I walked out of the hospital. Rain still fell.
Everything felt damp. It was so uncomfortable.
I pulled an umbrella from my bag and headed for the ride-share zone.

A car rolled to a stop beside me. Liam again.
"Sophie? Are you sick?"
"How pathetic you are, Liam! I told you to leave me alone."
Liam ignored the insult. He took my bag strap, tried to hold the umbrella for me.
My bag was open. The lab results were inside.
I gripped the strap tighter, raising my voice,

"Are you deaf? I said LEAVE!"
"Does your Vivian know that you come crawling back to me?"
"Playing both sides was fun?"
Liam froze. His knuckles whitened.

"Sophie," he rasped, "She's my dad's friend's daughter. She had a crush on me as a kid. She's way too young for me! I never liked her! That night... I was wasted—"
"So you kissed her? Was there roofies in her drink? Would you have died if you didn't kiss her?"
I cut him off coldly.
Liam swallowed. His eyes were red-rimmed.
"Sophie, I know... I know you demand absolute loyalty. I regret it. I was stupid. I was scared you'd be furious so I lied."
"Seeing you call off the wedding... it shattered me."
"Seeing the disgust in your eyes... watching you walk alone in the rain rather than let me drive you... it gutted me..."
"I can't forgive myself. What I did... the wrist... yes, I hoped you'd care. I gambled. I lost. You really left me."
"Sophie, we’d been together for nine years. I loved only you! Please... give me one chance."
"I can't live without you..."
Liam's voice broke. Tears streamed down his face.
My hatred only deepened.
He knew I demanded loyalty. He promised to be my rock.
Yet he then stabbed me in the back.
How could he not understand? Purity demands no tolerance for betrayal.
I watched his tears coldly,
"Liam. Do you know? I feel nothing watching you cry now."
"I told you to leave because seeing you reminds me of you kissing that night. It makes me sick."
"I didn't hunt Vivian down because you made the choice."
"I'm not arguing because there's nothing left to salvage. I refuse to waste more time or emotion on you."
"You should have known: I'm all in, or all out. Love is love. Hate is hate. There's no murky middle ground of 'forgiveness' or 'tolerance'."
"I can't tolerate it. I won't."
"Final warning: Stay away from me."
My Uber just arrived.
I pushed past Liam, folded my umbrella and got in.
The rearview mirror showed Liam standing in the rain, watching me disappear.