The autumn air should have been refreshing, but Aiden Schols could barely breathe as he sat across from Jessica at the campus café. Students chattered around them, oblivious to the execution about to take place.
"I can't do this anymore," Jessica said, not even looking up from her phone. Her perfectly manicured nails tapped against the screen as she typed. Probably texting the guy she'd actually be meeting later.
"Can't do what?" Aiden asked, though dread already pooled in his stomach.
"This." She gestured vaguely between them, finally meeting his eyes. "Us. You're... Aiden, you're a great guy, but I need more."
"More?" The word came out strangled.
Jessica sighed dramatically, loud enough that nearby tables glanced over. "I need someone who can actually take me places. Do things. You work two jobs just to afford ramen, for God's sake. I'm tired of splitting dollar menu items and pretending it's romantic."
Heat flooded Aiden's face as conversations around them quieted. People were definitely listening now.
"I'm working toward something," he said quietly. "My degree, a better future—"
"Future?" Jessica laughed, sharp and cruel. "Aiden, look around. Half these guys have trust funds. The other half have ambition. You have debt and delusions." She stood, slinging her designer purse over her shoulder. "I'm dating Marcus Chen now. He understands what a woman needs."
Marcus. The business major who drove a BMW his parents bought.
"I thought you wanted someone real," Aiden managed.
"I wanted someone who could afford to take me to a real restaurant." Jessica's voice carried across the café. "You're too poor for me, Aiden. You've always been too poor."
She walked out, heels clicking against the tile floor. Aiden sat frozen as whispers erupted around him. Phones were out now, probably already posting about the public dumping they'd witnessed.
A barista looked at him with pity. Somehow that was worse than the laughs.
Aiden grabbed his battered backpack and walked out into the October afternoon, Jessica's words echoing in his mind. Too poor. Too poor. Too poor.
He'd never felt smaller in his life.