Finally Moving On After A Decade

For a limited-time event, my fiancée and the toxic guy who wouldn't let her go pretended to be a couple. They'd agreed to break it off after a week, but he kept goading her. "Valerie, don't tell me you've lost your nerve. How about we raise the stakes for real? We said we'd play this for life. Whoever backs out first is a coward!" Just when everyone assumed Valerie would give up the game for my sake, she gritted her teeth and refused to back down. She even raised the stakes further, turning the pretend relationship into a pretend marriage. For the next five Christmases, Valerie went home with Grayson Huntington instead of me. This year was no different. I stared at another text from my mother. Mom: [Can you bring Val home this year? I'm afraid I won't be around to see her next year.] My grip tightened around the phone. When I looked up, Valerie was hauling in an armload of Christmas gifts, holding a few pieces of clothing up against herself. "What kind of clothes do you think Grayson's mom would like?" When I didn't answer, she muttered under her breath, "Never mind. I might as well just ask Grayson." Watching her back as she enjoyed herself, I opened a chat thread I hadn't touched in a long time. I typed a message. [Does what you said back then still count? Come home with me this Christmas.] Chapter 1 Chris' POV The second after I sent my message, a string of confused question marks came back. [You've finally come to your senses? I'll coming! Wait for me.] The screen slowly dimmed. I let out a faint, wry smile and called my mother. "Mom, I'm bringing my girlfriend home this Christmas." I hadn't said it loudly, but Valerie Gilbert, who was trying on clothes nearby, heard anyway. She snatched the phone out of my hand and hung up, her tone sour. "Haven't we agreed? I'm still spending Christmas at the Huntingtons' this year. What nonsense did you tell your mom?" Faced with her question, I kept my expression calm and took my phone back. "Nothing." Something in my mood must have registered, because Valerie, who'd still been grumbling a second ago, turned to look at me. "I know exactly what's on your mind, but going to spend Christmas at Grayson's every year was something we agreed to from the start. If I win, Grayson has to sign his company over to me." She said it with her eyebrows arched, pleased with herself, a spark in her eyes I'd never seen before. I stared at her for a long moment, then spoke. "Valerie, you don't actually need the money, do you?" She stiffened, brow furrowing. "What's gotten into you today? You don't usually talk this much." Before I could answer, her phone buzzed on the table. I glanced at the screen and saw the contact name glaring back at me: [Hubby Darling]. Valerie killed the call at once, her expression turning awkward. "Grayson must've messed with my phone as a joke." My fingers curled in on themselves, a bitterness rising in my throat that I couldn't swallow down. The room went quiet for a moment. Valerie ran a hand through her hair, irritated, then pointed at the bags on the floor. "Those are for your mother, so you'll stop saying I never do anything right. I'm going to marry you eventually anyway. Meeting on Christmas is just a formality. Don't make such a big deal out of it." With that, she walked off to touch up her makeup. I glanced at the gifts. Cheap stuff, the kind you could pick up anywhere for a few dollars. And my mother's health had gotten so bad these past few years that she couldn't even eat any of the snacks Valerie had bought anymore. My eyes stung. I thought back to years ago, the first time I'd brought Valerie home and my mother had met her. She'd been so happy that day. My frail mother had seemed to come back to life. She'd taken off her own bracelet, the gold heirloom one, and given it to Valerie on the spot. Her wish had been simple: that Valerie and I would come back to see her in the mountains every year, and that she'd live to see us married. Even that had turned out to be too much to ask. I took a deep breath and said it to her. "Valerie, let's break up..." The rest of what I was going to say got cut off by the sound of a lock turning. Grayson Huntington had gotten a key to my place somehow, without me knowing, and let himself straight in. He saw me and raised an eyebrow. "Chris? I'm here to pick up Valerie for some Christmas shopping." My face darkened. I stared hard at the key in his hand. "Why do you have a key to my apartment?" Valerie heard the commotion and came out of the bedroom right away, speaking casually. "I had one made for him. Sometimes you're too busy with work to come home, so Grayson stays in the guest room." The anger in my chest kept building. My voice dropped low. "This is my apartment! Valerie, did you even think to ask me?" Valerie didn't bother explaining. She just grabbed her bag off the couch, then reached into the cabinet, pulled out a jar of rare manuka honey, and handed it to Grayson right in front of me. I reached out to stop her, teeth clenched. "That was a gift from my company. I was going to bring it home for my mother, to help her health." Valerie shook my hand off, impatient. "Your mother's health is already too far gone, this isn't going to save her. Might as well give it to Grayson's mom. I'll make it up to you with something better next time." Grayson took the jar with a slight frown and said to me, "Don't take it so personally, Chris. Once Valerie admits defeat, I'll settle up everything you've spent on her these past few years." Valerie laughed at that and gave Grayson a playful punch on the shoulder. "Who says I'm