So, I never thought I'd be one of those people writing a long, messy breakup post on Reddit. Like, I used to read these and just think, "Damn, glad that's not me." You know? But here we are. This is not a throwaway because honestly, I don't care anymore. And some of you are probably going to think I'm crazy or dramatic. But I promise I am not making this up and I'm not exaggerating either. If anything, I'm trying to tone myself down, BC. My hands are still shaking and

it's been days. Sorry for the length. I'm typing this on my phone at my sister's kitchen table bus. I literally can't stand being in my own apartment right now. I'll start from a kind of weird place, not the beginning of our relationship. But see, honestly, that was all normal and kind of boring. You don't need the romcom meet cute or whatever. It's not important. I'm just going to jump to last month, BC. That's when the weirdness started. And yeah, I know everyone says the weirdness, but I

mean it. Peter started acting like I guess like I was a background character in his life instead of his girlfriend. Like he'd be on his phone scrolling, not even Tik Tok. Just like weird forms about watches and sneakers, ignoring me when I'd ask if he wanted to go out for lunch. I'd say something like, "Hey, want to go for ramen?" And he'd barely look up. Just go, "I don't know. I'm not hungry. Can we just chill at home?" But then he'd go out alone later and come

back with takeout. I didn't think he was cheating, honestly. Just thought maybe he was depressed or burnt out. So, about 2 weeks ago, I started getting these little comments from him. And they're not even that big if you say them out loud, but when you live with someone, you feel every tiny shift. Like, he started saying stuff like, "You never let things go, Claire." Or, "I just want to relax. Can you not right now?" And this one, I feel like I can't breathe sometimes, but then he'd want a cuddle

at night or come up behind me and hug me when I was making coffee. So, I was just like, "Okay, he's stressed. I'll back off." Honestly, I should have clocked it when he stopped wanting to go to my parents for dinner. My mom called him out once for not helping set the table, and he sulked the whole night. After that, he was always busy when we had family stuff. Said he needed time alone to reset. My sister Veronica thought he was being a baby, but I kept defending him like an idiot. He's just tired. He's

not good with people. Blah blah. Fast forward. Last Friday, I went to this ceramics thing with Sophia, my best friend. She's in this group chat with me and Veronica. You'll see her later. We were gone like 3 hours just throwing clay and being messy. I get home around 9:00. I'm all gross and ready to shower and eat junk food. And Peter's sitting on the couch, lights off, just his phone screen lighting up his face. I say, "Hey," and he just goes, "Can we talk?"

And I know that tone. Everyone knows that tone. It's never good. I sit down, still in my ugly clay stained sweatpants, and he starts with this sigh like he's prepping for some huge burden. He says, "I don't mean to be harsh, but I feel like you're draining me." I literally laugh BC. I think he's joking. Like, who even talks like that outside of a YouTube therapist video, but he's stonefaced. He keeps going. Says, "I need a break from all this. Like, I need

to remember what freedom feels like. I need space. Can you just not text or call for a while? I need to clear my head." And then he just stands up, grabs his duffel bag, which is already packed, so I guess this wasn't spontaneous, and just walks out, not even looking at me. No hug, no nothing, just the door slamming. I just sat there for a minute like, "Okay, this is not real. He's going to text in 10 minutes and say, "Sorry, I'm just tired. I'll be home soon." But nothing. I showered, I ate

cereal, I called Veronica, and she just went off on him. Called him a manchild. Said I should dump his ass first, but I just felt empty. Ingel, I was half expecting him to come back in the night and crawl in bed like he always does after a fight, but the bed stayed cold all night. So, Saturday, I wake up and my phone has three missed calls from Sophia, which is weird. She never calls, just texts. She's like, "Claire, have you seen Peter's Insta story?" I said, "No, I haven't looked. I was trying to

be all mature and respect his space like a dumbass." She sends me screenshots, and I don't even know how to explain what I saw without sounding insane. First one is a hotel room view, city skyline, super fancy. Next one is a table at a restaurant I know he's never taken me to with two glasses of wine, a big steak, some tiny dessert thing. Then there's a boomerang of someone's hand with a bracelet clinking his glass. Not mine, not Veronica's, not Sophia's. Very much not his mom's. So yeah, I scroll

