Chapter 2Worth Less Than a Coupon

The first time I introduced Adrian and Celeste, they could barely stand each other.

Adrian hated the way Celeste's family drained her financially and worried I'd get dragged into their mess.

Celeste heard how many women chased Adrian and immediately warned him that if he ever hurt me, she'd make him regret it.

I spent the entire evening keeping them from fighting.

Slowly, the hostility faded.

Celeste started saving Adrian a seat in our shared college lectures.

I was relieved that the two people closest to me had finally learned to get along.

Then everything changed.

Adrian began studying painting.

Celeste took modeling jobs on the side.

They connected almost instantly.

Our three-person group chat used to revolve around food, restaurants, and whatever new dish I wanted to try.

Gradually, it became a place for conversations about art that I could barely follow.

Adrian loved the restraint and quiet resonance of watercolor.

Celeste preferred the intensity and movement of oils.

They could debate for hours without noticing that I'd stopped speaking.

Eventually Adrian stopped spending weekends exploring restaurants with me.

He went to art exhibitions Celeste liked instead.

At amusement parks, he no longer rode the carousel with me.

He followed Celeste to the drop rides and haunted houses that made my stomach turn.

Even when he proposed, he didn't buy the diamond ring I'd saved to my wish list for months.

He chose a plain silver band.

Exactly Celeste's style.

A tear struck my phone screen.

The wallpaper behind the chat was one of Celeste's modeling portraits.

She was tall now, poised and effortlessly cool.

Nothing like the hunched, timid girl I'd met in college.

I thought about the admiration that appeared more and more often in Adrian's eyes when he looked at her.

And finally I understood.

I was groceries.

Phone bills.

Coupons.

Everything that should be kept practical and cheap.

Celeste was inspiration.

She was the thing worth spending wildly on.

While I was still crying, Adrian sent another message.

He said he'd be home late again and reminded me to lock the door before sleeping.

Once, I would have replied to a message like that with a dozen hearts and ridiculous stickers.

This time, I wiped my face and closed the chat.

Then I slid the plain silver wedding band I'd worn for five years off my finger and left it on the nightstand.

I picked up my bag and walked out.