losing? Let's see if you can keep this up for life." They slammed the door shut behind them. The gust of air that followed left my heart completely cold. Chapter 2 Valerie and I had been together for almost ten years. But to everyone else, Grayson was the one who actually deserved her. Five years ago, on Valerie's birthday, I'd had a custom ring made and tucked away, ready to propose. Grayson had shown up that day too. The two of them started needling each other the moment they saw one another, starting with a round of truth-or-dare and moving on to drinking games. By that point, Valerie had eyes for no one but Grayson. Then Grayson slapped the table and pulled up an official event page on his phone. Couples who signed up together could win a limited-edition in-game skin. "Valerie, you up for it? Don't tell me you're chicken." The whole room caught the mood, a chorus of teasing oohs rising up. The friend next to me nudged me with an elbow. "Chris, you're not going to say anything? That's awfully generous of you." Someone overheard and burst out laughing. "Come on, there's no way Valerie would go for it. How long has she been with Chris? They're basically about to get married..." Everyone assumed the same thing. So did I. Then, a second later, Valerie slid her own phone across to Grayson. "Fine, let's play." The smile froze on my face. I grabbed Valerie's hand hard. "Val, what do you mean by this?" Only then did Valerie seem to remember I was right there. Her mouth opened, and a flicker of something like regret crossed her eyes. Grayson just spread his hands and laughed. "Relax, Chris. It's just a game, it'll unlink itself automatically after a week. Aren't you two supposed to be getting married? Can't you give her that much trust?" Emboldened by Grayson's words, Valerie grew impatient too and shoved me off. "It's my birthday. Don't ruin it." That one line dropped me straight into an icy pit. Everyone in the room exchanged glances, and the mood plunged to freezing. I fought to keep my voice from shaking. "What game? Tell me. We're the actual couple here. I can..." Valerie waved a hand, cutting me off. "No, you can't. You don't even know how to play. All you ever do is sit there stiffly working on your design drafts." My hand curled tighter in my pocket, the diamond ring cutting into my palm with a sharp sting. "Do you really have to do this? You already have a boyfriend, and now you're playing girlfriend to someone else?" The words were barely out before Valerie's face turned ugly. "Chris, what is that supposed to mean?" She smashed the cake I'd carefully prepared right into my face. "You just don't want me to have a nice birthday, is that it? Fine, forget the whole thing!" That day, Valerie and I parted on bad terms. I drank through the whole night, and in the end I still couldn't bring myself to call it off. Years of feelings weren't something I could just let go of on a whim. Even my mother told me to let it go, said what young couple didn't have their little spats. But that was how it went: from pretend couple to pretend spouses. Every year since, Valerie used that same excuse to spend Christmas at Grayson's parents' house. This year marked the fifth year of their game. Everything that happened over those five years wore down my love for Valerie, bit by bit. That ring never made it out of my pocket. My phone screen lit up. A text had come in from my mother. Mom: [Chris, you and Val have been together almost ten years now, haven't you? Will I still be around to see you two get married?] Tears blurred my vision, falling one by one onto those two lines on the screen. Me: [Mom, I will get married. Just not to her.] Chapter 3 There was a week left until Christmas Eve. In that stretch of time, Valerie was out with Grayson almost every day. One night she came home, pulled out a thick stack of cash she'd withdrawn from the bank, stuffed it into an envelope, and tossed it in front of me. In the past, I would never have let it go, would've kept asking Valerie whether she'd come home with me, refusing to give up until the very last moment. But now I just looked calmly at the fat, bulging envelope on the table. My mother's illness couldn't actually be cured anymore. Money like this meant nothing to her one way or another. All she wanted now was for me to be happy and safe. Maybe my silence threw her off, because Valerie had clearly braced herself for a fight. When I didn't reach for the envelope, she pressed her lips together and spoke first. "Chris, this is the last year. I've decided to concede early, worst case I hand over my company shares. Your mother's always wanted to see us married, hasn't she? Once this year's over, let's get married." I listened to all that and still felt strangely calm. If anything, it struck me as ironic. "Didn't you say you'd play this for life? You're willing to end it now?" Valerie's face darkened, and she forced her temper down. "It's almost Christmas, I'm not going to fight with you over this. It's just a game, we've gotten through all these years the same way. Grayson said once I get the marriage certificate with him, the game's over." My hand curled at my side. My eyes drifted, unbidden, to the framed photo of the two of us on the wall. A marriage certificate, huh? Ten years with Valerie, and my proposal had failed, the ring never even given. Meanwhile, all it took was one word from Grayson and Valerie went scurrying off happily to register a marriage with him. I let out a short laugh. "Why don't we just break up. You and Grayson suit each other better anyway." Valerie's eyes widened slightly. She clearly thought I was being