I Crushed His Heart, Now I Watch Him Move On

At the college reunion, the second I took my seat, every pair of eyes in the room locked onto me. I only had my past self to blame for being so high-profile back then. Now, even if I wanted to blend into the background, I couldn't. The title of "NYU's It-Girl" had followed me everywhere. And the glamorous girl from back then couldn't be further from the broke, exhausted mess I was today. Five years ago, I took a million dollars from Julian Hayes's mother to leave him, promising never to return to New York City for five years. We ended things so brutally that year. I dumped him in public, on an occasion that meant the world to him. Not only did I break his heart, but I crushed it under my heel without a shred of mercy. Yet now, five years later, watching him walk into the reunion with his gorgeous young wife on his arm... I have to admit, I wanted to cry. "Well, look who it is! Nora Vance," a voice chimed in. "What made you finally grace us with your presence? In the past, no one could ever drag you to these things." I looked up. Ah. Brittany Wells. Back in college, she was perpetually stuck as NYU’s second prettiest girl, always living in my shadow. Heavy makeup, voluminous waves, plunging neckline. She really went all out for tonight. "Brittany? Wow, you look a little different from college. Did your nose get a bit higher?" My eyes drifted downward. "And your chest looks a bit... fuller, too." She hurriedly clutched her jacket together, shooting me a flustered glare. My best friend, Amber, leaned in, giggling softly. "Nora, you haven't lost your edge. She struts in here like she owns the place every single time. You’re literally the only one who can put her in her place." I laughed genuinely. The next second, the smile died on my lips. Because Julian Hayes walked through the door. His arm was draped around his delicate wife. He pulled out her chair with careful tenderness, looking as if he were terrified she might bump or bruise herself. Word was that just a year after I left, he married an heiress from an ultra-wealthy family. Whenever their photos popped up on Instagram, the comment section overflowed with praise about how perfect they were for each other—a true power couple. By now, Julian had already cemented his place at the top of New York's business elite, taking over his family empire and turning it into a corporate titan. Of course, having his wife’s powerful family backing him didn't hurt. Did love grow over time? They certainly looked deeply in love. My hands clenched the hem of my dress so tightly my knuckles turned white, terrified I might do something humiliating. "Wait, what's Julian Hayes doing here?" "Right? He never comes to these reunions." One classmate kept glancing in my direction, sneering under his breath. "Isn't it obvious?" "He's here for our former beauty queen." Was he looking for revenge for the way I publicly humiliated him on his twenty-first birthday five years ago? Julian's wife settled into her chair, her eyes wandering curiously around the room like everything was a novelty. Then, she took Julian’s hand and asked softly, "Julian, won't you introduce me? Are all these people your college classmates? "I'm so glad I came with you. You know my biggest regret is never seeing what you were like in college." I happened to be sitting right across from them. Whoever arranged this seating chart, I genuinely hated them. "These were my classmates back then. Tyler, Luke..." Julian began. "Oh, Mr. Hayes doesn't need to introduce everyone one by one!" Brittany interrupted, flashing a sycophantic smile. "We can introduce ourselves. I was Julian’s underclassman in our campus society. I'm Brittany Wells." I glanced at Brittany. Always seizing every opportunity to set a trap for me. She wore her intentions on her sleeve, shooting me a triumphant smirk right after she spoke. Within a minute, this ridiculous round of introductions reached my side of the table. Only then did Julian finally look at me. His very first glance in my direction since walking through the door. I kept my voice low and quiet. "Nora. Nora Vance." I didn't know if my cheeks were burning, but I knew I felt like an absolute clown. From Julian Hayes's beloved girlfriend to a nameless nobody at a reunion. Worse, the discarded ex-girlfriend was now forced to introduce herself to his radiant new wife. Rachel smiled. "I know who you are." "I saw your picture in an old album Julian threw in the trash."I stared at her in disbelief. What did Rachel mean by