Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

"Look at you, Roseanne, moving up in the world," the man sneered, his tone dripping with venom. "Jumping from one guy to another, quite the party girl, aren't you?"

His voice suddenly turned icy. "Who was that guy? What were you two doing upstairs?"

Roseanne's smile vanished as her hand throbbed in his tight grip. She tried to pull away, but he was using brute force.

The more she struggled, the tighter his grip became.

Roseanne shouted, "Murray, let go!"

Murray refused to let go. "Answer me first!"

Roseanne frowned, enduring the pain. "What's it to you?"

"As an ex-boyfriend, I think it's only fair I take an interest in my former girlfriend's love life, huh?"

A laugh escaped Roseanne, a hint of sarcasm in her gaze. "Oh, so you admit you're the ex-boyfriend. What brings you here, then?"

Murray got momentarily choked up. "Can't I just be passing by?"

parked the car here, blocking the alley? Didn't you see the road is narrow enough without your car clogging it up? Driving a fancy sports car doesn't give you the right to be inconsiderate. How's

Murray was silent.

that caused the

his reasons for showing up. After disposing of her trash, she turned to him. "Whether I see someone new, one or two, or even three or four guys, it's none of your business. We're over, Murray. You know

from here on out. And don't come to my place anymore. I

the same for Millie.

and she decided to break

frozen, unable to comprehend what

walked away, Murray felt panic for the first time. It seemed something he owned was slipping away,

didn't even look

"You've said that before..."

and downs, but Murray had never felt so uneasy

up" calmly as if

breakup was his idea.

at her

on the couch.