He Forgot The Pad That Saved My Dignity And I Used It To End Us Chapter 01
The last thing I returned to Killian Thorne was a box of tampons.
When he saw it, he froze.
Beside him, Hazel Whitlock covered her mouth and laughed.
“Killian, has Selena completely lost it?” she giggled. “Who buys tampons for a guy?”
He didn’t answer.
He just frowned at me.
But had he really forgotten?
Freshman year of college.
A lecture hall packed with more than a hundred students.
The moment I stood up, I felt it.
When I turned around, there was a dark red stain spread across the back of my jeans.
The room exploded with laughter.
Whistles.
Mocking comments.
Every pair of eyes seemed glued to me.
And then Killian walked over.
Without a word, he shrugged off his varsity jacket and tossed it to me.
“Come on,” he said. “Tie it around your waist.”
Then the most popular guy on campus, the one who always carried himself like the world belonged to him, ignored every strange look he got and ran all the way to the campus convenience store.
He came back with the first box of tampons I’d ever used in my nineteen years of life.
Before that?
I’d gotten by with scraps of fabric my grandfather cut from old clothes.
My grandfather was the only family I had left.
To send me to college and afford a plane ticket from our tiny mountain town to the city, he’d sold the old hunting rifle that had been passed down through generations of our family.
It had belonged to my great-grandfather.
It had stayed by my grandfather’s side for most of his life, longer than I’d been alive.
During years when he couldn’t even afford health insurance, that rifle had been the last symbol of his pride and dignity.
Later, Killian became successful.
Wildly successful.
Money stopped being something he worried about.
Checks appeared whenever I needed something.
Designer dresses.
Luxury handbags.
Diamond jewelry.
Anything I wanted.
And yet, just before our wedding, he’d looked at me with cold indifference and said:
“We already got legally married at City Hall. The wedding ceremony itself is just a formality. Let Hazel have it.”
So I broke up with him.
He treated it like another one of my tantrums.
“Fine,” he’d said. “Then return everything I’ve ever given you. Every single thing.”
He thought I’d cry.
Throw a fit.
Beg him to change his mind.
I didn’t.
I made a list.
Item by item.
I checked everything.
And the very last thing on that list was this box of tampons.
I took his hand and gently placed it in his palm.
“Here. We’re even now.”
…
“Selena, are you serious?”
Hazel looked genuinely surprised for a moment before her smile returned.
“Killian, is Selena actually mad? I was only joking with her…”
Killian tightened his grip on the box, impatience flashing across his face.
“What exactly are you trying to do, Selena Miller?”
I didn’t answer.
Instead, I walked over to the old suitcase waiting by the door.
My grandfather had bought it when he took me to college.
It wasn’t a designer brand.
One of the wheels stuck sometimes, and the handle leaned slightly to one side.
Hazel lounged against the sofa, watching me pack with amusement.
“Wow, Selena. Is that suitcase an antique? Killian really never bought you a new one?”
“No need to worry about me.”
I zipped it shut.
“I made a list of everything you’ve ever given me. I checked every item. They’re all in those boxes over there. I already emailed you the inventory, Killian.”
He tossed the tampons onto the coffee table.
“Selena, are you done yet?”
“I am.”
I stood the suitcase upright.
“And now I’m leaving.”
He strode toward me and reached for my arm.
“Once you’ve calmed down, bring your stuff back. I won’t hold this against you.”
I stepped away before he could touch me.
“Killian. I’m not throwing a tantrum.”
For the first time, he hesitated.
Slowly, he lowered his hand.
I grabbed my suitcase and headed for the door.
The old wheels dragged noisily across the floor.
The sound echoed through the silent apartment.
“Selena.”
Killian’s voice came from behind me.
The last trace of patience had disappeared from his face.
“If you walk out that door today, don’t expect me to come begging you to come back.”
I pulled the door open.
“I know.”
As the door closed behind me, I heard Hazel speaking.
“Come on, Killian. Just give Selena some time to cool off.”
She paused.
“I know she’s upset because I’m having the wedding instead of her. How about this? I’ll make a sacrifice and let her be my maid of honor. I’m sure that’ll make her feel better.”
There was a brief silence.
Then Killian answered.
“Whatever you want.”
The elevator finally arrived.
I rolled my suitcase inside.
The truth was, it wasn’t heavy at all.
Everything I owned was inside.
A few old clothes.
Some photos of my grandfather and me.
A worn-out book with a broken spine.
A notebook from college.
Nothing more.
…
Five years.
I’d spent five years with Killian.
And everything that belonged to me fit inside a single carry-on suitcase.
When the elevator reached the lobby, I stepped outside.
My phone buzzed.
A text from Killian.
[Three days. I’ll give you three days to cool off. Then you come home.]
I didn’t reply.
Instead, I opened his contact information.
The pinned conversation with the little heart beside his name stared back at me.
I deleted the nickname.
Changed it back to the cold, impersonal:
[Killian Thorne.]
Then I closed the chat and opened the Greyhound app.
The next bus heading back to my hometown in the mountains left at seven o’clock that evening.
By the time it reached the station, it would be well past midnight.
I bought the ticket without a second thought.
Standing on the curb outside the apartment building, waiting for my ride, a sharp gust of wind cut through me.
Only then did I realize how cold I was.
March hadn’t fully surrendered to spring yet.
The wind still felt like knives against my skin.
I’d left in such a hurry that I’d only thrown on a thin jacket.
In moments like this, Killian always used to scowl and lecture me about taking better care of myself.
Then he’d take off his heavy wool coat and wrap it around me anyway.
That wouldn’t happen anymore.
I pulled my jacket tighter around my shoulders.
And honestly?
I didn’t need it to.
An Uber pulled up to the curb.
I loaded my suitcase into the back seat, climbed in, and gave the driver the address of the Greyhound terminal.
Exhaustion hit me all at once.
I closed my eyes.
The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror.
He quietly turned up the heat.
“You doing okay, miss?”
I nodded.
“I’m fine. Thanks. Could you drive a little faster? I don’t want to miss my bus.”
A few minutes later, my phone buzzed again.
This time it was Hazel.
[Selena, don’t be mad. Killian’s worried about you. Just come home once you’ve calmed down.]
Another message followed immediately.
[I know you’re upset that Killian gave me the wedding, so here’s a compromise. I’ve already talked to him. You can be my maid of honor.]
I stared at the screen for a long time.
Then I took a deep breath.
Exited the conversation.
And turned the screen off.
She wasn’t worth a single word of my time.
