“I needed more time to think, to make a decision.”
“Looks to me like you already made your decision,” I say, pointing at her laptop. “Why else would you be looking up flights? Without telling me!”
“I didn’t want to hurt you!” she cries out. “Besides, who says I’ll even get the job? Or that I would take it if I got it—”
“Why would you fly all the way over there for a job you don’t want?” I ask. “Ella, I know what this is. I’ve seen it before.”
“No, you haven’t!” she insists. “This is different, Gabe. We are different! Even if I did move to San Francisco—and I’m not saying I will—we could easily be a bi-coastal couple. You’re a goddamn billionaire for God’s sake! We could fly back and forth as much as we wanted to, and—”
“Ah, so now it’s okay to rely on my wealth? You’re fine with me throwing money at something if it supports your independence on a whim?”
She stares at me, deep anguish casting a dark shadow over her face, while her eyes begin to water.
“I didn’t say that,” she says in a whisper. “I just thought that—”
“Why would you even want to work for someone else?” I cut her off. “After I just got you a job at the governor’s office? A job that many people would kill for! A job that you said you loved!”
“Yes, I do love it! And I’m grateful for it, I really am! It’s a great opportunity,” she retorts. “But so is this job in San Francisco! You know I’ve been dreaming about working for the Environmental Protection Agency ever since I moved to California for my graduate degree! I just never thought I’d have a chance with them, and now it looks like I do! I have to try it, I just have to!”
She’s been trying to hold it back, her voice sounding constrained as she rambled on, but now that she’s done, a single tear is rolling down her left cheek. I hate seeing her cry, but it doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change the fact that she’s betraying me again— leaving me again.
“You don’t have to,” I say in a low voice. “You might do a lot better here, in the freaking capitol!”
“Yes, an opportunity that you provided,” she whispers, her lips quivering as she looks up to through teary eyes. “Gabe, you know how important this is to me. And you know how important it is for me to get there on my own.”
I release a dismissive growl, running my hand through my hair as I shake my head.
“Why, Ella? Everybody knows you’re strong, smart, capable and fucking brilliant at your job,” I tell her. “You’ve proven enough. No one will ever think less of you if you take advantage of the opportunity that was given to you. It’s not like you got the job because you’re my girlfriend— ”
“It’s not?” she interrupts me, narrowing her eyes when she takes a step closer to me. “It is, Gabe. You and I, we both know it, your secretary knows it, my roommate knows it.”
“No, it’s not,” I assert. “I would not have offered you that job if I didn’t think you were capable of it. We needed you and your expertise.”
Ella sighs and wipes away another tear, while shaking her head.
“I really want to believe that,” she utters. “But even if that’s true… I have to do this. I’m sorry you had to find out this way, I should have told you. But I really thought things would be different this time.”
“Yeah, so did I,” I growl.
“Gabe, I never meant to leave you.”
She tries to take my hand, but I pull away. I don’t want her to touch me. I don’t even want to be in the same room with her right now. She can keep telling herself these lies, but I know what’s going on. I was an idiot to believe that Ella Whitt would ever choose me over her need for independence.
“I don’t wanna hear it, Ella. I’m sick of your excuses, and your goddamn lies— ”
“I never lied to you!” she bursts out.
“Yes, you did! You let me believe things were different this time! You let me believe you were in it for real!”
“I am!” she shrieks, as another round of tears scrolls down her cheeks. “I want to be with you, Gabe! I love you! But I have to do this!”
We both freeze, and she stares at me as if she’d just made