Page 55 of Jain

I trudged upstairs, aware his scent was still on me. This made me sob more, but I couldn’t face him being ruined for me.

He would argue. I knew it. But how could we ever exist together? My mother would hate him, and I was close to my mum. It meant too much to me what she thought. I felt like I’d let her down, and I felt ashamed of myself. I pulled out my phone before composing a text message to him.

Evan.

This is hard, but I have to end things between us. Please don’t ask me why or try to change my mind. It’s just not going to work. I’m sorry.

Jain.

I had to let go, and so did he.

No matter how hard it would be to survive without him, I had no choice.

Neither did he.

Chapter Twenty-Three

EVAN

“You said you wanted maroon. It’s maroon.”

“I know, but it’s not exactly the right shade of maroon, darling,” Vada sighed, standing back to admire the paint sample on the wall.

I tried not to sigh with irritation, especially when she turned to me with a wide smile.

“Could you please run to the shop and pick up some more samples? It has to be perfect, baby,” she whined, and I closed my eyes before slamming my pen down on the table, making her jump.

“Vada, you know I’ve got to mark this up ready for Monday. I can’t keep on making trips to B&Q searching for the right colour scheme for the hallway. Why don’t you go?”

Vada pouted and walked over to me, leaning in to kiss my throat slowly.

“But I’ve got such bad period pains.”

“Fine. I’ll go. Maroon, but not maroon, right?” I snapped, eager to get out of the house and away from her.

It was the most pointless relationship I’d ever been in, but it was effortless. But the problem with that was the boredom.

Vada was a pretty girl, for sure. She had wanted me for so long, and when I finally gave in, she began planning our wedding. Before I knew it, we had been together for four years.

Four. Years.

I slammed the door behind me, hearing her call out for chocolate before I left. I felt like a servant, and it was beginning to grind on my nerves. Everything had to be on her terms, and I was getting tired of it. I drove to the store, stomping my way in as I stared at the samples. Maroon was there, but she already had that one. I grabbed a few surrounding samples before turning to walk away. I stopped in my tracks when I heard a laugh I’d not heard in many years. I glanced around me, unsure of where it had come from.

Then I heard it again.

“I had no idea there were so many different fittings. I’ll just take that one and hope for the best.” The musical voice laughed, and I found myself drawn to her. She must’ve been on the aisle beside mine, coming from the direction of her voice. Maybe it wasn’t her. Perhaps I imagined it...

But then I turned the corner, and there she was.

Jain.

JAIN

Why were there so many different lightbulb fittings? My mum had simply asked for a bulb, and despite having a university-level degree, I suddenly felt foolish.

“That’s the more common one, so I guess it should fit most.”

I froze, the husky tone bringing back memories of himwhispering my name as he dragged his lips across my body...