fitter.

Right after the film premiere, I rushed over to The Velvet Lounge without even catching my breath.

Before leaving the house this morning, Austin had reminded me to be there by ten sharp.

I had nodded calmly, but my eyes couldn't hide a spark of anticipation.

I had already noticed the ring box in his drawer. Ten years together... I had a strong hunch he was going to propose tonight.

Too bad traffic was a mess, and I arrived a few minutes late.

Just late enough to hear him laughing with his buddies through the half-open door.

"Come on, man. Getting blocked on SnapChat is totally normal. Young girls do that all the time."

That was Austin’s voicecool, calm, and utterly relaxed.

"That's the third time this month!" his friend groaned enviously. "You're the lucky one, Austin. Chloe never pulls that crap on you. She's obedient, mature, and never throws fits. Unlike my girl..."

Austin took a sip of his drink and chuckled carelessly.

"Well, Chloe is thirty. An old woman doesn't have the energy to throw tantrums anymore."

My hand froze on the door handle, hovering awkwardly in midair.

"I didn't get it before, but now I know it's always better to date younger," Austin continued. "Women are like cut flowers. You pick an older one, and her prime is over before you know it."

The room burst into drunken laughter. "Hey, keep it down. She'll be here any minute."

Austin leaned back against the plush velvet sofa, swirling his glass.

"Afraid of her? Honestly, I kind of hope she hears me. If Chloe had any dignity left, she’d pack her bags and walk out on her own. It’d save me a whole lot of trouble."

Another chorus of obnoxious laughs echoed from the room.

I stood in the cold hallway, using every ounce of strength just to keep my knees from buckling.

Austin had dropped subtle jokes about my fading youth before.

I had always brushed them off as teasing, forgetting that the harshest truths are always delivered under the guise of a joke.

He was genuinely disgusted by my age. I had just been too blind to admit it.

I didn't step inside that night. Instead, I walked to a quiet corner cafe down the street and stared into space for two solid hours.

It wasn't until the party wrapped up and his friend called me that I drove over, pretending I had just arrived.

Austin was visibly buzzed. His eyes were unfocused as he reached out for me to support his weight.

I smiled, my face an impenetrable mask. "Drunk? Let’s get you home."

For the very last time.

The drive back was dead silent.

A cool night breeze blew through the cracked window, brushing against Austin's face. He held my hand, his brow furrowing slightly. "Bad mood?"

I shook my head.

"No?" He gave me a knowing, condescending smirk. "You used to talk my ear off. Why so quiet lately? Don't tell me winning that screenwriting award suddenly made you too good to speak to me."

How ironic.

If he hadn't brought it up, I would have forgotten.

There was a time when I had endless things to share with Austin. A funny mole on the street florist's cheek could keep us talking for half an hour.

Office gossip about a coworker’s ex-boyfriend could make us laugh all night...

Gradually, I stopped sharing those little everyday moments with him.

Because he hated it.

Every time I excitedly started a story, he would ruthlessly cut me off.

“Young girls babbling is adorable, Chloe. Old women talking too much is just noise.”

Right. He was sick of my voice. He was sick of my face and my body no longer being twenty. Most of all, he hated that his disdain was screamingly obvious, yet I had stubbornly refused to walk away.

My body stiffened in the leather seat, my muscles aching with tension.

"Austin, let's break up."