Thought It Was Love

She was quiet and by-the-book; he was wild and unbound. They started as a casual fling, and she went along with every one of his whims—everyone swore she was madly in love. When he dumped her out of boredom, she agreed without a fight and vanished. Months later, he found her calmly planning a steady, serious future with someone else. It hit him like a truck: her easy compliance had never been love. It had just been indifference. He cornered her, red-eyed and broken, begging raw and unhinged: “You never cared, did you? Look at me. I’m clean now. Please.”