through my own camera roll just to check. And I know that bracelet. It's Giana's. His ex from like 3 years ago. She had this thing for big chunky jewelry. She wore it everywhere. I remember because she used to show up in his stories back when we first started dating and I used to feel all insecure about it. And then the one that made my stomach drop, a shot of the hotel nightstand with her perfume bottle. It's that weird shaped one like a little crystal. She posted about it all the time back when she was an influencer. I

hated it. Smelled like cheap candy. In the background, you can hear her laugh. Just a little. Not loud, but it's her. I'd know it anywhere. She's married now, last I heard. But I guess that didn't stop her. I text Peter. I go off. I ask him if he's really so pathetic he had to run back to his ex. I say, "Is this the freedom you wanted?" He leaves me on red for hours. Finally, he sends this paragraph back, basically saying, "Don't embarrass yourself. I told you I needed

space. Go work on your jealousy. He's just catching up with an old friend. I'm not an idiot. I know what's going on, and he knows I know." The audacity. I call Veronica. I'm shaking and angry and she's like, "Do not let this man play you." She says, "Don't start a fight with Giana. It's not worth it. but also don't let Peter make you the bad guy. I ask her, "Do you think I'm being crazy?" And she says, "No." This is classic

deflection. He's turning it on you because he knows he's in the wrong. Veronica's always been blunt, sometimes too much, but I needed it. Later that day, I get a DM from Vincent, who is Peter's friend, but also low-key always hated the drama. He asks if I'm okay. Says he saw Peter at this hotel bar last night looking like a kid who just got away with stealing candy. I ask him if he saw who Peter was with and Vincent just says, "I didn't want to get involved, but it's not a good look,

Claire. I get it. Nobody wants to take sides, but it still stings." And okay, I know I probably sound like I'm just spiraling, but I have receipts. Like, I know people will say, "Oh, maybe it was innocent. Maybe it was just friends, but nobody goes to a five-star hotel with their married ex and posts it on Instagram unless they want to be seen. I know Giana. I know Peter. I know how they both love attention. Gianna's whole thing has always been being the one who got away. She used to brag about it. And

Peter, he's always chasing something like he gets bored if life is too easy. He said it to me before that he feels like he's meant for more, whatever that means. I think he likes the drama, honestly. Saturday night, I don't hear from him. I get a text from my mom asking if Peter is coming to dinner on Sunday, and I just say, "No, he needed space." She calls me right away like moms do and asks if I'm okay. I say, "I'm fine, just tired." She offers to come over, but I say no. I need to

figure out what I'm going to do. She says, "You don't have to tolerate being treated badly." Clare, I know she's right, but it's still hard. By Sunday morning, I guess I'm just angry. Like, I don't even want him back, but I want him to know he can't just walk all over me, and then go play the sad boy on Insta. I clean the apartment, put all his stuff in a pile by the door, not throwing it out, just making it clear he's not welcome. I text him, "Your stuff is

here. Come get it." He leaves me on red again, so I put it all in a trash bag and leave it by the door. When he finally comes by Sunday evening, he doesn't even look me in the eye. He just grabs his stuff, says, "You're being dramatic." And I say, "You're being a coward." He mutters something under his breath. So I push his arm away when he tries to grab his headphones off the table and he says, "Don't touch me." I say, "Then get out." I know some people

are going to say, "You should have tried to talk." Or, "You should have been the bigger person." But honestly, I'm done with that. I don't owe him politeness when he's treating me like a backup plan. If I'm draining, then he can go recharge somewhere else. Now I'm just left with the mess. Veronica's letting me crash at her place for a few days, and Sophia is trying to distract me with dumb memes and reality TV. This isn't even the craziest part. Trust me, I

don't know what I'm going to do next, but I do know I'm not going to just let him walk away like nothing happened. I have a plan. And if Peter wants drama, I'll give him drama. If you made it this far, congrats. You're more patient than me right now. I'll update if anything happens. But something tells me this is just the beginning. First update. So, it's been a week since I posted. I'm still at Veronica's place. She's letting me have her weird foldout couch. And

