Page 37 of Yours Until Forever

9

@thetea_gasp

Hold up.Who is @ameliasinclair and why is the moody-piano-girlies chat onfireright now? This low-key composer (who’s kept it VERY under-the-radar despite working on some of the biggest soundtracks in recent years) is suddenly the name on everyone’s lips…and not for a good reason. Word dropped last night that she plagiarized another artist’s work. And not just any artist. Bestie, drop everything because this tea is so hot it might just unalive us. The accuser is none other than @sofiarayeofficial, the actual queen of breakup ballads and grammy-bait piano tears. #gasp Word is, Sofia’s lawyering up. AND she’s been spotted leaning on hockey god @macehawkins, who’s clearly in his I’ll-burn-the-industry-down-for-her era. We stan a cease-and-desist king. We don’t know all the deets yet, but Sofia’s team has receipts, and the streets (okay, Reddit) are already dissecting timestamps and background noise like it's a CSI case. It’s giving shady snake. It’sgiving courtroom drama with a side of betrayal. And honestly? We’re just getting started because this smells of big scandal. Amelia (yes, we had to google her too) is apparently just about to sign on the dotted line to score Velocity Reign, none other than the hottest action flick of next year. She hasn’t responded, and we’re not sure if that’s a classic silent slay or an admission of guilt. Come on, Amelia. Time to clap back. We are so ready for a new Reputation era.

10

Amelia

The Monday after the party is sent to do mortal damage to me. I’m sure of it. And not just because it’s the day I wake to the plagiarism allegation, but also because James takes the opportunity to try to weasel his way back in again.

He arrives at my condo right after he drops Sarah at school in the morning, sweeping in like he’s the boss of me. He acts like he’s extremely concerned about my career. Spoiler alert: he’s not and never has been. We argued a lot during our marriage about the fact I worked. He had many reasons for being against it, especially after Sarah was born, but really, all he wanted was me home where he could control me.

After spending time pretending to care, he shares his plan to help me fight the allegation, as if there’s no possible way I could manage this myself.

After that, it’s all downhill between us. We argue for what feels like an entire day but is closer to an hour. He does his bestto manipulate the situation into what he can get out of it, which is more involvement in my life.

Toward the end of that hour, I put my fingers to my temple and close my eyes, wishing the stress away. Wishinghimaway.

“Amelia, you can’t just ignore this,” he snaps when I close my eyes.

I force them open. “I’m not ignoring it, and the fact you think I am shows me just how little you pay attention to what’s important to me and to what I say.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he starts, but I cut him off.

“Stop treating me like a fucking idiot!”

His eyes widen. I’ve never sworn at him. And I’ve never yelled at him like this. Not even when I fought my way to divorce.

When he opens his mouth to speak, I slam my hand up between us like a stop sign. “It’s my turn to speak.” My breaths are coming faster now, the heat of my anger burning through my chest, my arms,everywhere. “We areno longer married, James, a fact I’m sick and tired of having to remind you of. That means you don’t get a say in my life anymore. It also means you don’t get to come intomy homeand gaslight me. And in case you don’t know what that means, it’s that thing you do where you manipulate me by making me question the validity of my own thoughts?—”

“I’m aware of what gaslighting is, Amelia,” he says, his eyes hard. “And I can assure you that you’re way off base. But then, you always did need me to help you understand things.”

I stare at him, incredulous that a human being can be such an asshole. Then I stab a finger at him. “That! That’s gaslighting.”

He looks at me like I’m the dumbest woman in the world. “Is there a point to all of this? Or can we get back to me arranging William for you.”

His lawyer. Who, over my dead body, is getting anywhere near me again.

I have so much more to say, but I suddenly understand that it wouldn’t matter if I spent the rest of my life telling James how badly he treats me, he won’t ever hear me let alone listen to me.

With more calmness than I feel, I say, “No, we can’t get back to anything because you’re leaving.”

He carries on in the same exact way he always has with me. He ignores me. “William’s sent through a list of suitable PR firms for us to consider. We’ll need to issue a public statement.”

I take a deep breath. It beats my other plan, which is to grab the sharpest knife in my kitchen and hack him to death. “If you aren’t out of my sight within the next two minutes, I will call Dan and have him come up here and personally escort you out.”

Thatgets his attention.

But he doesn’t do what I’ve asked. Instead, he fixes me with a look so venomous my breath catches. “This is because ofhim, isn’t it?”

I know he’s referring to Gage, but I don’t take the bait. “No, James. This is because of me.” My voice stays level even though I’m consumed with fury. “This is what I want. It’s what I’ve wanted for over a year.” My eyes bore into his. “I want you gone.”

“No, Amelia, you want to spread your legs for Gage Black.”

His words are designed to shame me. I’ve had enough therapy to see them for what they are. They come from a place of deep, unmet need. James was never truly loved as a child, and he never healed himself from that. He took that aching need and twisted it into control. And when he feels me slipping away, he throws shame at me like a lasso to drag me back. He tries to make me the one who finally loves him. The one who doesn’t abandon him.

I’m a smart woman. I know that. But James has always had a way of getting into the cracks the world creates. The woundsevery woman carries, shaped by a lifetime of being told we’re too much, not enough, never quite right.

---