ARIANA'S POV:
We were hanging out in the valleys of Switzerland.
We were staying at a hotel there and enjoying ourselves a lot, walking down the streets together.
"Let's get ice cream," he suggested.
"Sure…"
"One jalapeño chocolate ice cream and one fudge brownie ice cream…"
"Jalapeño chocolate ice cream???"
"Yeah. Isn't that your favorite?"
"Yeah, but how do you know…?"
"Your mother told me… you love it."
"Oh… yeah, she knows it…"
I don't tell everyone that I like this flavor because the people I've told think I'm weird. And now he knows too. Does that mean he also thinks his wife is a weirdo? Oh shit.
As we were eating ice cream, I saw my high school ex, Barney, sitting to the right, sipping coffee.
When he caught my stare, he came over to our table.
"Hi, Ariana… how are you? Long time no see…"
"Hi, Barney. I'm good. What about you?"
"Same… this…" pointing at Mykel.
"My husband, Mykel." I turned to him.
"Mykel, this is my high school ex, Barney."
They shook hands.
"Nice to meet you."
"Pleasure's mine."
"You're here… in Switzerland?"
"Yeah. I'm writing a documentary on nature's beauty, so I wanted to visit on my own and capture it with my own camera."
"Oh, that's great."
"What about you?"
"I'm here on vacation… honeymoon."
"Oh…"
"I know you love Switzerland. You always wanted to come here."
"Yeah…"
"Guess we're fulfilling our dreams now."
"Yep…"
He glanced at his wristwatch.
"Okay, see you guys later… I have some work right now."
"Sure…"
I turned to Mykel.
"We should also go back. It's getting late."
"Yeah, let's go."
As we were walking through the streets, he spoke up.
"Who's Barney?"
"My ex… like I told you."
"Was he nice?"
I hesitated, my steps slowing.
"He was… at first. He made me feel chosen. Safe."
I swallowed. "Then things changed."
"Changed how?"
I stopped walking.
"He loved me only when it was convenient."
My voice cracked slightly. "Only when he wanted something."
"What did he want?"
My fingers curled tightly around the edge of my coat. I couldn't look at him.
"My body," I whispered.
"Once he had it, I became… replaceable. Easy to leave."
Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating.
"I didn't understand it back then," I continued, forcing the words out.
"I kept asking myself what I did wrong, why I wasn't enough."
My chest tightened. "It took me years to realize he never loved me, he just desired me."
I finally glanced at Mykel, fear flickering in my eyes.
"I'm not proud of it," I said softly.
"But I won't lie to you."
I looked away again, ashamed, bracing myself for judgment.
He didn't said anything and we continued, walking to our hotel.
As we entered our hotel room, he got a call.
"I'll have to take this, it's from work. I'll be back in a while, okay? Don't worry, and lock the door."
"Okay…"