A Lesson of Love

Chapter 5: Signs

The mere mention of Quincy wipes the genuine smile clean off Normani's face. If you'd ask Zuri to describe the moment, she'd probably say it was as though she brought up "45."

Punctuating her disdain, Normani scoffs. She's visibly appalled when she realizes that Zuri described them as "going strong." Noticing Zuri is sincerely off guard and clueless restrains Normani's fiery response.

"You clearly don't keep tabs on me."

It's true. Gone were the days when Zuri would lurk on Normani's social media. As beautiful as Normani was to look at, Zuri didn't see any benefit in keeping up with her. She had moved on with her life, and Zuri had needed to do the same.

"We've been broken up," Normani continues. "For two years now."

"And you were together for eight."

Normani blinks slowly.

"I'm just saying, that's a long time. What happened?"

This isn't a conversation Normani wants to have. It's pain-inducing. But not because of Quincy. Yes, he had gotten hurt, a fact that brought her zero pleasure, however, she knew in her heart that they needed to sever ties.

Quincy is the kind of man who looks good on paper. This engineer is a family man, respectful and kind, and had been committed to making Normani his since their middle school days. He also happens to literally look good.

Crushed was an understatement of how he felt when Normani ended things. They were deemed the perfect match and even considered a young power couple in the making due to their increasing success in their respective fields. Once Quincy started frequently expressing a desire to start a family and build generational wealth with Normani, she knew she had to get out. She liked his vision and ambition; he just wasn't the one she wanted to share it with.

"It wasn't a good fit." Normani shrugs.

Zuri isn't buying her nonchalance. "Did he hurt you? You can be honest." Even with their fallen out, the idea of Normani being mistreated and done dirty ticks her off.

"Nah." Normani shakes her head once. Her dry smile melts. "I hurt him." She watches as Zuri's eyebrows rise "Yep." The car comes to a stop, eliciting a small sigh from the executive. "Welp, here we are. I'm starving."

They thank Julian before going inside Ray's in the City, one of Atlanta's top restaurants. A friendly hostess ushers them to a table and provides their menus. Zuri waits until she leaves to get more details about Normani's breakup.

Normani notices the way she's gazing at her, all serious and concentrated. It feels nice to have Zuri giving her all this attention.

"So you hurt him?" Zuri picks up where they left off, earning a slow nod as Normani opens her menu.

"You know the song that says when a heart breaks, it don't break even?" Normani sets the menu down before focusing on the junior realtor. "Well, that's what happened with us. I didn't want to hurt him, it just played out that way."

"Why?"

"Because I don't love him. I'm not in love with him. Every day felt like I was living a lie."

Zuri frowns.

"That's why I had to get out," Normani says, noticing her expression.

"Was there someone else? For you."

That's when Normani smirks but averts her eyes, browsing the menu again. "Funny you ask that."

Zuri looks confused. "How's it funny?" When she doesn't get a response, she repeats her question with urging.