honestly, at this point, her cat likes me better than her. I can't even look at my own apartment right now because every dumb mug, every pile of Peter's random socks that I keep finding just pisses me off more and more. Also, sidebar, why do men buy so many socks? Is it a hoarding thing? Whatever. Anyway, I guess the thing that's been killing me isn't even that he left. It's that he made me feel like I was crazy for noticing. like he sat me down in my own living room and told me I was draining and needed to go

work on my jealousy. Then less than 24 hours later, he's out at some five-star place with Giana, who reminder is literally married and he's acting like I'm the unstable one. And yes, I know how that sounds. Like, oh, maybe you're just reading into things, Claire. Maybe it's innocent, but nah, I know what I saw and I know what I heard in the background of those stories. It's the little things that get you. Like I opened the fridge at Veronica's and realized I didn't have to mentally count

how many eggs to leave for Peter or if there was enough oat milk for his stupid smoothie habit. I went to plug in my phone by the bed and reached for my charger only to realize I don't have to hide it from someone who borrows it every single night and never puts it back. It's weird. The stuff that makes it real, not the big dramatic moments. But back to him. After he picked up his stuff, or like half of it, he left his old hoodie and a bunch of wires and his dumb coffee grinder. I didn't hear from

him. His IG kept updating though. More stories. Another hotel room. This one with a rooftop pool. Another dinner. Two plates. One with some kind of seafood thing he'd always tell me he hated. And then a video of someone's hand with bright red nails clinking a glass. And yeah, Giana's nails are always that exact shade. I checked her old posts to be sure, which is maybe psycho, but also I have time on my hands now. So, I'm venting about all this to Sophia, who's basically my sanity check. She's like,

"Claire, you know you're not crazy, right? Men love to gaslight. It's their Olympic sport." But even she's like, "Are you sure it's Giana? Maybe it's some new girl." I don't blame her for doubting. I doubt me, too. But then she says, "Do you want me to watch his stories and screenshot anything weird?" I say, "Yes, obviously." So that's how I end up with a whole little folder of screenshots. Hotel view, her bracelet, perfume bottle, red nails, wine,

laughter, all public, all for show. I start to think he's doing this on purpose. Like, is he trying to make me jealous or is he just showing off for Giana? And why is she even in town? I remember she moved two states away after getting married. I do some light stocking. Don't judge me. And her husband Curtis is still posting beach pics on his own page, tagging her all smiley like he doesn't have a clue. This is when I get mad. Like really mad. I mean, if it was just Peter clowning around, whatever. But Giana, she always

had this thing for drama. Like she'd start stuff just to see how people would react. I remember when we first started dating, she'd comment under his pics. Little inside jokes, always something slightly flirty, but never enough to call her out without looking insane. I used to let it slide, but now, nah, not anymore. So, I decide I want proof, not just for me. I want Curtis to know. I know that's petty, but IDC. If my relationship's going up in flames, I'm not going to be the only one catching

heat. I don't want to be that girl, but honestly, I've been the understanding girlfriend for too long. If she's going to play messy, I can play messier. The problem is I don't know Curtis at all. Like I met him maybe once at a group thing and he seemed nice but kind of quiet. Definitely not someone who gets in the middle of drama. So I call Sophia again and she's like, "Are you sure you want to do this?" I say, "Yeah, I'm sure. I just need his contact info."

She's hesitant. Says, "Maybe I should just let it go." But I tell her I can't. I need to not feel powerless. She gets it eventually and says she'll ask around. In the meantime, I get a DM from Vincent, Peter's friend, the one who never wants drama, but somehow always ends up in the middle. He says, "Saw Peter at the hotel again, this time with Giana, and they were all over each other." He says, "Sorry if this hurts, but you should know." I say, "Thanks,

but honestly, I already knew." Then he goes, "You should talk to Curtis." I say, "I'm trying, but it's not exactly easy." He says, "I can give you his email, but don't say it came from me. I promise." So, I sit down at Veronica's table, open my laptop, and type out this email to Curtis. It takes me like five tries. I don't want to sound crazy, but I also want him to actually read it. I attach the screenshots, just say, "I'm sorry to send this, but I think you

deserve to know. I'm not trying to start a war. I just want the truth out there." I send it. My hands are shaking, but I hit send anyway. I don't hear back for 2 days. In the meantime, Peter posts this story. Black background, white text, something like, "Snakes everywhere. Trust no one." I laugh out loud. I know it's about me, which is honestly hilarious considering who's actually lying. Veronica says he's just mad you're not begging for him back. Sophia says he always loved playing the victim.

