Sweet Texts For Me, Special Care For Her

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When I saw my best friend's Instagram post of her sitting in my boyfriend's car again,

a flood of caring messages from Justin popped up on my phone.

Its raining hard. Dont forget your umbrella.

The temperature dropped today. Wear a jacket.

Don't walk through the garage when you get back. The water is freezing and the floor is slippery.

"Drink some hot tea. Your hands and feet get cold easily. Keep warm."

Looking at the screen full of sweet words, I thought of Sophies bright, smug smile on my Instagram feed.

[Just Dr. Justin doing his daily duty of pampering his girlfriend's bestie.]

[Chauffeur service in a storm. Not a single drop of rain touched me. Today's score: A+!]

My phone kept buzzing with new texts.

I didnt open them. Instead, I calmly opened my email and replied to the relocation offer that was about to expire.

"Ill take the Chicago transfer next Monday."

Then, I turned around and took a route with fewer puddles.

On a rainy day, I could walk home by myself.

Even with an umbrella, the storm was too fierce. By the time I got home, I was soaked to the bone.

I pushed the door open, and the hum of a hairdryer filled the air.

Sophie was sitting on the sofa, wearing nothing but her lace bralette. Standing behind her was Justin, gently drying her hair.

Every move, every touch was filled with tenderness.

The atmosphere in the living room was so intimate that neither of them noticed me walking in.

Justin sighed softly.

"Which hair oil do you want? The rose scent?"

Sophie giggled, her voice dripping with sweetness.

"Use your favorite scent."

Justin expertly picked out the oil, squeezed it into his palm, and carefully massaged it into her hair.

He held her hair as if it were the most precious treasure in the world.

I stood there frozen. My wet clothes clung to my skin, freezing and sticky.

Sophie saw me first.

Her eyes curved into a smile, and she let out a soft laugh.

"Chloe, why are you just getting back? Is it pouring outside? Why are you completely soaked?"

Three questions in a row. I didn't even know how to answer.

Justins hands paused. He looked at me, frowning slightly.

"Didn't I tell you to wear a jacket and bring an umbrella? Did you forget again?"

For Sophie, he provided a door-to-door chauffeur service.

For me, he only offered cheap text reminders.

Sensing my cold gaze, Justin stiffened. He offered a clumsy explanation.

"Sophie got off work early, so I picked her up first."

"Besides, youve always been independent. You can handle yourself."

A cold, heavy sensation traveled from my skin straight to my heart.

I set my umbrella down and took off my ruined, waterlogged heels.

I looked at him.

"Justin, lets break up."

With a sharp crash, the bottle of hair oil slipped from Justins hand and shattered on the floor.

The strong scent of roses instantly filled the room.

Justin knit his brows, his eyes locked onto me.

Before he could speak, Sophie stood up.

She rushed to explain, her voice frantic.

"Chloe, its all my fault. I forgot to tell Justin to pick you up."

"I got a few drops of rain on me downstairs, so he rushed to dry my hair. He just couldn't leave."

"Please, don't be so dramatic. Don't pick a fight with him again, okay?"

I stared at Sophie, completely numb.

Six months ago, she got divorced. She had been a stay-at-home wife for three years and ended up with nothing.

In the middle of the night, she sat on a curb, crying over the phone, completely wasted.

It was me who left my work behind to bring her home. It was me who took the heat to get her a job at my company and taught her everything step by step.

And now?

Her eyes showed fake apology, but the corners of her lips were curled up.

I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

I pushed past her and walked toward the bathroom.

Justin grabbed my arm tightly. His voice was cold.

"Just because you got a little wet, you're taking your anger out on me? And now you're giving Sophie attitude?"

"Chloe, are you seriously doing this?"

I stared at the bathroom sink. In it sat a pair of lace panties, soaking in soapy water, half-washed.

My tightly suppressed emotions snapped.

Like a crazy person, I smashed everything on the counter. Then, I grabbed the wet lace panties and threw them right into Justin's face.

"Am I doing this?"

"How could I compare to you, Justin? You're literally hand-washing another woman's underwear! Are you out of your mind"

"Slap!"

Before I could finish, a sharp pain flared across my cheek.

Justin had snapped.

"Chloe, watch your mouth!"

"Don't forget that you're just an unwanted foster kid who has nobody!"

