Page 126 of Capri

How…? How is it possible?

She’s a nurse, but I thought at the hospital, not here. Not sitting with the man I love, laughing and flirting like she fits perfectly across from him.

Vivian.My ex-best friend and the woman partially responsible for ruining my marriage.

My heart picks up speed and I sense the panic set in. The urge to retaliate or flee. Puke, even. My mind blurs and all I see is my best friend in the bed I shared with Drew, him fucking her from behind. Now, my sights are set on the woman working hard to take what’s mine again.

How do they know each other? Why is he talking to her?

If I didn’t know her, I’d think nothing of her encounter with Jones. It would seem purely innocent. But that’s not the case here.

I know what kind of toxicity lives inside of her. She’s pretty on the outside, but the inside is hauntingly conniving.

So that has me questioning why they look so casual and comfortable together. She’s smiling like she knows him.

Does she know him, and I’ve just been blind to it all this time? I’ve never even seen her here.

Is this what he’s been doing with his free time while I’m at work? Visiting his momandVivian?

My head swivels, searching for an exit door, but I can’t make anything out clearly enough. I need to get out of here.

My eyes may be hazed, but my attention to detail is sharp. A giggle breaks through the fog, my sad eyes finding Vivian with her hand now on him. The worst part is, he makes no effort to move it, and suddenly, I want to scream. I want to claw her eyes out, to run and never look back.

Let my traumatized vocal cords do the talking for me.

I knew falling for him was a mistake. I knew it.

Thisis why I should have listened to my gut and not let myself open back up to him. Whether he’s been with her or not, these are the feelings I wanted to avoid.

I made an exception for Jones, and I’m now regretting it. I shouldn’t feel this way over someone I claim to love, right?

Because if he didn’t hurt me now, he would eventually, right?

They all do. Drew did, and I was oblivious to it for five years.

All it’s gonna take is another woman to come along and take him from me. I’ll be nothing but a domestic housewife again.

Back at square one—folding his laundry and making his lunches.

Fuck. I can’t make that mistake again.

I struggle to calm myself down, my stomach in knots and my mind telling me all the things I never wanted to believe. I’ve been naive.

I feel the moment Jones notices me, but I don’t react.

I spin slightly, my steps faltering, and look for something to save me. Something to get me out of this and transport me to a place where I can be pain-free.

Why am I always the one who gets hurt in the end? The one no one chooses.

Maybe this is my chance to finally speak up? To finally put Vivian in her place and tell her to back off.

At this point, my body reacts on its own as blind agony and gut-churning pain steers me. I stalk to the table where Vivian’s eyes are now wild and filled with panic. Jones looks confused—concerned, maybe.

Without sparing Vivian a glance, I reach the table and turn toward Jones, tears fighting to expose my pain in front of the woman who once betrayed my trust. “Capri. Hey—” He attempts to speak, but I stop him.

“I can’t do this anymore…” My voice quakes, the hurt I feel doing a terrible job at hiding it. The sad part is, I know Jones probably has no idea where this is coming from.

If the torment on his face tells me anything, it’s that I’m right. This is a thing I need to fix within myself, and unfortunately, the man I love is going to be hurt because of it.

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