I stared at the phone, numb. Another message came through.
— You don’t have a job. James is a college teacher. He’s not suitable for someone like you.
— You should have stayed away from him—someone who doesn’t want to make progress.
— Lila, do you know how much James loves me? He told me that if he could, he’d want to be with me from a distance forever.
— He said, body and soul, that I am the woman who fits him best.
I stared at those boastful and taunting words on my screen. A sick laugh escaped me.
Ella thought her words would hurt me, but all I felt was disgust.
And pity.
How could two college professors—two people who seemed so well-matched—descend into something so sordid?
Almost ten minutes after receiving Ella's message, I finally saw James.
He arrived late, offering an apology: "Sorry, I got held up."
I looked at him, his familiar face now a mask of hypocrisy, and the lies he spoke made my stomach churn with disgust.
I didn’t respond. Instead, I simply said, cold and detached, "Let's go."
James drove to the restaurant, and I stared out of the window, not saying a word the entire way.