The Breakup Dare

The day after I proposed to my fiancée, she sent me a message out of nowhere saying it was over. I called her over and over, frantic, but she hung up every time. I sent message after message, and she read every one without replying. I even went looking for her, but she was nowhere to be found.

It was not until I collapsed onto the couch, completely drained and white as a sheet, that I finally saw a new social media post from her childhood friend.

[Only Ellery would actually go through with it. She drew the dare to dump her fiancé cold—no explanation, nothing—and she really did it. Absolute legend!]

I read it, then replied to her message: [Got it.]

I had been with Ellery Whitfield for five years. Yesterday, I secretly gathered every friend and family member we had and proposed to her.

She was overwhelmed, and she said yes with tears brimming in her eyes. I posted photos of us, with our fingers intertwined, across every social media. Countless strangers flooded us with congratulations and well-wishes.

Just when I thought I had finally reached the finish line to my happily-ever-after, I received a message from her.

[Reid, we're breaking up.]

There was no warning and no reason.

At first, I thought Ellery was joking, so I played along: [Fine. If you want to break up, at least give me a reason. Are you seeing someone behind my back?]

I even attached an angry reaction meme when I sent it.

An hour passed, and the smile on my face slowly faded. Ellery, who always replied to me within seconds, did not reply this time, which meant she had been serious about the breakup message.

Panic set in, and I sent her message after message.

[Ellery, why aren't you answering me?]

[That was a joke, right?]

[Where are you?]

[Tell me where you are. I'll come find you. Let's talk.]

[You said yes to my proposal yesterday. And now you want to break up today? What did I do wrong? Just tell me. Tell me and I'll change, okay?]

The panic, the helpless tears… All of it broke me completely. I called Ellery more times than I could count, and every single call went unanswered, ringing until it cut off on its own.

I called her closest friends. I called our mutual friends. None of them knew where she was or what had happened. Every one of them told me to calm down, to wait a little longer, that it was probably just a joke.

Two more hours passed. I sat on the carpet, completely spent. My face was streaked with dried tears, and my phone screen was full of cracks. Every last bit of life had drained out of me.

My hand moved absently across the carpet and brushed against my phone. Then, out of nowhere, I heard Ellery's voice.

I was certain it was not a hallucination. In an instant, I came back to life and