"I won't! You're abandoning me for someone else. I won't allow it!" Pete Toby cried out.

Pete Toby wasn't making it any better, for which that young man calling himself a 'backup' really gnawed on his memory and fueled his frustration.

Zara Ozly returned his gaze with firm eyes. "Pete Toby, you were the first to abandon me. Just to make it plain-we're broken up. You have no say in who I see."

"But. you promised that if I stayed away from Michelle for a month, you'd forgive me," Pete Toby reminded her.

"Then come find me when you've actually done it," Zara Ozly said.

She reached for the door...