I dated my lawyer boyfriend, Mateo, for 5 years. He canceled our wedding 52 times. The first time, his intern messed up some papers and he left me stranded on the beach to fix it. I waited all day alone. The second time, he left in the middle of the ceremony, claiming his intern was in trouble again.

From then on, it was always because of her. Always because of her. I finally reached my limit. I packed my bags and ended things. The day I left, Matteo panicked and tried to find me. Today was wedding attempt number 52, just family this time. I dragged myself to the venue with a fever, only to find Matteo in the groom’s room, giving Sophia, the same intern, an ankle massage.

She was limping as always. My parents just shook their heads. Seriously? Again? Right before the ceremony, he escaped again. I have to take Sophia to the hospital, he said. Should we postpone until next time? He used to beg. This time I didn’t smile. It’s fine. Sophia probably can’t wait. He blinked in surprise. Great.

I’ll bring you that strawberry cake you love so much tonight. I nodded. He left. I hate strawberries and cake. He knew that. I told him on our first date. He even wrote it down. I went back inside, tore up the wedding dress I had worn 52 times, and canceled everything forever. My parents comforted me.

Come back to Culverton with us. Culverton, where his law firm is located. I studied law because of them. I was supposed to join after graduation, but instead I followed Matteo. I even hid my background to fit his small town image. In those 5 years, I became partner material. People called us the golden couple.

I thought someday he’d be okay with who I really was. That day never came. I agreed to go home. Later that night, while checking social media, I saw Sophia’s post. Dragged someone’s almost groom to play a game with me. I promised him dinner. It worked like a charm. Same story, same game. I laughed bitterly. Thank God we never legally married.

The next morning, I resigned. My boss, Mr. Garcia, tried to stop me. While we were talking, Matteo walked in with a love bite on his neck and Sophia’s perfume still on him. Mr. Garcia groaned, “Talk to your girlfriend.” “She’s quitting.” Mateo intervened. “Are you still mad about the wedding?” “It’s not that,” I said. “I’m just tired.

” Then take a vacation, he said. Quitting makes it look like you have problems with Sophia, right? The same vacation days I wasted on each failed wedding. He caught me looking at the mark. Mosquito bite. He mumbled. A clumsy excuse. I nodded. He smiled. That’s better. Let it go. Dinner tonight at LSE. I didn’t respond. He took my silence as a yes. Sophia burst in.

Sorry for interrupting your date, but I need help with this case. She didn’t even look at me. They whispered as if I wasn’t there. Then she hooked her arm through his and strutdded, showing me a smug smile. When she slammed the door, my bracelet broke. A gift from our first anniversary. Matteo said it symbolized how unbreakable we were.

I threw it in the trash along with the last of us. Later, I packed my things. Carmen, my replacement murmured. Are you really leaving now? I’ll be stuck watching them drool all day. I saw Matteo slip a luxury bracelet onto Sophia’s wrist. She panicked when she saw me. It’s just a bracelet, Miss Rainsorf. Please don’t be upset. I smiled. It looks good on you.

5 years and Matteo never bought me anything like that. Everyone thought I was just a clueless girl from nowhere. Even Carmen seemed furious. I turned to Sophia. I’m not upset. I had bracelets like that back in Culverton. Matteo scoffed. Renie, stop being dramatic. I’m not angry. You two need to stop making things up about me.

After work, Matteo came to help me pack. Dinner is still on at 8. He noticed my bare wrist. Where’s the bracelet I gave you? I left it at home. I didn’t want to risk breaking it. You used to wear it everyday. Before I could answer, Sophia appeared. I’m ready. He lit up. I’ll wait for you in the car, he said, and left with her toward the front passenger seat.

The one he always said was for his future wife. She looked at me over her shoulder smuggly. I just nodded. It didn’t hurt anymore. At dinner, they sat on the same side of the booth, ordering without looking at me. I stared out the window. Matteo slid me a plate of shrimp. Then Sophia intervened.

She ate three plates the last time we came here. Matteo turned red. Why are you saying that in front of my fiance? She laughed. Oops. Sorry. They laughed. I pushed the plate away. Not my thing. Enjoy it, you two. Mateo asked. Are you upset? I smiled. Not too fishy like you two. After dinner, Matteo walked Sophia home. I was the one who closed the door.

Then I called a taxi to go to the airport. On the way, Matteo kept texting me. Where are you, Renie? Please answer. You can’t just disappear like this. The notifications kept coming one after another, making my phone vibrate incessantly in the taxi seat. The driver looked at me through the rear view mirror with a worried expression, probably wondering if I was running away from an abusive relationship.

He wasn’t wrong in a way. I turned off the phone. For the first time in 5 years, I felt genuine relief flowing through my veins. The airport was approaching and with it my freedom. But then a call came to the taxi phone. The driver answered and after a few seconds handed me the device. It’s for you, ma’am. It was Matteo. My stomach churned.

