Adam proposed to me in a dimly lit pool hall. He was leaning over the green felt, cue stick in hand, his voice entirely devoid of emotion. “I’ll marry you, Valerie. But I have one condition.” “Once we’re married, never interfere with my playing.” At the time, I was so dizzy with the joy of our long-term relationship finally crossing the finish line that I agreed without a second thought. I thought it was just a quirk of his genius. But on the eve of our engagement, he didn’t come home. I ran through the pouring rain, checking every dingy pool hall in Boston, my lungs burning with every step. I finally found him in an upscale, private billiard lounge. He was acting as a personal coach to another girl. His hands were on her hips, adjusting her stance with practiced, intimate familiarity. Once he was sure of her form, he finally looked up and met my eyes. “If you’re here to lecture me about my career, you can leave.” In that single, agonizing second, the truth laid itself bare. It wasn’t the game he didn’t want me interfering with. It was her. I wiped the cold rain from my face, my voice barely a whisper. “Fine. I’m leaving.” And I meant it. I would leave, and I would never come back. … The moment I got back to our apartment, I booked a one-way ticket out of Boston. Then, I collapsed onto the sofa. I stared blankly at the wall clock, losing track of time until the front door finally clicked open. Adam walked in, wearing his usual easy, effortless smile. He sat down beside me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me tightly against his chest. “Still mad?” A sharp, unfamiliar perfume invaded my lungs, making my stomach heave. I pressed my palms against his chest, forcing some distance between us. “Adam, is there anything you want to tell me?” He paused, his grip tightening slightly. “Actually, yes. The World Snooker Championship is coming up. I need to focus entirely on training Leah.” He hesitated for a fraction of a second, his voice hardening with resolve. “So, let’s put off the engagement ceremony until after the tournament.” I didn’t say a word. In the dim light of the living room, I counted on my fingers. This was the seventh time he had postponed our engagement. The first time, it was a tournament he had to play in. The second, he had to judge an exhibition. The next few times, it was because he was determined to turn Leah, his “prodigy,” into a champion. I let out a dry, hollow laugh, forcing myself to look into his eyes. “Adam, do you even remember how many times you’ve said those exact words to me?” His mouth opened, but no sound came out. He looked away, unable to hold my gaze. “It’s my career,” he muttered quietly. “It’s my life. I’ve handed over all my tournament prize money and assets to you. All I ask is that you don’t suffocate me.” He took a deep, heavy breath, as if making a monumental, agonizing sacrifice. “Tell you what. If you’re really that insecure, we can go to the courthouse and sign the papers first.” I stood up, pushing his hands away. “No need.” Standing so close, I caught the fleeting micro-expression on his face. Relief. A wave of bitter self-deprecation washed over me. I should have known from the very moment he proposed. He was a billiard prodigy, having achieved his Grand Slam three years ago. As his girlfriend of seven years, I was supposed to share in his glory. But his training room had always been a sanctuary—a sacred space I was forbidden to enter. Until one afternoon, when he broke his own rule and brought me there. I remember sitting quietly on the leather sofa, watching him play. The sharp “clack” of the balls echoed in the quiet room, making my heart race with a strange, nervous excitement. When he sunk the final ball, he meticulously wiped his cue stick before finally looking at me. “We’ve been together four years now. I guess it’s time to get married. As long as you don’t interfere with my playing, I’ll marry you.” My chest had tightened at the coldness of his words. “Why?” He had smiled, offering a practiced excuse. “Because this is my passion, Valerie. Not yours. You just need to stay happy by my side.” I had let myself believe him, my heart warming at his words. I agreed. But a moment later, Leah walked in. Right in front of my eyes, she picked up the very cue stick he had banned me from ever touching. “Crack.” She sunk a ball. My heart shuddered. I looked at Adam. His face wore a proud, tender smile I had never seen before. His eyes shone as he looked at her. “This is my new apprentice,” he said. “She’s got raw talent. She’s going to conquer the circuit with me.” Adam never talked about the future. The only time he did, I realized his future didn’t include me. I closed my eyes, forcing down the phantom ache in my chest before looking back at him. He took my wrist, his voice soft with empty promises. “I swear, as soon as this tournament is over, I’ll make it up to you. We’ll have the wedding.” His hand was warm, but it couldn’t reach the ice in my veins. I pulled away. “No need.” The air in the room went dead. Adam slowly let go, taking off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. “What