The beach date was supposed to be his way of making up for forgetting our fifth anniversary. A little slap and then a “makeup” date had become his routine way of controlling me. I kept swinging between his coldness and sweetness, always finding excuses for him—he worked hard, was under a lot of pressure. But now, I saw it for what it was: manipulation.
Mason had always been pretty distant and not the best at expressing his feelings, but I convinced myself he was doing alright by me. Then I saw how he treated Naomi and I realized just how unfair he was.
There I was, with my knees bleeding. Naomi helped me with a tissue to stop the bleeding but then suddenly claimed she needed to buy medicine. A moment later, she pretended to be dizzy and collapsed. Mason rushed to her side, holding her gently and brushing her hair away from her face with a look of genuine concern.
“Where’s the nearest pharmacy? You’ve been walking in high heels—your feet must be sore,” he said, his voice full of worry.
Then he turned to me, dismissing my pain. “Jessica’s fine. It’s just a little bleeding. She can manage.”