Page 1 of Falling Too Soon (Seasons of Love #1)

DAPHNE

“ S top!” I screamed. “Just stop. I can’t take this anymore.

” Marcus looked at me as if I had physically wounded him, which was comical because I was all of five-foot nothing and he was a hulk of a man.

He was also usually so put together, but in that moment, he appeared to be coming apart at the seams. In all the years we’d been together, I never raised my voice.

Never talked back. I had always let him steamroll over me and tried to appease him when his mood was sour.

Not this time.

Not anymore.

Marcus and I had been together for the last four years.

Things were tumultuous at best, but I thought I loved him and that he loved me.

Shouldn’t that have been enough? Our story started like some cliché hospital fairytale—nurse meets doctor, doctor sweeps nurse off her feet.

Too bad in our so-called fairytale, the hero turned out to be the villain, and the heroine had to save herself.

The thing about Marcus was—he’s a master manipulator, charismatic and personable, always the life of the party.

Everyone loved him, including my parents, unfortunately.

The only person in my life who was anti-Marcus was my bestie, Lexi.

She’d been front and center throughout our entire relationship and was constantly telling me I could do better and I should dump his dumb ass.

But here’s the problem with dating a narcissist—you’re the one who thinks you’re wrong all the time. You’re overreacting. You’re reading too much into it. You’re misunderstanding the situation. He made me believe, throughout our entire relationship that I was the problem. And. I. Believed. Him.

What a fucker.

Any who, after a few months of therapy, I finally accepted that I wasn’t the problem and decided I had had enough of his manipulation. I was calling it quits and getting the fuck out.

“You really think you can do better than me? Do you think anyone will love you like I do?” Marcus sneered at me. “Who’s gonna put up with your ridiculous work hours? Who would deal with your constant nagging?”

I rolled my eyes behind closed eyelids. “Marcus, I’m not happy and I haven’t been for a while now. You don’t seem to be happy with me anymore, either, like ever. We’re always arguing. I just think it’s best if we go our separate ways.”

“That’s because you love to stir the pot, Daphne.” My name sounded like a curse on his lips. “You’re always trying to start a fight with me about something. Nothing I do is ever good enough for you!” This was getting us nowhere. I needed to end it once and for all.

“Listen, Marcus, I’m leaving. I don’t want to continue this back and forth.

I need some space, so I’m going to Lexi’s for a while.

I’ll make arrangements with you to move the rest of my stuff out in a few days when I have a day off.

” I grabbed my duffle, packed with my essentials, from the side of the couch. Marcus eyed the bag.

“You planned this? You knew you were leaving? This is such a shit move, Daph. I hope you know that this is all your fault. You’re the one blowing up our whole fucking life. I was going to propose, you know,” he spat.

Oh, fuck this guy.

He was grasping at straws. “Did you seriously think that would make me stay? I said I’m done, and I meant it.

” My knuckles were white as I gripped the bag tighter and moved toward the door.

Marcus moved to block my way, but I lifted my phone out of my pocket to show him I had already been on a call with Lexi.

“Are you fucking for real right now?” He was pissed, his nice guy facade crumbling. “What, did you think I would hurt you or something? You’re ridiculous. Just get out of my sight.”

I walked out the door, and as he slammed it behind me, I heard Lexi through the speaker on my phone. “You okay, sugar plum?”

“No, but I will be.” I was shaking. I couldn’t believe I had actually done it. “I’m on my way over. Thanks again for being on the phone while I did that. I didn’t know how he’d react.”

“It’s no problem, girl. Just drive safe and I’ll see you soon,” Lexi said as I made my way to my car.

When I arrived at Lexi’s apartment, she greeted me at the door with a big glass of wine and an even bigger hug.

Gah, I needed both things so freaking bad.

It was like I had finally released a breath I’d been holding in for years.

Marcus wasn’t bad in the beginning. We actually had a lot of fun and had great chemistry, but as time went on, he got more controlling and more confrontational.

I felt like I was always walking on eggshells, trying to appease him and smooth things over.

I had become a person I didn’t even recognize.

I was so thankful for Lexi. She was the one who kept me grounded in reality and kept reminding me I wasn’t crazy for feeling the way I did.

She’s actually the one who encouraged me to seek out my therapist too. She’s the real MVP.

“Okay, so what’s next?” Lexi asked as we got cozy on her couch, a.k.a. my home for the foreseeable future.

“I don’t know. Honestly, I’ve been planning to leave him for a while, but that’s where I get stuck. Seeing him at work is going to be hard, I’m sure. I was thinking maybe I should take some time off and get away for a little while to clear my head and make a plan.”

Lexi and I were both nurses in a trauma ICU.

While I loved being a nurse and the work we did there, it definitely took a toll on me.

The ICU could be stressful even on a slow day.

There was always something happening—whether it was responding to a code, getting a new admission, patients going to surgery, or family members asking a million questions.

I worked twelve-hour shifts, picked up call occasionally, and hadn’t been on a real vacation in years, and since Marcus was a workaholic, he and I never went anywhere either.

I was definitely due for a break and thought a trip would be the perfect thing to help me get my head straight again.

“That’s a great idea! Girls’ trip!” Lexi never needed an excuse to take time off work, but I knew a girls’ trip with her would involve lots of alcohol and hunting for our next future exes.

I had zero interest in looking for men or hooking up.

I was looking for the opposite: a week alone to reset, work on myself, and plan what was next for me.

“Actually, I think I need a quiet solo trip to do some soul-searching,” I said with a reluctant smile.

Lexi pouted. “Fine, but promise me you’ll at least try to have fun. And by fun, I mean find yourself a hottie to drown your sorrows in.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, that’s not happening.”

“You’re absolutely no fun,” Lexi rolled her eyes right back at me.

“Whatever, now help me find a place to stay. I never take vacations, and I have a decent amount of time and money saved up. Let’s find a place that looks like it belongs in a magazine.

” I grabbed my laptop out of my bag and pulled up a vacation rental site to search for that charming town I had seen online.

Some girl I followed on social media had posted recently about this cute lake town, a few hours’ drive from the city and it looked like something out of a dream—the perfect place for a reset.

We spent the rest of the night drinking, laughing, and searching for the perfect vacation rental for me to escape to.