is that supposed to mean? Valerie, it’s just a few more weeks. Is it really worth all this drama?” “A few more weeks.” I had lost count of how long I had been waiting. I only remembered the sight of his back as he boarded planes with Leah, the TV broadcasts of them celebrating their victories, the suffocating pain of hopes repeatedly shattered. Today, the pain had gone numb. I was tired of hollow expectations. I forced a smile, though it felt more like a cracked mask. “Yes, it is. Adam, I’m done. We’ve been together seven years, but your heart only has room for pool and Leah. I’m just an anchor dragging you down.” My voice rose, the fake smile vanishing entirely. Time had changed us both. He had completely forgotten how we started—how seven years ago, I had nearly died saving him. Back then, he was a nobody—a brilliant but dirt-poor kid. Genius breeds envy, and after he humiliated a senior player, a gang of jealous trainees cornered him in a dark alley. They snapped his cheap cue stick and began beating his back with the maple shards, trying to break his spirit. I happened to walk by. Without thinking, I threw my heavy backpack at one of them and swung a broken piece of wood to defend him. But they were too many. They threw me aside and pinned Adam to the ground, stepping on his head. When they aimed a heavy stick at his hands, Adam broke down, weeping and begging them to spare his hands. Nobody pitied him but me. As the stick came down, I broke free from my captors and threw myself over him, taking the blow. The impact fractured my ribs, driving a splintered bone into my lung. I coughed up blood before blacking out. I woke up in a hospital bed. Adam was sitting beside me, his eyes bloodshot, his tears hot against my hand. His voice had trembled violently. “I don’t even know your name, but you saved my life. I will take care of you forever.” I was in too much pain to understand the weight of that promise. It wasn’t until years later, on the eve of our first postponed wedding, that I heard him whispering to Leah through a half-open door. “Leah, I can never return your feelings. Valerie broke her ribs saving me. It punctured her lung, and she still struggles to breathe. I can’t just abandon her.” That was when I knew. To him, I was never a partner. I was a debt he had to pay, a heavy anchor he couldn’t throw overboard. Tears finally spilled over, wetting my collar. Adam looked at me, the light in his eyes flickering. After a long silence, he spoke. “Valerie, you aren’t my ideal partner.” I looked at him through the blur of my tears. “But I have to be responsible for you,” he continued, his voice tight. “For your sake, I’ve already broken Leah’s heart. Can you just accept that and stop making this so hard for me?” His hand nervously caressed the leather keychain hanging from his gear bag. It was a gift from Leah. He carried it everywhere. Meanwhile, every gift I had ever given him was rotting in boxes in our basement, gathering dust. I let out a harsh, bitter laugh. Then, I raised my hand and slapped him across the face. “Don’t play the martyr, Adam. You know exactly whether this is responsibility or just a cheap cover-up for your fading feelings.” He flinched, his jaw tightening. Before he could speak, a frantic knock shattered the silence. Leah stood on our doorstep, her eyes red and swollen. “Valerie, can you please stop throwing tantrums?” She pushed past me, running to Adam’s side. Her eyes welled with tears as she looked at his split lip. “Adam, are you okay?” Adam immediately softened, giving her a gentle, reassuring smile. “I’m fine. What are you doing here?” Leah bit her lip, her voice trembling. “Someone was trying to pick the lock on my apartment door. I called the police, but… I was too scared to go back inside.” She turned to me, her voice dripping with frail innocence. “Valerie, what more do you want?” Tears streamed down her pale face. “I was standing there with a knife, shaking, and all I could think about was Adam. But I remembered he was your boyfriend, so I forced myself not to call him. I’ve tried so hard not to disrupt your lives. Why can’t you just cherish him?” I took a slow, deep breath. Before I could utter a word, Adam cut me off. He grabbed Leah’s shoulders, scanning her for injuries. “Why didn’t you call me? What if something had happened to you?” His voice shook with a terror he had never shown for me. Their eyes locked. The raw, desperate affection between them was undeniable. Adam shielded her behind his back, looking at me with cold determination. “Leah is staying here tonight. We’ll talk about us later.” With that, he led her down the hallway toward the guest room. I watched their retreating figures, my vision blurring. It hadn’t always been like this. Back when Leah was training for her first tournament, she worked day and night. I had genuinely believed she was just his apprentice. I had even cooked meals for them, and she was always sweet, never crossing any lines. But that was the night I finally broke. I had gone to deliver dinner to them at the pool hall. It