After the slap, Justin froze. I did, too.

Panic flashed in his eyes. He reached out to grab my hand.

"Chloe, let me explain..."

But he didn't get to finish.

Sophie grabbed his arm. Her eyes were red, looking small and helpless.

"Justin, apologize to Chloe!"

She was shivering, and Justin immediately forgot about me.

He threw one last look at me.

Then, he let out a cold laugh, took Sophie's hand, and walked out the door without looking back.

"Who cares! I don't owe her anything!"

Before the door closed, Sophie turned to look at me. Her voice was as gentle as ever.

"Chloe, don't be mad. Just let Justin cool down."

"I'll make him come back and apologize to you, okay?"

The door slammed shut.

With a high fever burning inside me, my legs gave out.

I collapsed onto the messy floor, shivering violently as waves of dizziness hit me.

I fumbled for my phone and dialed his number repeatedly. No one picked up.

By the time the ambulance arrived, I used the last bit of my strength to unlock the front door. Then, my mind went black, and I collapsed.

In my semi-conscious state, I heard the EMT trying to call my emergency contact.

Justins voice sounded faint but pierced my ears like needles.

"Stop acting, Chloe. Is playing victim your only trick?"

When I woke up again, it was past midnight.

There was not a single text from Justin. In my call log, there were only dozens of unanswered calls I made before I passed out.

The contact name "My Beloved Husband" on the screen felt like a cruel joke.

The emergency room was empty. I curled up on the cold chair, my hand aching from the IV.

Just then, a commotion came from the hallway.

Through the glass door of the ward, I saw them.

Sophie was covered in tears, shaking her head.

"I'm pregnant."

"We can't keep this baby, Justin. We can't."

"I can't betray Chloe any more than I already have."

Justin held her tightly against his chest, his eyes filled with pain, conflict, and longing.

Finally, his voice broke.

"But I can't let it go."

Sophie looked up, her eyes filled with desperate hope.

"Then what about Chloe?"

Justin fell silent.

After a long time, he let go of Sophie. He closed his eyes in despair and slowly got down on his knees before her.

"I'm sorry..."

Sophie stiffened, her gaze turning cold.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was a message from her.

It was a photo of Justin kneeling before her, looking utterly devoted.

"Chloe, I tried to convince Justin."

"He always listens to me, but this time, he refused."

"Love doesn't care who got here first. Step aside and let us be together, okay?"

Staring at the text, I wanted to laugh.

We had known each other for twenty years. It felt like this was the first time I actually saw who Sophie was.

I dragged her out of the misery of her divorce. I brought her into my home.

Because I worried she would feel lost in a new city, I let her move into the apartment I shared with Justin.

I even let Justin, who was a licensed therapist, counsel her and help her through her depression.

She once held me, crying and shaking.

"Chloe, I swear, I will never betray you in this lifetime."

And now, she was pregnant with my fianc's baby.

She told me love had no order. She asked me to let them be.

But who was going to make up for the ten years of love I gave him?

My vision blurred.

I ripped the IV needle out of my hand and walked out.

The emergency hallway was empty now.

I crouched on the floor, the fever taking over my body again.

It wasn't until the next morning that the doctor finally let me leave.

As expected, Justin didn't come back all night.

I pulled out my suitcase and started packing my things.

Just then, Sarah from HR called.

"Chloe, did you make a mistake? Why did you send me a resignation letter?"

I froze.

"Your profile has already been transferred to the Chicago branch. I don't have the authority to process your resignation here, so I rejected your request."

"But seriously, if you leave, so many people are going to fight for your position."

My nails dug deep into my palms.

In my inbox, the rejected resignation email was glowing on the screen.

The reason was short and clear.

"Resigning to get married and focus on family. Cannot balance work and personal life."

Attached to it was also a recommendation letter. A letter recommending Sophie to take over my position.

The wording and tone were exactly Justin's.

Sarahs voice continued on the other end of the line.

"The director wanted to send you to manage the branch before, and you refused. Why the sudden change of heart?"

I stared at the black text on the screen, my voice completely devoid of emotion.

"It's nothing. I just... changed my mind."

The apartment door suddenly burst open.

Justin stood there in a sharp suit, holding a massive bouquet of red roses.

A group of our mutual friends rushed in behind him, cheering.

