STELLA

No… I wasn’t going to cry, I told myself as I rushed out of the building and into the street. The tears threatened to spill from the corner of my eyes.

I didn’t even care that people stared at me as I brushed past them. This was New York anyway—nobody liked minding their own business. But the hurt I felt inside drowned everything out.

Why did it hurt this much? Why did seeing James with another woman hurt this much? It wasn’t supposed to feel like this. It wasn’t ...