“Does she seriously think she has a chance with him? What a delusional toad trying to eat a swan!”
“Rico belongs with Jane! This shameless woman needs to leave and stop embarrassing herself.”
“She’s so pathetic. Jane is classy and beautiful. Maddie is just… nothing.”
Maddie’s fingers hovered over the screen as she read the comments. Her throat tightened, but she refused to cry. Not again.
***
Setting her phone aside, Maddie leaned back in her chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Was this how the world saw her? A pathetic hanger-on, clinging to someone who no longer wanted her?
She had given up so much for Rico—her independence, her family, even her dignity. And now, the only thing she had left was the memory of what they once shared. Maddie’s heart burned with shame and anger.
For years, she had tried to preserve their bond through her writing, immortalizing their moments in a fictional world where love conquered all. But now, the reality was too stark to ignore. Rico had moved on. He had Jane.
And Maddie? She had nothing but the echoes of a past that no longer existed.