Breaking up is easy, moving on is hard… or is it?

It was another Friday, and as usual, Steph had gone to George’s house for the weekend. That evening, he returned from work, and they shared a lovely homemade dinner, followed by one of his strange mystery movies she had slowly come to enjoy. Endure? Everything felt normal, almost Georgie-perfect. By the time the movie ended, it was late, and they went upstairs to his bedroom, naturally. Steph threw her phone on the bed partly out of habit, partly out of exhaustion, then headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. Error.  

As she stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her chest, she saw him staring at her phone, his expression, dark, menacing almost, as he gripped the device as if the tighter he squeezed, the more likely the content of what he saw might change. “You’re cheating on me Steph, you want to leave me” he said, his voice eerily calm. Steph froze. A cold wave of fear rushed through her. “What? What are you talking about?”

George walked toward her, holding out her phone. His eyes filled with rage. “This”. He pointed at old Instagram chats, messages from random guys before she had even met him, some of which she had never even responded to. She felt her stomach twist. He didn’t even find Derek’s messages suspicious, yet he was furious over conversations from years ago. “Check the date, baby,” she said carefully, keeping her voice steady. “Those messages are old”.

But he wasn’t listening. His breathing grew heavier, and suddenly, he was banging his fists on the wall, hard. Again and again. His eyes were wild, his face contorted in anger. Steph’s heart pounded. Was he going to hurt himself? Or worse… her? “George, stop!” she pleaded, stepping forward to pull him away. In a flash, his hands were around her neck. Tight. Too tight. “I’ll kill you Steph, you’re never breaking up with me!” he growled.

Her towel slipped off, but she couldn’t think about that now. She had to think fast. She was outmatched in strength, fighting wasn’t an option. So she did the only thing she could. “I’ll never leave you, baby,” she gasped, forcing herself to sound convincing. “I swear on my life. I promise I’ll change my SIM card so it’s just us. I won’t even go home anymore”.

George’s grip loosened slightly. He stared at her, searching her face for any sign of a lie. “Are you sure, babe?” His voice was softer now, almost pleading. Steph nodded rapidly. “Yes, I swear.” Satisfied, his cold grip turned to a warm embrace as he held her face close to his and whispered, “You’re mine, Steph. Forever”. Then, as if nothing had happened, he fell sound asleep, with a faint smile at the corners of his lips.

Breaking up with a psycho

Steph lay awake all night, her mind racing. There was no way she could stay. She had to leave and never return. George was a psycho, the sort of madman you should only ever see on Netflix or in gossip columns. Most certainly not to meet or, worse still, be involved with in real life! She needed to escape.

Morning broke, and George got up, mumbling something about getting groceries. Steph just managed to keep her expression neutral, nodding along as if everything was fine. But as soon as the door closed behind him, she sprang. She threw on her clothes, grabbed her belongings, and called a taxi. 

As the car sped away from George’s house, she finally allowed herself to breathe. Still shaking from the near horror of last night, she pulled out her phone and called Derek. “Can we meet?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Of course,” he said, sensing her panic. “Let’s meet at the Open bar.”

As they neared, Steph suddenly became all too aware of how she must have looked rushing out of George’s house. She ran her hands through her hair to give it that tousled look and put on lip gloss, the only makeup she had on hand. Thankfully, she had worn her nice short dress, otherwise packed for a day out with George, and so, felt confident she had pulled off a half-decent look. 

And so it starts…

It worked. Derek’s excitement was obvious as he approached with a big grin and open arms. She barely hesitated, and as soon as his arms wrapped around her in a tight hug, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief. After the previous night’s ordeal, this felt like safety. Breaking up with George might not be so hard after all.

They strolled down to the bar and found a quiet spot. The evening unfolded over wine and easy laughter. Steph had already made up her mind – Derek was a rebound, nothing more. He was charming, fun, but clearly not husband material. He was forgetful, disorganized, and carried an air of irresponsibility. But right now, she didn’t care. She just wanted to feel something other than fear. And Derek was anything but fear. He looked, talked, and smelled like trouble. This was the guy her mother warned her about. In fact, this was all the guys rolled into one person, her mother warned her about! Derek was the embodiment of temptation… and she loved it. 

Chatting was effortless, and at some point, she even taught him a drinking trick she had learned from George. The irony wasn’t lost on her, but she pushed the thought away.

Time passed quickly, and right on cue, Derek said – he didn’t ask – “Stay over at my place”, eyes twinkling with excitement. “Let’s keep the fun going”. Steph hesitated. A part of her knew this wasn’t the smartest idea, but another part, the part that craved distraction, wanted to say yes.