"I''m ready to let go of all the pain you''ve given me.


    "Bailing on our wedding wasn''t about getting revenge on you. It was my decision. From now on. I want nothing to do with you. Let''s just split up and never look back."


    With that. I blocked Antonio''s number.


    I tried to give my mom a smile, but tears kept streaming down my face, no matter what.


    I wasn''t sure if I felt relieved or just sad.


    My mom gently patted my shoulder. "It''s all water under the bridge. I will help you move on, and we''ll face a new life together."


    My mom had her own way of moving on. She spent a few days getting things in order for me and then took me to the swankiest bar in town.


    The ce was rocking with loud music, and the air was heavy with the scent of strong alcohol.


    For a moment, all my troubles and frustrations seemed to vanish into thin


    air.


    By the end of the night, my mom, exhausted, had a few bodyguards keep an eye on me while she went home to rest.


    0


    I danced the night away, lost in the rhythm until I waspletely drained and had to lean on a bodyguard to get out.


    With my groggy mind. I thought I heard a voice that sounded familiar.


    He was striding toward me.


    My blurry vision focused, and I realized it was Antonio.


    He said. "Grace, let''s go home.


    "I''ll exin it to my parents, and I''ll make sure my family and friends. understand. No one will me you.


    "Come on back with me. I''ll let go of you leaving our wedding and your cheating. I''ll take care of it all, and we can start over.


    "I promise that I''ll be the man you deserve, never let you down, and never cause you pain."


    He''d left a trail of cigarette butts on the ground where he''d been standing.


    I hadn''t a clue when he''d arrived, or how long he''d been skulking around.


    I was just taken aback by his nerve.


    "Antonio, what makes you think I''d be asking for your forgiveness?"


    s eves a


    Antonio puffed on his cigarette, a bit bloodshot.


    "I saw you getting down with that topless guy, living it up. How''s that not cheating?


    "Grace, it''s because I love you that I''m offering to forgive you. Without me, you won''t find anyone better!"


    Tburst intoughter, "Did you forget? We''re history, remember?"


    For Antonio, it wasn''t cheating when he kissed Ste after we got


    engaged.


    It wasn''t cheating when he was daydreaming about Ste while I was dealing with a miscarriage.


    It wasn''t cheating turning me into Ste''s substitute.


    But hitting the bar right after our split was what made me the ultimate betrayal.


    It was just in absurd.


    I had no interest in engaging with Antonio. I just wanted to get away.


    But he wasn''t getting the message and kept on my tail.


    Antonio continued, "Grace, we both Sp, but it wasn''t on


    . Can''t we just let it goel


    move on?


    "We''ve


    than


    years and have


    10 on each other for more ten. How can you peemet erase all that?" Content Thet


    He reached for my hand, but my bodyguards weren''t having it.


    I didn''t look back but just kept my cool and said, "I can let it go."


    "You can let go of us as soon as you''re with Ste, and I can do the same.


    "Go back to Ste, or whoever, just leave me alone.


    "I''m focused on what''s ahead. Unlike you, I''m not stuck in the past."


    Antonio wasn''t ready to call it quits.


    He left his business back home, didn''t care what anyone else thought, and just wanted to stick around me. Ste came chasing after him too.


    She burst in, seething with anger. "Grace, you''re really something. running


    Paway to get his atte


    But don''t getcent. I''ll find a way to win him back."


    I just gazed at Ste, unblinking.


    She took my dad. my joy, all my friends, and the people I loved.


    She took everything I had, whether she truly wanted it or not.


    Back in the day. I hated Ste and her mom to the core.


    But now, seeing her, all I felt was a pang of pity.


    Their world was devoid of love.


    It was just a constant battle.


    Every woman was a foe and every man was a prize to them.


    They had lost sight of the fact that there was more to life than the guys they couldn''t let go.


    "Just do whatever, but take him away from me and give me some damn peace."


    Ste stopped for a beat.


    She tossed out the nk pages from the diary.


    "You might think you''ve won, but he''s mine!"


    Sheid out every little detail of their time, all the stuff she and Antonio got up to.


    The dreams I held dear? To her, they were just in old regrs.