Justin pulled out a stunning diamond ring, dropped to one knee, and looked up at me with deep devotion.

"Chloe, marry me. Let me take care of you."

"I know you've always wanted to go to Tahiti for our honeymoon. I already booked the tickets."

"We'll leave right after the wedding, okay?"

The crowd roared, chanting, "Say yes! Say yes!"

Everyone's eyes were on me.

Family, friends, a proposal, flowers...

This was the proposal I had dreamed of for years. I should have been thrilled, crying tears of joy.

But I felt absolutely nothing.

He logged into my email and threw away my career just to give it to Sophie.

And then, he used a lazy, cheap proposal to tell me he would "take care of" me.

My phone buzzed in my hand. It was another text from Sophie.

"Justin said he would take responsibility for the baby. I get the marriage license and your job."

"To make it up to you, hes giving you the wedding ceremony."

"But I don't want that."

"Chloe, I suffered so much in my last marriage. I have nothing."

"You feel sorry for me, don't you?"

Following the text was a video.

In the video, Justins eyes were red as he grabbed Sophie, forcing a kiss on her. Even though she pushed him away, he kept chasing her.

Again, and again, until finally, Sophie melted into his arms, and they kissed passionately.

The corner of my mouth twitched. I opened Sophie's latest Instagram post.

I looked at Justin and asked,

"She really is the perfect one to marry and have a baby with, isn't she? Is that why you had to steal my job and give it to her?"

Justins expression froze. A wave of panic, which I had never seen before, washed over his face.

He stared at the photo Sophie had just postedstanding right in front of an OB-GYN clinic. His eyes turned blood-red.

Before I could say anything else, Justin leaped to his feet, pushed past the crowd, and ran out.

He ran so fast, as if his life depended on it.

Everyone thought I would be devastated after being abandoned by my long-term boyfriend at my own proposal.

The look in their eyes was full of pity.

But I just calmly watched the bouquet of roses get tossed into the corner, trampled and ruined.

Justin was my college senior. Back then, he worked part-time at the campus counseling center.

During my second month of college, I called his line in the middle of the night.

Eventually, Justin became my personal therapist.

That was the time I depended on him the most.

I opened up my heart, showing him every scar of being an abandoned foster kid who struggled to survive in an orphanage.

He held me, his eyes red with tears.

"Chloe, from now on, I will be your family."

"The family you chose yourself. I will never leave you."

It took Justin two years to heal me.

And I spent eight years staying by his side.

But before I could even get a real proposal, our relationship had reached its dead end.

Sophie asked to meet me.

At a cafe downtown, the moment she saw me, she instinctively put her hand over her belly. Her eyes were filled with fake fear.

"Chloe, I know you're mad at me. I'm sorry."

"But the baby is innocent. You wouldn't want him to grow up without parents like you did, right?"

Her eyelashes fluttered, and tears began to fall.

"Justin is good to me. He loves me."

"Chloe, you graduated from a top university. You're so strong. You can survive without anyone. But I can't."

I stared at her in silence.

Sophie suddenly grabbed my hand, begging in a low voice.

"If I lose Justin, I'll die."

I shook my head.

"Sophie..."

Before I could finish, she suddenly let go of my hand and fell backward onto the floor.

Justin rushed out from nowhere, shoved me aside, and pulled Sophie into his arms.

He glared at me, his eyes burning with fury.

"Chloe, you psychopath!"

"If you have a problem, take it out on me! I was the one who fell for Sophie first! She did nothing wrong!"

I was pushed to the floor. Something fell out of my bag and clattered on the ground.

It was a small dagger.

I looked down at the dull blade, my chest aching.

Years ago, when Justin found the self-harm scars on my arm, he custom-ordered this dull dagger and gave it to me.

"Chloe, you need to face your fear to overcome it."

I reached out and picked it up.

Sophie shrieked, shielding Justin, her voice trembling.

"Chloe! I'm the one who hurt you! Leave Justin out of this!"

Holding the dagger, I took a step forward.

Just one step.

In the next second, I was violently shoved again.

The back of my head hit the hard tile floor, and my brain started ringing.

Through my blurry vision, I saw Justin shielding Sophie, walking away without looking back.

His voice floated back in the wind, soft and gentle.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

Sophie sobbed and shook her head.

From beginning to end, he didn't look back at me once.