She Bet on Love, I Married Another

Chapter 4: Sudden Meetup

Alex

After the couple had settled into the guest room, I stepped out, carrying my suitcase with me.

I hesitated at the front door as laughter rang out from the guest room.

The one thing I could never understand was why Julie had agreed to marry me when she was clearly in love with her childhood lover.

They made a nice couple, after all.

With one last glance at the house, I stepped out.

This house held a lot of memories for me. I used to think they were good ones, but right now, I had to admit that most of them had been nothing but painful reminders of how much of myself I had lost.

In fact, I regretted all those years I had wasted with Julie.

My ordered ride pulled up in front of me. I hesitated briefly, looking up at the building one last time before getting into the car.

I knew I was leaving behind more than just Julie.

I was leaving behind everything that reminded me of her.

“Please drive,” I muttered to the driver before leaning back against the seat.

I doubted Julie would even miss me.

The car soon pulled into the parking lot of King’s Outlet, the hotel where I would be staying until tomorrow, when my flight to Port Fontaine was scheduled to depart.

Just as I checked into my room, my phone made a beep.

It was my booking confirmation text.

“My flight to Port Fontaine was departing tomorrow at 7:00 AM.”

I slumped onto the couch and my stomach suddenly grumbled.

Only then did I realize I hadn’t eaten anything since the afternoon.

Considering I had spent hours at the city mall waiting for Julie, it wasn’t surprising.

I ordered some food and, while I waited, decided to surf through the internet.

A post suddenly appeared on my feed.

It had been posted by John only a few minutes ago.

The picture showed Julie from behind as she stood in the kitchen, apparently preparing dinner for him.

The caption said he was happy to have someone making dinner for him.

Something about the way he had written it rubbed me the wrong way.

It almost felt like he was bragging, like he knew I was following him and wanted me to see it.

I knew Julie probably hadn’t even noticed that I was gone.

Whenever John was involved, it was as though she lost all sense of reasoning.

Whenever he was around, he was all she ever thought about.

And most of the time, John was always around.

I scrolled through the comment section, which was flooded as usual.

A lot of Julie’s friends were there, practically kissing up to John.

Sometimes, I wondered if they even knew Julie and I were together because of how much they supported her relationship with him.

Most of the comments were about how good they looked together and how they should consider getting married because they were a match made in heaven.

Actually, I couldn’t help but agree with most of them.

They should seriously get married if they can't stay away from each other.

It would save everyone the trouble.

If Julie had considered that from the beginning, I wouldn’t be here.

At least I would have known where I stood.

But Julie knew exactly what she was doing.

For all those years, I ran errands for her. I did whatever she asked without question.

I was basically her and her lover’s errand boy.

But if I had seen a picture like this in the past, I would have been furious.

I probably would have confronted Julie, expecting her to give me the same explanation she had given me countless times before.

There was nothing going on between her and John.

But now? The picture didn’t move me at all.

John’s ridiculous attempts to get under my skin no longer affected me. Instead, they looked childish.

I stared at the picture for a few more seconds before I blocked John.

This was the end.

Not just between Julie and me, but between me and everything that reminded me of her.

I woke up early the next morning and got ready for my flight.

I hadn’t blocked Julie’s number, so a small part of me wondered if I would have a text or call waiting for me.

Not that it would change anything but I simply wanted to know when she would notice I had left.

And, somehow, she didn’t disappoint.

Julie had always abandoned me whenever John was around. It had always felt as though I ceased to exist whenever he entered the picture.

Most of the time, it felt like I was competing with John for my own girlfriend’s attention.

By six in the morning, I was already at the airport with my luggage.

I headed toward the check-in counter, ready to leave everything behind and start a new life.

A life away from the one-sided love I had endured for years.

“Look who is here?” A deep, familiar voice broke through my thoughts.

I turned slightly toward the speaker and froze.

It was Julie and John.

They were also here to check in their luggage.

I remembered Julie telling me they were leaving today, but who would have thought we would end up meeting like this?

Julie furrowed her brows, while John let out a quiet laugh. “What are you doing here, Alex?”