"How much time?" "I don't know." I looked at the woman I was supposed to marry in six weeks, the woman who couldn't say no to her ex-boyfriend and might still be in love with him. "Take all the time you need, Chloe. But this is my apartment, so you'll need to do your thinking somewhere else."
"What?" "Pack a bag. Go stay with your sister or your parents. Figure out what you want." "Jake, you can't kick me out."
"It's my lease, Chloe. You moved in with me two years ago. I'm not kicking you out. I'm giving you space to decide between me and Derek without having to sneak around." "That's not fair."
"What's not fair is you emotionally cheating on me with your ex while planning our wedding."
Chloe packed a bag that night and said she'd be back in a few days when she sorted out her feelings. She never came back. Three days later, she called and said, "Jake, I think we should postpone the wedding." "Postpone or cancel?"
"Postpone. I need more time to figure things out with Derek." "Figure what out, exactly?" "Whether what we had was real or just nostalgia. I need to explore my feelings without the pressure of a wedding."
"And you need to be single to figure that out. Chloe, if you want to explore feelings with Derek, we're done. No postponing, no breaks. Done." "Jake, please don't be like this."
"Be like what? Someone who won't wait around while his fiance dates her ex?" "I'm not dating him." "What would you call it?" "I'm trying to understand my feelings."
"Understanding your feelings by going on dates and lying to me?" "It's not that simple." "It's exactly that simple. You want Derek more than you want our wedding, so go be with Derek." "I never said I wanted Derek more."
"You said you can't say no to him. You said you might be in love with him. You've been lying and sneaking around for weeks. What else is there to say?" "I love you, too."
"Not enough, apparently." I hung up. Two weeks later, Chloe made it official. She called to say she was exploring a relationship with Derek and that we should cancel the wedding. "So you chose him?"
"I chose to see what could be. Derek and I have unfinished business." "And now it's finished." "Jake, I hope we can be friends someday." "We can't."
I spent the next month canceling wedding vendors, returning deposits where possible, and dealing with the mess Chloe left behind. I lost about $15,000 total, but at least I wasn't married to someone who couldn't say no to her ex. Through mutual friends, I heard that Chloe and Derek were playing house in his new apartment. I saw social media posts through friends' stories of fancy restaurants, weekend trips, and the whole romantic reunion fantasy. Good for them.
That was six months ago. I hadn't talked to Chloe since. I moved on with my life, started dating again, and focused on work. The whole thing felt like a bullet dodged until last week.
I was watching Netflix on a Tuesday night when someone started pounding on my door, aggressive knocking like there was an emergency. I looked through the peephole and saw Chloe standing there, crying her eyes out. I hadn't seen her in six months, and she looked rough, with messy hair, running makeup, and red, puffy eyes like she'd been crying for hours. Against my better judgment, I opened the door. "Jake, thank God you're home."
"What do you want, Chloe?" "Can I come in, please? I need to talk to you." "Talk about what?"
"About Derek. About everything. I made a huge mistake." Of course she did. "What happened?"
"He cheated on me. With Briana." Briana was her younger sister, the one who was supposed to be her maid of honor at our wedding. "Derek cheated on you with your sister?"
"I caught them together last weekend, in our bed. Our bed, Jake." She was sobbing uncontrollably now. Part of me felt bad for her, but mostly I felt vindicated. "I'm sorry that happened."
"No, you're not." "You're right. I'm not. You left me for him. This is what you chose."
"I didn't choose this. I thought what Derek and I had was real." "Apparently it was real. Real enough for him to sleep with your sister."
"Jake, please don't be cruel. I'm falling apart here." "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I realize now that what you and I had was real. Derek was just nostalgia and fantasy. You were my actual future." My actual future, after six months of playing house with her high school ex. "Chloe, you made your choice."
"I made the wrong choice. I see that now." "Great. Learn from it."
"Jake, please. Can we try again? I know I hurt you, but I've learned my lesson." "Your lesson being what, exactly?"
"That first love isn't always true love. That mature love is better than passionate love. That I should have chosen stability over excitement." She was literally describing me as the boring, stable option compared with exciting Derek. "So I'm the safe choice?"