After He Chose Her, I Chose Myself

Lying in bed, I scrolled through Ruby’s Instagram post: “Another birthday gift from you this year. Thanks for always being here for me.” In the comments, Edward’s friend Lewis wrote, “So sweet. Seeing Ruby happy makes my day.” I noticed all of Edward's friends and their girlfriends had liked Ruby’s post.

Edward’s circle has always looked down on me, viewing me as an outsider between him and Ruby. Without me, they believed Edward would be much happier. As I read Edward's comment on the post, for once, I couldn't help but see their point. He had commented, “Happy birthday, my princess.”

I stared blankly at their affectionate exchange and noticed another comment from one of Edward's friends: “Stop posting, or Sabrina might see it. You know how she is; she'll make a fuss.” In the past, I had gently suggested that Edward maintain some distance from Ruby since they were close friends of different genders, to prevent any misunderstandings.

Edward’s friends mocked me, calling me jealous and accusing me of being too controlling, even denying him the simple right to have friends. Edward just nodded along with them and turned the blame on me, saying that I should be more understanding.

Contrary to what his friends expected, I didn’t react. I quietly logged out of Instagram and switched to Pinterest, eventually falling asleep.

By the time Edward came home, I was already fast asleep. He woke me up, frustrated and yelling, “Sabrina, your boyfriend’s out late, and you don’t even care? My friends’ girlfriends call them non-stop, but you didn’t call me once. What’s going on with you?”