unreasonable. I didn't have the energy to argue either. I turned and went back to my room to pack for the trip home. While sorting through the specialty medication I'd bought for my mother, I found it gone, nothing left but an empty bag. My head buzzed. Just then, Grayson's voice carried in from the living room. I strode out. "Which one of you touched my things?" He saw the empty bag in my hand and seemed to realize something. "You're looking for what was inside that? Last time I was here, the smell was so strong I figured it was trash and tossed it. I checked with Valerie, and she said it wasn't anything important either." Fury shot straight up in me. My eyes burned red as I stared at the two of them. "That was the medication I had specially compounded for my mother!" I'd driven to pharmacies across several cities for that, even called in favors just to get every ingredient together. And Grayson had thrown it away. "It's just medication. If you're missing something, I'll have someone buy you a fresh batch," Valerie said flatly. I wasn't in any mood to argue. I dug through the drawers instead, checking whether Grayson had thrown out anything else, so absorbed that when my phone rang on the table, I didn't even have time to pick up. When I looked up, Grayson had already picked up my phone and was waving it at me. Then he answered the call. My mother's aged voice came through from the other end. "Chris, when are you coming home?" "Hi, Mrs. Richton, Val isn't coming home for Christmas this year either. I'm Chris's buddy. Val and I are about to register our marriage..." I didn't let him finish. I snatched the phone back and shouted into it, my voice shaking. "Mom, don't listen to a word he says. Mom?" There was only silence on the other end. I looked down and saw the call had already been disconnected. Panic surged up in me all at once. Even Valerie hadn't expected Grayson to go that far. She stood frozen for a long moment. The next second, a text came in from my mom's neighbor. [Chris, your mother's collapsed. We're taking her to the hospital now. Get here quick.] Chapter 4 My chest heaved. I glared at the two of them, my eyes burning red, wanting nothing more than to tear them both apart. Valerie snapped out of it, flustered. "I'll go back with you." "No need." My voice came out hoarse as I refused. My fingers shook as I called my manager. The reason I hadn't gone home yet was that the year-end bonus my manager had promised still hadn't come through. These past few days I'd been checking my bank account every so often, but there'd been nothing. My mother needed money for her treatment. Grayson had thrown out the medication, so I had to bring cash home at least. I couldn't show up empty-handed. The call connected quickly. My voice came out urgent. "Harvey, when's the year-end bonus going out?" "Finance sent out the year-end bonus on the eighth. You didn't get it?" Harvey Parell replied. My head rang. It took me a long moment to process that. Then I heard him continue. "I just asked Luke Devon in finance, and he said it already went out. Did you maybe just miss it?" Between everything happening at once, my mind couldn't keep up. After hanging up, I forced myself to calm down. I called the bank's customer service, and they sent over the transaction details. The money from my year-end bonus had already been transferred out, and even the transaction record had been deleted. There was only one person who could have pulled that off. I looked up, phone still in hand, and stared at Valerie. "You touched my year-end bonus." Valerie looked away, a flicker of guilt crossing her face, but she steeled herself and spoke anyway. "Yes. I did." My lips trembled. My voice came out as a roar. "Give it back! That money was supposed to save my mother's life!" Valerie pressed her lips together, impatient. "It's gone." Grayson stepped forward and stood in front of me, smiling faintly. "I've been putting money into an investment lately. Val just borrowed your eight thousand dollars for it. We agreed if it pays off, we split it fifty-fifty. And if it falls through, don't worry, I'll pay you back eventually." Their shamelessness disgusted me. My fist clenched, and I swung hard at Grayson. "Pay me back with what?! My mother's life depends on that money. You threw out her medication, and now you're stealing my money too? What gives you the right? What gives you the fucking right?!" I kept swinging, blow after blow. Valerie's face went white in an instant. She shoved me back, her voice rising. "Have you lost your mind? Is this really worth losing it over?" I wiped a hand over my face, barely able to stay on my feet. I ignored both of them, dragging my suitcase out of the bedroom to leave. The front door was only halfway open when Valerie saw me hauling my suitcase and grabbed hold of me. "Where do you think you're going? Look what you did to Grayson! Apologize! Say you're sorry, and I'll consider going home with you after New Year's." "He deserved it!" I gritted my teeth and yanked my hand free from Valerie's grip. "Valerie, do you really think I can't live without you? Did I ever say it was you I was bringing home for Christmas?" Valerie's neck stiffened as she shouted back at me. "Who else could you possibly bring? Hasn't your mother always wanted to see you get married before she dies?" Just then, a voice both familiar and strange carried in through the door, which hadn't been shut all the way. "Who says there's no one else? I'm the one he's bringing home. I'm the one he wants to marry. Is that a problem?" The color drained from Valerie's face. She whipped around to look.