I say he can keep playing. I'm done being the audience. Then finally, Curtis emails me back. It's short. He says, "Are you sure? How do you know it's her?" I get it. He doesn't want to believe it. I send more screenshots. A couple of old pics from Gianna's account where she's wearing the same bracelet, the same perfume bottle in the background. same nails. I say, "I'm sorry, but I wouldn't lie about this." He doesn't reply, but I see his Instagram goes private the next day.

Giana's account, too. Veronica says, "She's hiding." Sophia says, "Maybe he confronted her." I don't know, and honestly, I don't care. I did what I had to do. Then, out of nowhere, I get a call from Peter. Not a text, a call. I let it ring. He calls again. I finally pick up on the third try. Just I'm sick of the buzzing. He starts in right away. says, "What the hell are you doing, Clare? You're trying to ruin my life." I say, "I'm just making sure everyone

knows the truth." He says, "You didn't have to drag Curtis into this. You're being petty and vindictive and crazy." I say, "You're the one who started this, not me." He says, "You're obsessed. You need help." I laugh. Tell him to get his own life together before talking about mine. He hangs up. I feel weirdly calm after, like, I thought I'd feel guilty, but I don't. Veronica says, "You did the right thing." Sophia says he's

projecting. Vincent texts me, says Peter's freaking out. Says, "You ruined everything." I say, "Good." So, here's where it gets even messier. Gianna DMs me full-on essay, all caps at the start. Then a bunch of, "How dare you?" And this was none of your business. And you're just jealous because Peter picked me. I'm not even mad. I just laugh. I reply, "I'm not jealous. I just don't like being lied to." She leaves me on red. Later that day, I go back to my

apartment to grab some clothes and find Peter waiting outside the door. He's got his hands in his pockets looking like a lost puppy. I say, "What do you want?" He says, "I just want to talk." I say, "Talk then." He says, "I didn't mean for it to go this far." I say, "You mean getting caught?" He says, "You didn't have to involve Curtis." I say, "Maybe you should have thought of that before inviting your married ex to a hotel." He

says, "You're making this worse." I say, "You already made it bad. I'm just making it fair." He tries to step closer and I put my arm up, blocking him. I say, "Don't touch me." He backs up. It gets heated. He starts blaming me for everything. Says I never listened. That I always made him feel trapped. That Giana understands him in a way I never did. I say, "Then go be with her and leave me alone." He says, "It's not that simple." I say, "It is for me." He says,

"You're being cold." I say, "I'm being honest." I tell him to leave. He slaps the wall hard and storms off. Veronica says, "You're a legend." I say, "I just want this to be over." Sophia comes over that night, brings junk food and a bottle of wine. We watch dumb reality TV, and she makes me promise not to text him. Not even one more time. I promise. She says, "You're stronger than you think." I say, "I just want to be done."

My mom calls, says she's worried. Asks if I need her to come up. I say, "No, I've got Veronica and Sophia. I'll be okay." She says, "You know you're allowed to be angry." I say, "I know." I fall asleep on the couch, wake up to like 10 missed calls from Peter. I don't answer. The next day, Vincent texts again, says, "Peter's telling everyone you're crazy and manipulative." I say, "Let him talk. The people who matter know the truth." Later that week, I get

one last email from Curtis. He just says, "Thank you. I appreciate it." That's it. So, yeah. I don't know what the next move is, but I'm not backing down. If Peter wants to play games, I can play harder. I'm not going to let him rewrite the story and make me the villain. I'm done being the understanding one. I'm done letting people walk all over me. If you're reading this and thinking I went too far, maybe I did, but honestly, I do it again. You can only be the bigger person

for so long before you realize sometimes you have to get a little petty just to survive. I'll update if anything else happens. Second update. All right, so I'm back because apparently this story is never just over. If you're new here, quick recap. My boyfriend Peter dumped me with a whole you're draining I want freedom speech. walked out, then immediately started posting IG stories from fancy hotels with his married ex, Gianna. When I called him out, he said I was jealous and embarrassing myself. I

