Her words twisted like a knife. Roommates. After everything.
I felt the anger bubbling, but I swallowed it. No begging, no yelling. That's not how I handle things.
"So that's it? You're justifying cheating because I'm... what? Too stable? I supported you through everything: your blog, your jobs, this trip I paid for. And now you're throwing it away for some guy you met in a casino?"
She stopped pacing, turning to me with that smug look, like she'd already won the argument in her head.
"Don't make this about money, Alex. That's low. This isn't about you being bad. You're not. You're just safe. Predictable. I need more. I've been feeling stuck, and Vegas opened my eyes. Jake gets that. He's talking about me visiting him soon. Maybe even moving out there. We could build something exciting. You and I, we've plateaued. It's not fair to either of us to drag it out."
Hypocrisy at its finest. She used my stability to fund her self-discovery, then mocked it as boring.
"Plateaued? Zoe, relationships aren't always fireworks. We built something real. Or at least I thought we did."
She shrugged, dismissive. "See, that's the twisted logic. You think real means settling. I deserve sparks, Alex. Adventure. Jake makes me feel alive. I'm sorry if that hurts, but I have to choose me." She paused, then added with a cruel edge, "Besides, you'll be fine. You're always so composed. You'll land on your feet."
I nodded slowly, the decision forming. No confrontation, no outburst, just detachment.
"If that's how you feel, then go see where it goes."
Her eyes widened a bit. Maybe she expected me to fight. "Really? Just like that?"
"Yeah," I said, standing up. "Just like that."