was late, and a man began stalking me a few hundred yards from the entrance. Trembling, I called Adam. He picked up, but Leah’s voice came through first. “Valerie, Adam is too busy to pick you up right now.” Then Adam’s voice followed. “I have to teach Leah this shot tonight. If you’re really scared, just run a little faster.” It wasn’t that the training was important. It was her. Driven by some dark impulse, I had followed them to his private office at the back of the hall. The door wasn’t fully closed. Through the crack, I saw Leah sobbing, throwing herself into Adam’s arms. He hesitated, then bent down and kissed the tears from her eyes. My chest burned with a sudden, violent rage. I wanted to destroy everything. I stormed into his office, grabbed the first cue stick I could reach, and slammed it against his glass display case. Glass shattered, flying everywhere, cutting my cheek. I barely felt it. The violent crash startled them. Adam spun around, his eyes wild as he saw the cue stick in my hand. “Valerie!” I didn’t stop. I looked down at the stick. It was the one Leah had won her first tournament with. He polished it daily, treating it like a sacred relic. Once, when I accidentally moved it while cleaning, he refused to speak to me for two weeks, banning me from his study entirely. I raised the stick and swung it hard against the wall. Leah screamed, throwing herself forward to protect it. The heavy wood struck her wrist. A sickening “crack” echoed through the room. Before I could comprehend what happened, a massive force shoved me to the ground. I fell onto the broken glass, shards slicing deep into my palms. A warm, metallic taste filled my mouth. But Adam didn’t look back. He was on his knees, cradling Leah’s arm. “Leah, look at me. Are you okay?” Leah was sobbing hysterically. “Adam, the tournament is next week… my hand…” Adam scooped her into his arms, his voice trembling with a desperate attempt at calm. “It’s going to be fine. It’s just a tournament. You’re all that matters.” He stepped right over me. Choking on the pain, I reached out and grabbed the hem of his jeans. “Don’t go… I…” He paused, looking down at me with cold disgust. Leah wept from his arms. “Are you happy now, Valerie? You destroyed my trophy, you broke my hand, and now you’re trying to stop him from taking me to the ER? Do you have to completely ruin my life to be satisfied?” Adam’s hesitation vanished. He kicked his leg free, his voice dangerously low. “I don’t have time for your hysterical games, Valerie. Stay here and think about what you’ve done. When you’re ready, drag yourself to the hospital and beg Leah for forgiveness.” He carried her out, leaving me on the glass-strewn floor. As they left, Leah looked back over his shoulder, a small, triumphant smile playing on her lips. I couldn’t breathe. A dark, suffocating despair closed in. Moments later, the door opened again. It wasn’t Adam. It was the police. “Miss Crane? We received a call regarding domestic disturbance, assault, and destruction of property…” I was taken straight to the precinct. The physical pain was nothing compared to the hollow ache in my chest. “Do you have anything to say?” the officer asked. I sat in silence, my throat too dry to form words. Eventually, the officer handed me my phone to call someone. In this city, the only person I had was Adam. I dialed his number. It rang for a long time before he finally answered. After the officer explained the situation, Adam’s cold voice came through the receiver. “Valerie, you broke her hand. I can convince her to drop the charges, but only if you come to the hospital and beg for her forgiveness.” The humiliation was absolute. I closed my eyes, letting my final tear fall. “Never.” The line went dead. They kept me in the holding cell overnight. Adam didn’t show up until the next afternoon. I forced my stiff, aching body to stand as he walked in. He frowned, looking at my bandaged hands, before pulling me out of the station and into his car. “You hurt Leah,” he said, his voice flat as he drove. “Last night was your lesson. She agreed not to press charges, so stop throwing tantrums.” I looked down. The cuts on my wrist had reopened, blood soaking through my sleeve. “I won’t,” I whispered. “I won’t ever throw a tantrum again, Adam.” He softened slightly, misinterpreting my defeat as submission. “Good. Go home and make some soup, then bring it to the hospital. You need to care for her until she recovers. Once she’s healed, we’ll start planning the wedding again.” I nodded slowly. “Actually, I—” His phone buzzed. Leah’s tearful voice echoed through the car speakers. “Adam, where are you…?” Without a second thought, Adam pulled over, leaving me on the curb. “Go home. We’ll talk later.” I watched his car disappear into the traffic. The last shred of warmth in my chest died. My lungs felt like they were filled with wet, freezing wool, making every breath a battle. But I didn’t go back to the apartment. I walked straight to the airport. “You can have her now, Adam. I’m letting you go.”
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