Millie’s hands wouldn’t stop shaking as she yanked Cody’s phone from the charger under Sabrina’s bed.
Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard it actually hurt.
She hit the power button.
The screen lit up with that dumb motorcycle wallpaper from their road trip two months back.
Two bars of battery left.
“What the hell, Cody,” she whispered to the empty room.
Then it all clicked—the condom wrappers scattered on the floor, Sabrina giggling on her livestream about bringing home a “cute bartender” last night.
Cody hadn’t come home.
He’d said his phone died at the bar.
It wasn’t a coincidence.
Her chest burned like someone had poured acid down it.
She snatched the wrappers, stuffed the phone in her bag, and walked straight out of the bedroom.
Sabrina’s voice chased her down the hall, confused and high-pitched.
“Hey, wait! Are you done already? You didn’t even finish the closet—”
Millie didn’t slow down.
Didn’t look back.
She just kept moving, anger and shock pushing her legs forward.
Screw Sabrina.
She had bigger problems.
Outside on the sidewalk, she fumbled her phone out of her pocket and called Clara.
Her fingers felt thick and clumsy from the adrenaline rush.
“Mills?” Clara picked up on the first ring, her voice already worried.
“What’s going on? Sabrina’s still live, whining about some cleaner who bailed on her. The comments are ripping you to shreds. Why’d you leave? Was she that bad?”
Millie swallowed hard, trying to keep her voice from cracking.
“Cody cheated on me with Sabrina.” She stepped off the curb, dodging a guy on a bike who almost clipped her.
“What the fuck?” Clara’s voice shot up.
“Yeah.
You heard her stream, right?
Bragging about hooking up with a bartender last night?
Cody didn’t come home.
Said he left his phone at the bar.
I just found it plugged in under her bed.
Right next to more condom wrappers.”
“Oh shit,” Clara said, softer now.
“That’s messed up.”
“Small world, right?” Millie said.
The sarcasm came out weak, her voice breaking on the last word.
She pushed through the crowd on the sidewalk, people blurring past.
“I’m so sorry,” Clara said.
“You don’t deserve that crap. I’ve been telling you—he’s a loser. Dump his ass.”
Millie took a shaky breath.
I’ll call you later.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah.” Millie hung up and shoved the phone back in her pocket.
The walk home passed in a haze.
Sidewalks, horns, people talking on phones—it all faded to noise.
All she could think about was Cody’s phone.
The wrappers.
Sabrina’s smug little laugh on camera.
The way everything fit together was too perfect.
She slammed the apartment door open.
The cheap wood banged against the wall.
Cody was sprawled across the bed, snoring, one arm thrown over his eyes like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Seeing him there, peaceful and clueless, made her want to scream.
“Cody!” she yelled.
He jerked awake, blinking slowly.
“Millie? What’s up? What time is it?” His voice was thick and groggy, like she’d just interrupted the best nap of his life.
She didn’t answer with words.
She reached into her bag, pulled out his phone and the condom wrappers, and threw them at him.
They smacked his chest.
The wrappers slid onto the blanket.
Her eyes stung, but she clenched her jaw tight.
“You lying piece of shit,” she said.
Her voice cracked anyway.
Cody’s face went white.
He grabbed the phone, then the wrappers, eyes darting between them like he could make them disappear if he stared hard enough.
“Millie, wait, I can explain—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” she cut him off.
Her heart was pounding so loud she could hear it in her ears.
He scrambled off the bed and started pacing the tiny room.
“Millie, listen, I was trashed, okay? I didn’t even know what I was doing. I barely remember her.”
Millie’s stomach twisted.
“Sabrina,” she said.
“Her name’s Sabrina.
Don’t pretend she’s some random stranger.
She’s an influencer with half a million followers.”
“Fuck, Millie, I swear I didn’t know who she was.
I was so drunk I thought she was you.”
Millie let out a short, bitter laugh.
You were picturing me while you screwed her?
That’s your excuse?”
“Babe, please—”
“Don’t call me babe!” The word exploded out of her, filling the room.
“You think I’m dumb enough to buy that? You’re disgusting.” She stepped closer, fists balled at her sides.
“You left your phone at her place. Didn’t even try to hide it. What, too busy telling your buddies at the bar how you banged some influencer?”
He froze.
Mouth open, then closed.
No words came out.
“It wasn’t like that,” he said finally, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I didn’t mean for it to happen.”
“Yeah, well, it did,” she said.
“And I’m done cleaning up after you.”
Cody stared at her like the words were finally sinking in.
“Okay, I know it looks bad, but it didn’t mean anything.
I swear, Millie.
It was nothing.”
“Nothing?” She stepped closer again, hands trembling.
Every fight they’d ever had flashed through her head—every time she’d let him slide, every excuse she’d swallowed.
“You’ve always been like this, Cody.
I’m done.”
“Millie, come on… I let your one-night stand with that penthouse guy slide.
You could do the same for me.”
Millie stared at him, stunned.
He really thought that would work.
“That was over a year ago,” she snapped.
“Before I even knew you existed, you absolute asshole.” Her voice shook with rage.
“I knew you’d throw that in my face one day.
I just didn’t think you’d use it to defend cheating on me.”
“Well, it doesn’t change the fact that you slept with some random guy you just met.
He could’ve been married or something.”
She shook her head slowly.
Clara’s voice rang in her ears—those honest warnings she’d brushed off for months.
“Oh my god,” Millie said, her voice ice-cold now.
“Clara was right. You’re pathetic.”
She turned to the corner, grabbed the old suitcase with the broken zipper she’d been meaning to replace forever, and dragged it out.
“What, you’re leaving?” Cody’s tone sharpened.
“Where the hell are you gonna go, Millie? Your mom’s? She already told you not to come back, remember?”
The jab stung, but not the way he hoped.
It just made everything clearer.
Millie laughed—a dry, empty sound.
“God, Cody. That’s really all you care about? Who’s gonna pay half the rent if I walk out?”
His face went red.
She’d hit the nail on the head.
He hadn’t said sorry once—not for hurting her, not for them.
Just panic about his own wallet.
She started throwing clothes into the suitcase—jeans, a couple of T-shirts, whatever she could grab fast.
Her hands shook the whole time, but she didn’t slow down.
She was done letting him drag her down.