How had he gotten the taxi company’s number? Renie, I know you’re going to the airport. Please don’t do this. We can talk. How did you get this number? My voice came out colder than I intended. I have my contacts. Listen, I canceled dinner with Sophia. I’m coming to get you now. He canled dinner with Sophia.

After 5 years of putting me second, now that I was really leaving, he was canceling something with her. The irony was so bitter, I almost laughed. Don’t come after me, Matteo. Renie, I love you. You know that. Love, what an interesting word coming from him. Was leaving me stranded 52 times. Love was leaving our own wedding ceremony to take another woman to the hospital.

Love was forgetting that I hate strawberries after 5 years together. Love, if you loved me, you would have come to our wedding today. Sophia was hurt. Sophia is always hurt. Mateo. And you always run to save her. The silence on the other end lasted so long. I thought he had hung up. Then I heard his heavy breathing. Fine.

You want to leave? Leave. But don’t blame me when you discover you made the biggest mistake of your life. and he hung up. I returned the phone to the driver who shook his head disapprovingly. We arrived at the airport 15 minutes later and I bought the first available ticket to Culverton. The flight would leave in 2 hours.

While waiting at the gate, I turned on my phone again. 17 missed messages, all from him. I didn’t read any. Instead, I called my parents. Renie. My mother’s voice sounded worried. How was dinner? I’m at the airport, Mom. Coming home tomorrow morning. A silence, then a sigh of relief. Thank God. Your father and I were talking earlier.

We never really liked Matteo. You know, that was news to me. For 5 years, they had been nothing but polite to him. Why? He never treated you as a priority, dear. And we raised you to be someone’s priority, not the second choice. Tears began rolling down my face. Not from sadness, but from relief.

Relief from finally hearing someone validate what I had felt for so long. The flight was announced. I hung up after saying goodbye to my mother and boarded. As the plane took off, I looked out the window and saw the city getting smaller and smaller. 5 years of my life were down there, getting farther away every second.

And for the first time, that didn’t scare me. I woke up with the plane landing in Culverton. The airport was small, nothing compared to where I came from, but there was something comforting about its simplicity. My parents were waiting for me in the arrivals area, and the hug I received was the first genuine hug I had felt in months.

“Welcome back home, daughter,” my father murmured in my ear. “Home?” The word sounded strange after so long, but it also sounded right. On the way home, my mother told me the town’s news. Who had gotten married? Who had gotten divorced? Who had opened new businesses? It was comforting to hear about lives that continued, that changed and evolved naturally, without drama or lies.

By the way, my father said as he entered the garage, I talked to the firm’s partners about your return. They’re eager to have you back. My parents law firm was successful, specializing in corporate and real estate law. I had grown up playing among the files, dreaming of someday working alongside them, until Matteo appeared and changed all my plans. I’d love to come back, I replied.

And I realized it was true. They settled me in my old room, which they had kept exactly as I left it. My diplomas were still hanging on the wall. my law books organized on the shelves. It was like going back in time before making all those wrong decisions. I spent the rest of the day arranging my things and trying to process everything that had happened.

In the evening, my parents insisted on ordering Chinese food, my favorite when I was a teenager. We were eating and talking when my phone rang. It was Matteo again. This time I answered, “Reny, thank God. Where are you?” “At home.” “At home? Your apartment is empty. I have a key. Remember?” Of course, he had a key. And of course, he had invaded my apartment.

Not that home, Matteo. My real home, Culverton. The silence was deafening. You really left. I said I would leave. Renie, this is ridiculous. You can’t just abandon everything we built together. What did we build? I laughed bitterly. Mateo, in 5 years, you canled our wedding 52 times. 52? And always for the same person.

What exactly do you think we built? I made mistakes, okay? But we can fix it. Come back home and let’s talk. This is my home now. For how long? A week? A month? You’re going to get tired of this little revenge and come back? Little revenge? He thought I had left everything behind as a little revenge.

5 years wasted with a man who didn’t know me at all. I’m not coming back, Matteo. And Sophia, do you really think there’s something between us? The question caught me off guard. Not because of the question itself, but because of the way he asked it. As if the answer mattered. As if after everything, he still expected me to be jealous. Honestly, I hope so.

You deserve each other. And I hung up. My parents had heard the entire conversation. My father shook his head disapprovingly while my mother took my hand. You did the right thing, dear. That night, lying in my teenage bed, looking at the ceiling I knew so well, I felt something I hadn’t felt in years. Peace. It wasn’t happiness yet.

It was too early for that. But it was peace. And for now, that was enough. The next morning, I woke up early and went to the firm with my father. The building was smaller than I remembered, but still imposing with its brick facade and large windows facing the town’s main square. The name Rhinorf and Associates shown on the bronze plaque next to the entrance.

The secretary, Dolores, greeted me with a huge smile. She had worked for my parents since before I was born. How good to have you back, dear. You’ve grown so much. I spent the morning reaclimating to the firm, reviewing cases, and meeting new employees. It was surprising how everything seemed familiar, even after so long.

