During My Heart Attack, My Boyfriend Chose to Carry Away His Lover

It was late at night when Austen finally came home.

Once again, he hadn't kept his promise.

As I listened to the sounds outside, I opened Jaelyn's Twitter.

Just as I expected, there was a photo of her celebrating Thanksgiving with Austen.

I saved the screenshot.

When Austen came in, I was just about to go to sleep.

He noticed me putting down my phone and frowned slightly.

"Are you going to bed?" he asked.

"I was about to," I replied calmly.

The bed dipped as he lay down beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. He spoke in a low voice, trying to explain.

"Jaelyn wasn't feeling well, so I stayed with her for a while. But don't worry, I'm off tomorrow. I'll take you to see that movie you wanted.

"Tonight was my fault."

He had done much worse than that.

But I knew Austen.

I understood that this was the best he could do to make things right, at least for now.

Ever since Jaelyn reappeared in his life, we could never seem to escape her presence.

"She's new here, and I have to look out for her.

"If I really had something going on with Jaelyn, would I still be here with you?

"Just be patient. Once Jaelyn settles in, I'll spend more time with you. You're my girlfriend, after all."

Deep down, I knew Jaelyn would always come first.

I shook my head and said, "It's fine. I already went to see the movie by myself."

Austen froze, his hand pausing mid-air as he was about to make a reservation.

There was no point in watching the same film twice.

When it first came out, I bought tickets and asked him to go with me, but he said he didn't have the time. Then he turned around and went with Jaelyn instead.

Her Twitter even had a photo of the two of them, with the caption: [This handsome guy insisted on taking me to see a movie.]

For a moment, there was nothing but silence between us.

I sat up, turned on the bedside lamp, and took out a document from the drawer, handing it to Austen.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad.

"But there's something I need to discuss with you. Jaelyn's family owes money, right? You could sell the house to help her pay off the debt. I did the math, and there would still be some left over.

"All I want back is the one hundred thousand dollars I originally put in when we bought it."

I spoke earnestly.

A while ago, Jaelyn's father, a compulsive gambler, had shown up and demanded over a million dollars to settle his debts.

To protect the girl he liked, Austen had promised to cover the debt, saying if his savings weren't enough, he would sell the house.

We had a huge argument about it.

The house we lived in now was one we bought together six years ago. Back then, I put down one hundred thousand dollars for the down payment, and both our names were on the deed.

Over the years, he had been the one paying off the mortgage. Now, the property had appreciated to a value of around two to three million dollars.

Selling it would still leave a decent amount of money.

But for some reason, when he heard what I said, Austen's expression changed drastically.

He flipped through the agreement to sell the house, his brow furrowing.

With clenched teeth, he asked, "Caitlyn, this is the house we bought to start our life together. Do you really want to sell it?"

When I nodded, his face darkened.

He glared at me with annoyance.

"You're really doing this just because I asked you to bring Jaelyn some medicine? Is this how far you'll go to throw a tantrum?"

I looked at him, confused.

I thought to myself, "Wasn't it him who wanted to use this house to pay off the debt in the first place? Why is he angry now?"

Before I could say anything, Austen let out a derisive laugh.

"Can't you just say what's bothering you? Do you know how much I hate it when you're so manipulative?"

He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Eight years had changed our relationship completely.

Because I loved him, I had been by his side since he had nothing.

Because I loved him, I had humbled myself, willing to compromise just to stay close to him.

But I was tired. In the end, no one could bear this much hurt.