"What the actual fuck, Nikki? How could you embarrass me like this?" Drew hissed, yanking my arm with a bruising grip as he pulled me back into our seats.

"How could I embarrass you?" I whispered, fingers moving up to touch lips that still tasted of the mystery man.

"Kissing another man when you're here with me? Fucking classy." He sneered.

That snapped me out of it like nothing else could. "We are on a break. We were supposed to be trying to make it work, but it is clear that you couldn't give me more than five minutes of your undivided attention on a date meant to salvage our relationship."

The sharp intake of breath from someone in the crowd reminded me of our very public setting and the attention on us as a result.

He rolled his eyes. "So you just start kissing random guys and acting out because you don't have my attention for a minute? It was work, Nik. You know how important the work we do is."

I shook my head because I didn't. For all the years and all the interest I showed in the things he loved, I didn't know him. Not really.

That stranger had awakened a passion in me that I had spent years dampened down for the man I thought I should be with. The man I thought I needed and even thought I loved at some point.

"I think we are done. This isn't what I want, and it's certainly not a relationship worth fighting for. You're more annoyed by the fact that I might have embarrassed you than the fact he noticed me when you didn't. I am choosing me and I'm choosing to recognise that I deserve better than this."

"Don't you dare walk away from me." Drew hissed, grip tightening as I moved to stand.

"Get the hell off me." I shook my arm, attempting to free myself. "If you're so worried about your precious reputation, then I'm guessing you don't want to cause any more of a scene than you already have." I hissed back.

Whether he realised I was right, or was suddenly aware that he might be hurting me, he released me and instead followed me as I marched towards the exit.

The supportive looks from those around me spurred me on and fuelled the fire in me. It was terrifying and new and scary. I glanced back at the pitch, wishing I could somehow thank that impossibly hot stranger for helping me come to my senses.

A man like him probably had his pick of the ladies, but I still appreciated that he had taken the time to save me from the embarrassing situation I had found myself in. He would never know what he had done for me today.

By the time I reached the exit, the security guard was already opening the door for me. How many people had seen my humiliation and salvation? I didn't like to think about it.

"Nikki. Nik. Wait." Drew called, jogging to catch up as I made my way towards where I had parked.

Thank god I hadn't let him drive me here as we initially planned. I stopped so abruptly he nearly crashed straight into me. "What?"

"There's no need to be such a bitch. You're the one who cheated on me!" He threw back.

Ouch. There was a twinge of guilt in my chest. Whether we were on a break or not, it still felt a bit wrong that I had kissed someone else.

"We aren't together, so it isn't really cheating, but I am sorry all the same. Perhaps it's for the best that we stop trying to fight to fix something so obviously broken beyond repair. I can message you to check for a good time to come and get my things." I said as calmly as possible.

Drew's face was reddening by the minute as his anger grew. The more emotionless and reasonable I was, the more it seemed to trigger him. How had I never noticed how bad his temper was before?

Maybe because it hadn't taken long for me to realise that the best way to keep our relationship happy was to avoid setting him off.

"You think you are going to do any better than me?" Drew sneered. "Look at you!"

I swallowed down the hurt. "Goodbye Drew."

"You don't get to leave me. I'm the one who leaves people." He shot back, sounding more and more unhinged by the second.

I shook my head and turned to make my way between some parked cars to escape him.

"Look at the size of you. You're just disgusting." Drew made a gagging noise. "Is it any wonder I had to sleep around and drink, just so I could stomach coming home to you?"

I froze. It felt like ice water was flooding through my veins. I had suspected it before. Even gone looking for evidence of infidelity. But to hear him admit, a voice full of venom was almost more than my heart could bear. I had been strong until now. But now I was breaking, shattering like the trust I had in him.

Looking up to stop the tears from falling, I took a shaky breath and turned back to face him. At least any remaining guilt fell away and replaced itself with hurt.

"You liked my body well enough when it suited you and got you what you needed. I think perhaps you need to take a long hard look at yourself, Drew. How pathetic do you have to be to cheat on someone and then chase after them whilst insulting them? I don't know what I ever saw in you. You're a pretty shell on an awful excuse for a human being." I shook my head, and a tear slipped free, rolling down my cheek.

"Oh, the tears? How original." He rolled his eyes. "Maybe if you put half the effort you put into being the victim, into our relationship, it wouldn't have failed. How hard is it to just look after your body?"

There we go with him, circling back to my body. Had I been slimmer when we first met? Yes. Did that give him the right to treat me like this? Absolutely not.

"Maybe if you knew how to put anyone else first, instead of only prioritising your own wants and needs, then I would have wanted to put the effort in." I threw back.

He scrubbed a hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up in a way that made him look far less put together than he normally did. "You don't know the meaning of work. Taking a few little pictures isn't a 'real job'."

"Like you have any idea what my job is? You've never paid the slightest bit of attention to what I do unless it benefited you. You aren't worth another second of my time. God knows why I wasted so many tears and years on you. Good luck with the rest of your miserable, insignificant life."

His jaw dropped, and I realised that was probably the first and last time I'd ever blown up back at him. The temper I had worked so hard to keep in check finally let loose in glorious fashion.

This time, when I turned to walk away, he didn't try to stop me. I was just one car's length away from my little Fiat when he shouted something else I couldn't make out.

As I slid into the driver's seat, I spotted him weaving through the parked vehicles to reach me and immediately hit the button to lock the car.

"You'll regret this." He shouted, voice muffled by the glass.

That handsome face of his was glistening with sweat and screwed into a scowl. "No hun, I don't think I will." I replied, putting the car in gear and driving away.

He might have broken my heart, but I'd be damned if I let him have the last word, too.