The Forgotten Valentine's Day

She believed love meant giving equally, until Valentine’s Day revealed the truth: her boyfriend had taken her best friend to New Orleans. While she lay alone in the ER with a 104-degree fever, he stood by the river with her best friend, gently wiping her fingers and fastening the designer limited-edition necklace meant for her around someone else’s neck. She didn’t cry, didn’t confront him, and didn’t ask a single question. Instead, she quietly applied for a three-year overseas research program, sold the apartment, and left before he was even finished being st