The words hit me like a punch to the gut. My vision blurs, and for a moment, I’m sure I’m going to collapse right there on the floor.
“But…where will I go?” I ask, my voice barely more than a whisper. It’s a desperate, pathetic question, but I’m too stunned to care.
How can he just toss me aside like this, as if I’m nothing?
Alex finally turns to look at me, and his eyes are cold, completely detached. “You’re a smart girl,” he says, almost mocking. “You’ll figure it out.”
I swallow hard, trying to hold back the tears burning behind my eyes. “But…how will I pay my mom’s medical bills?!”
He doesn’t even flinch. “Not my problem.”
My stomach lurches, and I struggle to breathe. I thought I knew this man, thought he was the love of my life, and here he is, throwing me out like garbage.
I open my mouth, searching for something, anything to say, but I can’t find the words.
“Now stop making a scene,” Alex says, his tone bored, as if this whole situation is just an inconvenience to him. “And leave.”
I feel something behind me, a slight nudge, and when I turn, I see Eliza standing there, her expression twisted with glee. She scrunches her nose at me, her lips curling into a sneer.
“And stop spreading your germs,” she says, her voice dripping with disdain.
She shoves me, not hard, but enough to make me stumble back. My mind is spinning, my chest tight, and I feel like I’m going to choke on my own humiliation.
Alex turns away, taking a slow drag from his cigar, and just like that, I’m dismissed.
Forgotten.
I stumble out of the mansion, the laughter and chatter of the party still echoing behind me, and make it to the front lawn before I collapse.
The cold grass prickles against my skin, but I barely feel it. All I can do is sit there, hugging my knees to my chest, and let the tears spill over.
How did it all go so wrong so fast? One minute, I was planning a wedding, and the next, I’m being thrown out on the street. I feel like a fool, and the pain of it cuts so deep I can hardly breathe.
I hear footsteps behind me, and then Maya’s voice, soft and cautious. “Ky, are you okay?”
I shake my head, my words choked and broken. “I can’t believe he just dumped me.”
“He’s such an ass,” Maya says, kneeling beside me, her hand on my back. “Forget about him.”
I shake my head harder, unable to stop the tears. “Where am I going to live?”
Maya hesitates, then says, “I’ll ask James if you can stay with us for a bit.”
The mention of James makes me cringe. “But James hates me,” I say, my voice cracking. “He thinks I’m beneath you…and all these rich assholes.”
Maya doesn’t say anything, just squeezes my shoulder. We both know it’s true.