dug up receipts, sent them to Giana's husband, Curtis, and now it's honestly like I threw a grenade into everyone's life, including my own. And yeah, I'm not exactly sorry about it. So, it all really starts 3 days after the Curtis email. I'm at Veronica's again. Her cat has officially claimed my suitcase as a bed. Just doing my usual, scrolling, eating old pizza, minding my business. Veronica is trying to get me to go for a walk, but I'm glued to group chats. Mostly BC. Sophia is live updating me

about what's popping up on social. She says Giana's gone completely silent on her main account, but her old Instagram is still active, posting passive aggressive quotes about betrayal, snakes, and those who can't mind their own business. It's very 2015 Tumblr NGL. Then, out of nowhere, Sophia says, "Do you think Curtis actually did anything?" I say, "Idk. Maybe he's just sitting with it." She says, "Men don't act until they see hard proof. They always want to

believe the best." I tell her I gave him everything I had. It's not my problem anymore. But I can't help thinking about it. Like, what if he just ignores it? What if nothing happens and I just started a war for no reason? Later that night, I get a text from Vincent. Not a meme, not a cat video, just, "I think you should know. Peter's locked out of the hotel. He's at my place." I stare at the phone for a second, not even sure what to say. I finally just type, "Why

is he at your place?" Vincent says, "Janna's husband showed up at the hotel and there was a huge scene. Someone called security." He says, "I wasn't there, but I heard enough. Peter's blaming you for blowing everything up, but honestly, you did what you had to do." I say, "Not my circus, not my monkeys." Veronica's eaves dropping from the kitchen. She says, "I told you this would get messy." I say, "Messier than this." She laughs. says, "You know he's

going to try to twist this." I say, "Let him try." So, next morning, my phone is blowing up with notifications. I have three missed calls from an unknown number. Peter, obviously, because I blocked him after the last screaming match, two voicemails, and a bunch of DMs from randoms, some mutuals, some friends who haven't messaged me in years. Apparently, the story is out. Not just what I did, but like the whole thing is the group chat's main event. Someone from Gianna's old friend circle

is DMing me saying, "Why did you have to ruin her marriage?" I just delete and block. I don't owe anyone an explanation. I listen to one of the voicemails. Peter's voice is all over the place. First, he's angry. Says I sabotaged him. Then he's whining. Says I always do this. And then there's a pause and he just hangs up. I can hear voices in the background. Vincent maybe telling him to chill. I delete it. I'm not in the mood. That afternoon, I go back to my apartment to grab a few things.

Veronica's place is nice, but I need my own clothes and I miss my stupid espresso machine. The building is weirdly quiet, which I like. I'm halfway through packing a bag when I hear a knock at the door. I check the peepphole. Peter. I consider ignoring it, but he knocks again louder. I open the door a crack. Say, what do you want? He says, "Let me in. I just want to talk." I say, "Nope." He tries to push the door. I push back. He says, "Stop being childish. I just need to get my

charger." I say, "You already took it." He says, "No, I need the black one." I sigh, grab the charger from the drawer, and toss it into the hallway. He looks at me, says, "You really had to do this, Claire." I say, "Do what?" He says, "Ruin everything like you always do." I say, "You ruined it yourself. Don't blame me." He steps closer, so I step out and close the door behind me. He raises his voice, says, "You're not

going to get away with this." I say, "You're not going to scare me, so don't even try." He says, "You think you're so righteous, but you're just bitter because Giana picked me." I laugh and say, "She picked you? Looks like nobody picked anybody." He gets in my face, so I shove him back. He stumbles, swears, and storms down the hallway. I go back inside and slam the door. I call Veronica, tell her what happened. She's pissed. Says, "If he tries that again,

call me. I'll come over." I say, "I can handle myself." She says, "I know, but I'm serious. Don't let him corner you." I say, "I won't." Later, Sophia comes by with takeout and we sit on the couch watching dumb shows and talking about anything but men. She tells me people at her gym are gossiping about the hotel story and she's pretending not to know anything. I say, "Honestly, it's kind of nice knowing people are finally talking about him, not just me." She says, "You