that? It was one thing to have seen my photo. Why go out of her way to emphasize that Julian threw the album in the trash? Beside me, Amber shot to her feet in fury. Her face was bright red, glaring daggers at Rachel. I gently tugged Amber’s hand. Catching my warning, Amber stuttered, "I-I'm Amber!" She flopped back into her chair, fuming. Amber understood what I meant: don't make a scene. At least, not in front of him. I owed him this. I knew he had brought his wife tonight just to humiliate me, and I had to take it. It was a debt five years overdue. ... The rest of the dinner tasted like ash. I didn't even register what everyone was gossiping about. Though the conversation always seemed to revolve around one person—Julian Hayes. When we finally walked out, I clutched my stomach. A burning pain tore through my gut. Amber said goodbye to a few decent classmates, and the moment she saw me leaning weakly against the wall, she rushed over. Her voice was laced with worry and mild scolding. "Nora, why were you shoving food down like that? Did your gastritis flare up again? Come on, let me take you to the ER." Beads of cold sweat formed on my forehead. All I could do was press hard against the throbbing ache. I forced a faint smile. "I'm fine. Just ate too fast. Just sit with me for a minute, okay?" Amber supported me by the arm. "Okay, let's go sit on the bench over there." I leaned heavily on Amber, eyes squeezed shut, grimacing through the pain. Suddenly... "What the hell are you doing here?!" Amber barked. I opened my eyes and found Julian standing right in front of me. He was dressed in an impeccably tailored suit, a seven-figure luxury watch gleaming on his wrist. He looked down at me, his expression cold as ice. "Nora, how did you manage to reduce yourself to such a pathetic mess again?" I knew I must look pale, haggard, and utterly wretched right now. Still, whatever mess I was in, what did it have to do with him? Nothing. We had been nothing for five whole years! Even so, my voice carried a lingering shred of our past warmth. "None of your business." Julian's voice was frigid. "I couldn't care less. Rachel was just worried you’d drop dead right here and told me to check on you. "After all, we were classmates once." A bitter, metallic taste rose in the back of my throat. Ha. So his wife sent him over out of charity? "Your wife is remarkably generous," I said, looking down. "Knowing our history in college, she still sends you over to check on me?" I lowered my gaze, whispering, "Thank her for me. I'm fine. I won't drop dead just yet." Julian stared coldly at my face and uttered six words that shattered me: "She's not my girlfriend. "She's my wife." A high-pitched ringing pierced my ears, fading in and out, feeling both distant and deafeningly close. I bent over, racked by a violent fit of coughing. My heart felt like it was being brutally squeezed in a vice. When I pulled my hand away from my mouth, faint traces of blood stained my palm. "Nora!" "Nora..." I had no memory of what happened after that. All I remembered was collapsing into a broad, warm embrace before darkness completely swallowed my consciousness. When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I heard was Amber cursing someone out. I caught Julian's name in her tirade. A nurse's stern voice told her to keep quiet, and Amber’s shouting abruptly cut off. I couldn't believe it. Julian Hayes had literally stressed me into the hospital. Yet he hadn't hurled insults at me. He had only stated the cold, hard facts. Tears soaked my pillow. Staring up at the sterile white ceiling with blurred vision, memories of our college days flooded back. Back then, Julian would wait outside my dorm building every morning like clockwork. Wearing a crisp white button-down, radiating warmth like the sun, he’d grin and say, "Little Nora! Let's grab breakfast bagels from the corner deli today." That sweet, simple warmth shattered during our junior year when my mother was diagnosed with a vascular hemangioma. That was when my temper began to fray. I stopped greeting him with a smile each morning. I stopped caring what breakfast he brought me. I began making up every excuse in the book to cancel our dates. I ran around borrowing money from anyone I could. I worked multiple part-time jobs around the clock. I even started skipping classes, constantly thinking about dropping out. Until the day his mother, dressed in a sharp designer suit, sat down at the diner where I was waitressing. That was the day I sank completely into the abyss.