The Gift He Gave Me Wasn’t Just Insulting—It Changed Everything I Thought I Knew About Him – Page 4

“Honestly,” she said, “I saw how he talked over you in meetings. I’m proud of you.”

Brandon started texting. Calling. Then texting again. No apologies. Just:

“You’re being rash.”
“Let’s be adults.”

I didn’t reply.

Then I got a handwritten letter.

From his sister.

The one who snorted.

She wrote:

“You were too good for him. I knew it the minute you helped our grandma fix her wig after chemo. I’m sorry.”

I’d almost forgotten. His grandmother had cried in the bathroom. I’d used tape and scissors from my purse. Five minutes. She’d hugged me so tightly.

I hadn’t thought anyone noticed. But she had.

A few days later, I donated the PS5 to a shelter for teen boys. They were ecstatic.

At the salon, my boss Maritza gave me extra shifts—and then, a surprise:

“I’m thinking of expanding. Want to run the new location?”

Me? I’d always thought of myself as just a worker. But she saw more.

Six months later, I was curling a bride’s hair at a luxury hotel downtown. Vendors everywhere. Big wedding energy.

Brandon’s mom walked in. She didn’t recognize me at first. But then our eyes locked.