After My Fiancé Kissed His Mistress, I Left Him

The aroma of dinner wafted from the kitchen, and Joel strolled out looking pleased. His gaze landed on me, sitting quietly on the couch in the living room, decorated for Thanksgiving. Immediately, his bright eyes turned dark.

"Aylin, are you sitting here like a ghost to scare me half to death?" he exclaimed as if accusing me. I didn't answer; I just stayed silent.

Seeing my somber expression, he only got more upset. "What, have you lost your voice now? Or are you planning how to start a fight with me?" He paused, anticipating a comeback. "I texted and called you all night to ask you to help Johanna yesterday, but you ignored me. Do you know she was in tears, thinking she messed up? You ought to apologize to her."

Joel's favoritism toward Johanna was something I was used to. Whenever Johanna was involved, he never failed to side with her, completely disregarding my feelings. Because of Johanna, we’d argued countless times, yet his words would eventually coax me back.

He always insisted that I was his girlfriend, and Johanna was just his childhood friend, more like a sister to him. She’d grown up without much love or attention due to her parents’ divorce, so I should be understanding. "Love isn’t easy; cherish what you have," he’d say, and I'd forgive him over and over.

But this time, I refused to forgive. My moral boundaries had been crossed too many times, and now I'd had enough. I snorted softly, breaking the silence.

"You want me to apologize to her? To someone sabotaging someone else's relationship, and I have to apologize?" He looked surprised, as if he hadn't expected me to stand up for myself.

He quickly grew angrier. "Aylin, why are you being so harsh? What if Johanna hears you and gets upset?"

"She fainted yesterday, and I stepped in as her friend to help her, didn't I?" He made their actions sound so noble, which was ridiculous.

When Johanna fainted, there was a medical student named Hudson present. After checking her, he assured everyone she was fine, but Joel insisted on doing mouth-to-mouth. The student offered to help, given his training, but Joel pushed him aside. "Johanna doesn’t like strangers touching her; only I can."

That scene broke my heart. Everyone looked at me like I was the intruder. I met Joel’s gaze squarely, my voice chillingly calm. "So watching your boyfriend kiss another woman right in front of everyone, I'm not allowed to be upset? Joel, isn't that a bit much?"

The air felt heavy, and breathing became hard. I turned to leave for the bedroom, but Joel suddenly wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder, his warm breath close.

"Alright, Aylin, stop this. I know you care about me. If what I did bothered you, I won’t do it again." His sudden change in tone was unsettling, and knowing him, he was definitely about to ask for something. As expected, I wasn’t wrong.