After His Betrayal, I Never Looked Back

Told you—no rebound fling can compete with a childhood sweetheart. Curtis Harding can turn all the heads he wants, but my girl Gretta's still got him on a leash.

I screenshotted the post and flung it at Curtis, demanding an explanation.

He told me not to worry. He'd handle it.

"That's just how Gretchen is—she's like a kid, always getting into trouble without thinking. But she really doesn't mean any harm. Trust me, I'll get her to set the record straight."

What I got instead was a brand-new Instagram post from Gretchen.

I want to publicly apologize to Imogen. I shouldn't have gone hiking with Curtis. I shouldn't have clung to him for photos. I shouldn't still need to be around him every second the way I did when we were kids. I'm sorry. I'm just so used to it being just the two of us.

The comments piled on: Who's Imogen? Whoever she is, can she back off? Can't she see these two were literally made for each other? Way to kill the vibe.

Seriously, bullying a sweet, gentle girl like Gretchen? What kind of person does that?

Curtis replied with a hug emoji:

There's a part of my life that can never be replaced. It will always belong to you.

Everyone praised how pure and real their bond was after all these years. And through all of it, Curtis never once stepped forward to acknowledge me. He just let me become the single ugly stain on their beautiful story.

Something inside me broke, and the sharp edges stayed where they landed.

Curtis messaged me:

Gretchen already apologized. Can you just let it go and stop being mad at her?

I was so angry I laughed. I was an only child. Nobody ever taught me how to "be the bigger person."

They only ever taught me that if I believed in something, I should be brave enough to act on it.

Right now was no different.

No.

Curtis, if you keep protecting her like this, we're done.

Nothing from his end for a long time. Then, finally:

I swear it won't happen again.

Things between Curtis and me stiffened after that—not a clean break, but a barb lodged just under the skin.

He still shared bits of his day with me, still invited me out.

After the humiliation on the mountain, I turned him down every time. He never pushed.

With my departure approaching, I decided to find the right moment to say a proper goodbye.

As it happened, he mentioned a new shop that had opened nearby and asked if I wanted to check it out together.

This time, I said yes.

I just never expected it to be a tattoo shop—or that the one greeting us would be Gretchen Winfield.

She shot Curtis a knowing look, all playful eyes and raised brows:

"Oh wow, what are the chances! Imogen, I swear this is totally random—Curtis and I are just destined to keep bumping into each other, what can I do? So don't go around crying that I stole your boyfriend again, okay?"

My expression went ice-cold. I shook Curtis's hand off and turned to leave.

He caught up in a few quick strides:

"What now? She works here part-time—the owner's still deciding whether to keep her on. We're her friends, can't we at least show up and make the place look busier? Is that really too much to ask?"

I didn't turn around. My voice came out flat and hard. "She's your friend, not mine. Why should I have to help her?"

Curtis grabbed my hand, pleading. "Just do it as a favor to me, okay? After this, I promise I won't let her show up in front of you again. Being caught between you two is hard on me too."

I couldn't win against him. In the end, he pulled me back inside.

Gretchen was propped on one hand, watching us walk back in. She curled her lip:

"Imogen's got quite the temper, huh. I don't know how you deal with her. I mean, last time she made me apologize in front of everyone, and I just went and did it—not a peep out of me."