"Olivia, don't blame me. We waited for him, but he never came. I hope in your next life, you are born into a good family. You've suffered too much in this one."
My phone buzzed, and I quickly checked it, hoping for some word from Jason. Instead, it was a video message.
The video showed Jason and Emily on a beach vacation. They held hands, laughing as they chased the waves, strolling like a couple in love across the soft sand.
[Maddie, this time, I'm determined to win Jason back.]
I felt nothing as I watched it.
My heart had gone numb.
When Jason finally returned, I was sitting in front of Olivia's portrait, lost in thought.
He had been gone for a week.
Smiling, Jason started explaining, "Maddie, I went on a trip this time. I brought you a gift..."
He approached but stopped short when he saw Olivia's black-and-white photo in my hands.
Fury washed over his face.
"Maddie, you're really losing it! I just took Emily to buy some furniture, and you stoop to this level of malice? You know Olivia means everything to me, and you went and made a funeral portrait for her as revenge?"
He grabbed the frame from my hands and hurled it to the floor with all his strength.