Posted Their Texts, Blocked His Number, Bye - Chapter 2: Chapter 2

"Honestly, losing the apartment might be a blessing in disguise," Harvey said, his voice dripping with false optimism. "When we get married, we could just buy a new one. Maybe even upgrade to something bigger. What do you think?"
He was watching me—I could feel his eyes darting in my direction, waiting for some kind of reaction. I noticed, of course. But I played dumb.
Normally, this would've sent me over the moon. I'd be crying happy tears, gushing about our future. But now? Nothing. Not even a flicker of emotion for him.
My icy silence killed his mood. He knew I was upset, but fixing things wasn't exactly his style. The fact that he'd even bothered to show up tonight was a miracle in itself.
When he disappeared into the shower, his phone lit up like a damn strobe light. The constant buzzing grated on my nerves, so I snatched it up.
Leigh.
A flood of wedding photos—her and Harvey, dressed to the nines. Some classic, some modern, all sickeningly sweet.
My chest tightened, the ache dull but suffocating.
So this was it. The impatience he reserved just for me.
I remembered dragging him to bridal shops, my heart racing with excitement. And every single time, he'd bailed.
"They all look the same. Just pick one," he'd grumbled.
That scowl was burned into my memory.
His irritation with me? Real.
The tenderness in those photos? Oh, that was real too.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Steam billowed into the room as Harvey stormed out, snatching the phone from my grip so hard I stumbled back onto the bed.
"Do you not understand privacy?" His face was flushed from the shower, but his voice was pure ice.
I looked down at my hand. A scratch, bleeding.
Truth was, even if he hadn't caught me, I wouldn't have scrolled further. I'd already seen everything—the endless flirty texts. I'd read them all one sleepless night, from midnight till dawn.
By the time I finished, my eyes were swollen, but I still had to pretend I'd just woken up.
Seven years. Seven damn years of me begging, pleading, trying to spark something. And when he did respond? A half-assed emoji if I was lucky.
"Sorry," I muttered, staring at the floor. "Won't touch your phone again."
He froze, thrown off by my quiet surrender.
"Those photos…" He fumbled. "Trying on dresses is exhausting, so I… I just helped her. That's all. You know her brother died. I was doing this for him. Don't read into it."
I stayed silent, letting him dig his own grave.
Leigh's brother, Peck, had been Harvey's friend. Back when Harvey's business was floundering, Peck had raced to deliver a flash drive—and ended up in a wreck.
He died in the ER, but not before making Harvey swear to look after Leigh.
And oh, did Harvey keep that promise.
What started as a distant obligation turned into him micromanaging her entire life.
I swallowed hard. Only a few days left before I was gone for good. No point holding back now.
"Don't worry about me getting the wrong idea," I said softly. "Honestly? If you and Leigh got married, I think it'd be a good match—"
His hand cracked across my face before I could finish.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" he roared. "Leigh only sees me as a brother! You think she's as cheap as you?"
My cheek burned, the sting searing like fire.
Yeah. Leigh wasn't like me. She didn't throw herself at him like some desperate fool.
Tears pricked my eyes, but before they could fall, I caught the flicker of panic in his expression.
"I… I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."
For a second, I almost told him everything. "Harvey, I'm getting—"
But his ringtone cut me off.
He answered, and Leigh's trembling voice filled the room.
"H-Harvey! I had a nightmare… about my brother. I'm… I'm so scared…"