Law had always been natural to me, a second language I spoke fluently. Around noon, while having lunch with my parents at the small cafe on the corner, my phone rang. It wasn’t Matteo this time. It was Carmen, my former coworker. Renie, thank God you answered. You need to know what’s happening here.

Carmen, I don’t work there anymore. Whatever it is, it’s not my problem anymore. It’s about Matteo and Sophia. My stomach tightened, but I kept my voice steady. What about them? They’re not even trying to hide it anymore. After you left yesterday, they left the office together holding hands. And this morning, she arrived wearing his shirt.

I felt a strange mix of validation and disgust. I had been right all along. All the signs were there. All the cheap excuses, all the convenient emergencies, and I had wasted 5 years of my life pretending not to see. Carmen, thanks for letting me know, but there’s more. Mr. Garcia is furious. He discovered that Matteo had been using the firm’s resources to pay Sophia’s medical bills.

Apparently, she never had adequate health insurance, and he was diverting money from cases to cover her treatments. Now, this was interesting and potentially criminal. What kind of treatments? physical therapy mainly for the ankle. She’s always hurting, but also some other things, minor cosmetic surgeries, dermatological treatments, things that are definitely not medical emergencies.

Cosmetic surgeries, dermatological treatments. While I wore the same wedding dress 52 times, he was financing his mistress’s transformation with money from the firm. Is Mr. Garcia going to fire him? Worse, he’s thinking of suing him. And you know what’s most ironic? He wants you to come back to handle the case. I laughed.

The irony was almost poetic. Tell Mr. Garcia thanks for the offer, but I have other priorities now. I hung up and told my parents everything. My father, who had been a prosecutor before opening the private firm, shook his head knowingly. Embezzlement. If they prove he used firm money for personal purposes, he could go to jail. Good was all I could say.

My mother looked at me with concern. You’re not too happy about this, are you? She was right. I should be furious, devastated, or at least satisfied with his downfall. But all I felt was empty. As if Matteo was a phase of my life that had already passed, like a cold that had finally healed. I’m not feeling anything, I admitted. It’s strange.

It’s not strange, my father said gently. It’s healing. We spent the rest of the day working. It was refreshing to be surrounded by colleagues who respected me, who valued my opinion, who didn’t treat me like decoration or a second choice. Around 5:00 in the afternoon when we were getting ready to leave, Dolores came to my desk with a strange expression.

Renie, there’s a man in reception asking for you. He says he’s your ex- fiance. My bl00d froze. Matteo is here. He said he drove all night to get here. He looks desperate. I looked at my father who immediately stood up. Do you want me to talk to him? No. I took a deep breath. I’m going to talk to him, but stay close just in case.

I walked to the reception with trembling legs. Matteo was there exactly as Dolores had described, desperate. His eyes were red, unshaven beard, and he was wearing the same clothes from the day before. He really had driven all night. Renie, thank God. We need to talk. We have nothing to talk about. Matteo, please just give me 5 minutes.

I looked at him, really looked at him and realized something I had never noticed before. He was scared. Not sad, not sorry. Scared. Fine. 5 minutes. We went out to the plaza in front of the firm. It was late afternoon and the golden sunset light made everything seem surreal. I screwed everything up, he began.

I know I screwed up, but you can’t just throw away 5 years of our lives like that. I didn’t throw them away, Mateo. You threw them away. Every time you chose her instead of me. It’s not what you think. Sophia and I were not. Carmen told me about the money. He palded. What money? The firm’s money you used to pay for her treatments. the cosmetic surgeries, the fake physical therapy.

How did you? It doesn’t matter how I know. What matters is that you stole money from your job to support your mistress and then had the audacity to ask me to marry you 52 times. I didn’t steal anything. I just just what, Matteo? Just diverted company funds? Just lied to me for 5 years. Just made me feel crazy for questioning the obvious.

He was silent for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and dangerous. You think you’re better than everyone, don’t you? You always thought so. Coming from your rich family with your fancy diplomas, doing charity by dating me. And there it was. The truth he had hidden for 5 years. He had always resented me, my success, my family, my education.

I had spent 5 years trying to make myself smaller to fit his insecurity, and he still hated me for it. “You’re right,” I said calmly. I am better than you. Not because I come from money or because I have diplomas. I’m better than you because I never lied, never cheated, never made you feel like a second choice.

I’m better than you because when I promised something, I keep it. He took a step toward me. And for a moment, I thought he was going to h!t me. But then he saw my father approaching and stepped back. This isn’t over, Renie. Yes, it’s over. And if you show up here again, I’m calling the police. He looked at me with such hatred that I felt a chill.

Then he turned around and walked to his car. I stood there trembling until he disappeared from sight. My father put his arm around my shoulders. Are you okay? I’m okay. I’m finally okay. And for the first time in 5 years, it was