know he's going to try to spin it." I say, "Let him." She says, "You're colder than I thought." I say, "I'm just tired." Two days go by. I get a message from Gianna. This time, not a rant, just hope you're happy. I don't answer. I get another email from Curtis. Just says, "Thank you again." I reply, "I'm sorry it had to be me." He never writes back. Vincent text says, "Peter is not okay. He's barely sleeping, drinking too much,

blaming everyone but himself." I say, "What do you want me to do about it?" Vincent says, "Nothing, just you should know." He says, "I never liked the way he talked about you anyway." I say, "Thanks for saying that now." He says, "Yeah, I know. I should have said something before." I say, "It's fine." Then I run into Giana in the wild, like literally in the wild at the grocery store. She's in sunglasses, looking like she just crawled out of a magazine, but

with bags under her eyes. I almost walk the other way, but she sees me. She walks right up and says, "You did this on purpose?" I say, "Maybe I did." She says, "You're just jealous because we have something you never understood." I say, "Looks like you don't have it anymore." She slaps my arm, not hard, but enough to make a sound. And everyone in the aisle turns to look. I just stare at her. She walks off muttering. I text Veronica. Guess who I just ran into? She

says, "You have all the luck." Later that night, Peter calls again, but I don't answer. He texts long rants about how I ruined his life, how he can't go anywhere without people judging him. How I don't know what it's like to be hated by everyone. I send back, "You did this to yourself, not me." He calls again, leaves another voicemail, this one just him breathing, then hanging up. I block his number again. At this point, even Sophia is like, "Do you ever regret it?"

I say, "No." She says, "Not even a little." I say, "Maybe I wish it had been less public, but honestly, I'm glad she finally got what was coming to her." She says, "You're savage." I say, "You have no idea." The next day, Veronica and I pack up the last of Peter's stuff, dump it in a box, and leave it in the lobby with a note. Come get it, or it's going in the trash. He texts her, says, "You're both insane." She replies, "Try

us." He doesn't show up. Veronica says, "You should change your locks." I say, "I'm already on it." I call the super, pay the stupid fee, and get new keys. I finally sleep through the night. So, yeah, that's where I'm at. I'm not sorry. I'm not healing or moving on or whatever you're supposed to say. I'm just trying to get my life back, minus the chaos. But, I know this story isn't done because if there's one thing I've learned about Peter, it's that he never

really lets anything go. And neither do I. I'll post again if he does anything else. But for now, I just want a week with no voicemails, no drama, and maybe a day where I don't have to explain myself to anyone. But honestly, I'm not holding my breath. Last update. So, I guess I'm back for what's probably the last time. Unless Peter comes up with a new way to humiliate himself. But NGL, I think he's finally run out of ideas. It's funny. I started this whole thing thinking I'd maybe get some advice or

IDK vent into the void. But turns out reading the comments here helped more than anything my real life friends tried to say. I see you all. And honestly, thanks for reminding me I'm not crazy. Or at least if I am, I'm in good company. So, here's what happened next. Buckle up back. It only gets messier. First off, the weirdest thing, the silence. Like actual silence. After the grocery store slap thing with Giana. Yes, she really did that. And no, I didn't slap her back. I just let her

stomp off with her sunglasses crooked. There was a good 5 days where my phone was just dead. No angry rants, no late night calls, not even a cryptic IG post. I started to think maybe it was finally over and I could just I go back to my boring little life of meal prepping and doom scrolling. Then out of nowhere, I get a notification that someone left me a voicemail from a weird number. I ignore it, then another. By the end of the day, I have four. I listen to one just to see if it's some scam, but nope,

it's Peter. And he sounds like a totally different person. Not angry, not even fake calm, just weirdly desperate. He says, "Can we talk?" He says, "I'm sorry." He says, "I messed up." His voice keeps catching. And he sounds like he's maybe crying or hung over. Idk honestly both seem likely. I ignore all of them. Then he starts texting Veronica, which is a new level of pathetic. She sends me screenshots. He's saying stuff like, "I need to talk to

