His innocent enthusiasm struck a chord in me and for a moment, I remembered who I used to be—before the years with Mark had worn me down. Before I had stopped believing in myself. I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could say a word, I heard Mark’s furious voice behind me.
"Get away from her!"
I barely had time to react before Mark barreled into the boy, shoving him aside so hard he nearly fell. The camera hit the ground with a loud crack, the lens shattering into pieces.
"What the hell are you doing?!" I screamed, rushing forward, but Mark wasn’t listening. His fists were clenched, his entire body trembling with rage. The boy scrambled to his feet, glaring at Mark as he dusted himself off.
"Are you insane?" the boy shouted, pushing Mark back. "I didn’t do anything to her!"
Mark ignored him, his attention solely on me. His eyes burned with a mix of jealousy and something darker, something twisted. He grabbed me roughly, his hand gripping my arm so hard it hurt.
"Is this what you’re doing now?" he hissed, his face inches from mine. "You leave me and within days, you’re running around with some boy who looks barely out of school? Is this who you are, Jane?"
"Let go of me!" I struggled to free myself, but his grip only tightened. "He’s just a photographer! You don’t get to accuse me of anything after what you’ve done!"
He sneered, his eyes flicking to the boy, then back to me. "I’ve done? You think what I did compares to this? To you parading around with someone else?"
Before I could respond, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face. The sound echoed in the street and for a moment, everything was still. Mark’s face snapped to the side, his cheek red and swelling. He turned back to me slowly, disbelief in his eyes.
"Don’t you dare," I said, my voice trembling with anger, "don’t you dare accuse me of the things you’ve done. He was doing his job, nothing more. But you—" I pointed at him, my finger shaking. "You’re the one who broke this. You’re the one who destroyed everything we had."
Mark’s eyes darkened as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. He threw it at the boy, the bills scattering across the sidewalk. "Here. Take this and get lost. And don’t ever come near her again."
The boy stood frozen, his fists clenched, but I stepped between them before things could escalate further.