Chapter 2

"Say something."

Xavier planted himself in front of me.

"It's our third anniversary. I got the flowers, I got the necklace, so I was a little late, so what? You have to make a face at me in front of all these people?"

The passersby were looking at me now.

All they saw was a man who'd rushed over holding gifts, and a woman with a cold face trying to leave.

Xavier knew that perfectly well.

He raised his voice and laid out every wrong he'd suffered, one by one.

"Last time you were angry, I wrote you a thousand-word apology. The time before that, I recorded a hundred apology videos. And when you made me tell my roommates I was useless, I did that too."

"Astrid, I've already spoiled you enough."

I looked up at him.

Every one of those methods had come from Rosamond.

I'd thought they went too far, and refused. Rosamond had held my hand and told me I had to teach Xavier a lesson. Afterward, when he'd done it, I would take him to dinner, buy him gifts, trying to give him back the dignity he'd lost.

Now all of it had turned into evidence against me.

"Don't you already know?" I asked. "Who taught me those punishments."

"My coach taught me how to soothe you, and taught you how to keep me in line. She was doing it for both of us."

Xavier frowned.

"But the decision was in your hands. If you actually cared about me, you never would have gone along with it."

He said it fast, like he'd rehearsed it.

"I spoiled you too much, that's the only reason you turned out like this. Any normal girl would've been thrilled to get a necklace this expensive. And you? You make a face and walk off, forcing me to grovel."

I'd had so many things I wanted to ask him.

I wanted to ask why he was meeting Rosamond alone.

I wanted to ask what that laughing little "babe" was supposed to mean.

I wanted to ask how long he'd spent with her, to leave me waiting a full hour in the wind.

But he'd already sealed off every exit.

If I explained, he'd say I was making excuses.

If I pulled out the voice message, Rosamond only had to call it a joke, and he'd blame me for reading too much into it.

The tears fell without warning.

Xavier froze.

The hand he'd reached out stopped in midair, his voice dropping with it.

"What are you crying for? I didn't even say anything that harsh."

I wiped the tears away, and new ones fell.

"If you're this willing to do whatever Rosamond says, then why don't you just make Rosamond your girlfriend?"

"What are you talking about?"

Half of Xavier's anger drained away, but the impatience still sat between his brows.

"She and I are just friends. She understands you, that's why I asked her for help. You go imagining things all on your own, and now you want to throw dirt on both of us?"

He grabbed my wrist.

"Enough, don't cry in the street. People will think I'm bullying you."

I threw his hand off.

Someone nearby said under their breath, "The guy even bought gifts, what's she making a fuss for."

Another one laughed and answered, "Spoiled rotten, that's what."

Xavier heard it, and a kind of relief spread across his face, like he'd found backup.

"See, everyone thinks you're being unreasonable."

I looked at him and said nothing more.

In three years, every time he made me angry, it went like this.

First he explained, and when the explaining didn't work, he got angry.

Then when I cried, he'd hold me and say he only acted that way because he cared too much.

Rosamond would show up right on cue and comfort each of us separately.

I used to think she was patching up the cracks.

The cracks were the ones she'd been chipping open, little by little.

A cab pulled over at the curb.

I opened the door, and Xavier caught up, pressing his hand against it.

"Astrid, if you leave today, don't expect me to come coax you back."

"Fine."

I pushed his hand off and got into the car.

The door shut.

Xavier stood where he was, his lips moving. The driver hit the gas, and that familiar face was quickly swallowed by the crowd.

My phone started buzzing.

Rosamond was calling.

I hung up.

She called again.

When it rang a third time, I watched the streetlights sliding backward outside the window and pressed answer.

"Astrid, did you and Xavier get into a fight again?"

Her voice was still just as gentle.

The same as every other time.

This time, I didn't follow the script she'd written.