Claire, please. I just need 5 minutes." Veronica says, "You had your 5 minutes, remember? You wasted it." He tries to guilt her. Says, "You're her sister. How can you be so cold?" She just sends him a thumbs up. I try to go about my life. I finally move back into my apartment. The one thing I'll say for Peter is he never tried to break in or leave nasty stuff behind. Just a bunch of socks and a mug I hate. I clean everything, change the sheets, throw out the leftover oat

milk. Seriously, never again. The place feels weirdly empty, but also better. I get a pizza, put on a podcast, and just sit on the floor. Feels like claiming my own space again. Then he starts with the emails. Yeah, emails. Who does that? Every subject line is just please or can we talk or I'm sorry. I don't answer. One of them is like an essay talking about how he wasn't thinking straight, how he just wanted to feel young again, how he never stopped loving me, blah blah. He even says he's not seeing Giana

anymore. That she ghosted him after Curtis found out. Says he deserves another chance. That everyone makes mistakes. I just scroll through it. Delete. Move on. Veronica says he's just lonely now that everyone dumped him. Sophia says he's trying every angle. Guilt, nostalgia, even fake self-awareness. Vincent texts, says Peter's telling people you ruined his life, but nobody's really buying it anymore. I say, "What else is new?" Vincent says, "If he shows up at your

place, call me." I say, "I will." The next escalation comes on a random Tuesday afternoon. I'm working at the table when I hear someone knock. I look through the peepphole. "Peter." I consider just ignoring it, but he knocks again, then sends a text. I'm outside. Please, just 5 minutes. I open the door, a crack, say, "What do you want?" He looks at me, eyes all red, says, "I just need to talk." I say, "Talk." Then he starts with the apologies again. says,

"I know I screwed up. I lost everything." I say, "That's not my problem." He says, "You were the only one who ever actually cared about me. I miss you. I can't sleep. I can't eat. I just want a second chance." I say, "You had a second chance and a third and a fourth." He says, "I was stupid." He tries to step closer. I put my hand on the door, keep it between us. He says, "Please, I'm begging you." I say, "Stop begging. It's gross." He tries to reach

for my arm. I shove his hand away. He swears. Looks like he might cry. then just stands there awkwardly. I say you should leave. He says, "I have nowhere to go." I say, "That's not my fault." He mutters something about ruining everything. I say, "Welcome to the club." I slam the door. I text Veronica. He showed up. She says, "Want me to come over?" I say, "No, I'm fine." She says, "Let me know if he tries again." I say, "I will." After that, it's just a steady

drip of guilt trips and desperate messages. Voicemails at 2 a.m. texts from new numbers. One time, even a Facebook message request. All the same stuff. I miss you. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I'll do anything. I block every number, every account. It's weird how fast you get used to hitting block. Vincent checks in, says he's basically persona nonrada in their friend group now. Some people are mad at me for airing dirty laundry, but most are just tired of Peter's drama. Sophia says he's

like a broken record. He'll eventually get bored and latch on to someone else. I say, "Maybe, but I'm not giving him another chance to make me the villain." One night, I'm at Veronica's for dinner and she asks, "Do you ever think about forgiving him?" I say, "Not even a little." She says, "Not even for closure." I say, "Closure is a scam." She laughs, says, "You're colder than I remember." I say, "I think I'm just

done." The last time Peter tries anything, he shows up at my building again. This time, I don't answer the door. He waits for about 15 minutes, then leaves. Later, I find a note shoved under my door. just says, "I'm sorry. I hope you find someone better." I throw it away. I get a message from Curtis out of nowhere. Just says, "Hope you're doing better." I say, "Yeah, thanks." That's it. I don't ask what happened with Giana. I honestly don't care

anymore. Now it's been 3 weeks since the whole thing started, and I feel IK, not happy exactly, but definitely lighter. I see Peter still lurking on his alt accounts, liking random old photos. I go to brunch with Sophia. I buy myself a ridiculous plant. I start a new show and end up hate watching it all weekend. I'm not healed or whatever, but I'm not angry anymore. Mostly just tired and a little bit proud. So, if you're reading this and wondering if it's worth it to blow everything up to get your own back,

idk, maybe not always, but sometimes when someone spends months making you feel crazy and small, the best thing you can do is show them you're not, and then just walk away. I never thought I'd be that girl, but I am. NTBH, I think I did okay. Thanks for reading, internet strangers. If you see a guy named Peter in a hotel bar looking sad and lost, just keep walking. Or maybe buy him a drink. IDC. I'm busy living my own life now. End of saga, I