The Mask Slips

 Lily had always been a free spirit. Her love for painting and her vivid imagination made her stand out in a world that often valued practicality over passion. Her art studio—a small, cozy room filled with vibrant canvases, jars of paintbrushes, and half-finished sketches—was her sanctuary. It was there she felt most herself, pouring her emotions onto blank surfaces and creating worlds that seemed to leap out of her mind.

When she met Jake, it felt like fate. He was charming, attentive, and seemed genuinely interested in his work. In the early days of their relationship, Jake would sit in her studio for hours, marveling at her talent and asking about the stories behind her pieces. He often told her how lucky he was to be with someone so creative. His admiration felt like the wind beneath her wings, and Lily believed she had found someone who truly understood her.

But things began to change after she turned down her first big deal.

At first, it was subtle. Jake would make offhand comments about her art.

 "Why do you always paint such abstract stuff?" he asked one evening, his tone light but his expression critical.

 "Wouldn't it be better to create something people can actually understand?"

Lily laughed it off, brushing it aside as a personal preference. But the comments didn't stop.

 "Maybe if you painted something more realistic, you'd sell more pieces," he said another time.

 "You know, something that actually has value."

Her chest tightened at those words, but she bit her tongue. Jake didn't mean harm, she told herself. He was just trying to help.

However, as weeks turned into months, his criticisms grew sharper and more frequent.

 "You spend so much time on this, and for what? " A few bucks here and there?" he scoffed one evening, tossing his latest invoice onto the table.

 "Maybe it's time to think about a real job."

Lily's heart sank. Painting was more than just a job; it was her identity. But Jake didn't seem to see that anymore.

His possessiveness also became more evident. At first, it seemed sweet how he wanted to spend so much time with her. But soon, it felt suffocating. Whenever Lily planned to meet her friends, Jake would make excuses to keep her home.

 "Why do you need to see them so often?" he asked one evening as she slipped on her shoes.

 "I thought we were supposed to spend time together. Isn't that what couples do?"

When she insisted on going, his mood darkened. He sulked for hours afterward, making her feel guilty for leaving. Over time, Lily found herself canceling plans to avoid the tension.

Lily had always been the type of person whose laughter lit up a room. Her friends adored her for her warmth, and her family relied on her as the glue that kept everyone connected. But lately, something has shifted. She was still there—attending gatherings, answering messages—but a part of her had started to withdraw, shrinking into the corners of her own life.

Jake was the reason.

Her family noticed the change.

 "Are you okay, sweetheart?" her mother asked during one of their rare phone calls.

 "You haven't been by in months."

 "I've just been busy," Lily lied, glancing over her shoulder to ensure Jake wasn't listening.

 When they first started dating, Jake's attentiveness felt intoxicating. He wanted to know everything about her—her favorite books, her childhood memories, her quirks. He would text her constantly, asking how her day was going, what she was eating, what she was thinking. At first, it felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket of care. But slowly, the blanket began to smother.

Her once-thriving social circle began to shrink. Invitations to dinners and gallery openings dwindled as her friends grew tired of her excuses. She felt trapped, like a bird whose wings had been clipped.

Jake's criticisms extended beyond her art. He began questioning her wardrobe, her choices in music, even the books she read.

 "That dress is too revealing," he said one evening as she got ready for an art opening.

 "You don't need to attract attention like that."

Lily stared at him, her chest tightening.

 "Jake, it's just a dress. I'm not doing this for anyone but myself."

But Jake's gaze didn't soften.

 "You're doing it for the wrong reasons."

Lily seriously didn't understand why Jake started acting up all of a sudden. 

It started small, as these things often do.

 "You don't really need to go out tonight, do you?" Jake asked one evening as Lily got ready to meet her friends for dinner.

Lily looked at him, confused.

 "Why wouldn't I? I haven't seen them in weeks."

Jake's smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

 "It's just… you've been so busy lately. I thought we could spend some time together. " You don't see them as much anymore, so what's one more night?"

The way he framed it—so gentle, so reasonable—made Lily pause. She felt a twinge of guilt. Jake was right; they hadn't had a lot of alone time lately. So, with a quick text to her friends, she canceled her plans.

Over the next few months, Jake's requests grew more frequent and less subtle.

 "Do you really need to visit your mom this weekend?" he asked one Saturday morning as Lily packed an overnight bag.

 "Jake, I haven't seen her in months," Lily replied, her frustration bubbling to the surface.

He sighed dramatically, running a hand through his hair.

 "I just feel like you're choosing them over me. We finally have a weekend to ourselves, and you're running off. It makes me feel like I'm not enough for you."

Lily froze. The guilt returned, heavy and suffocating.

 "That's not true," she said softly. "You are enough."

Jake smiled then, victorious, as she slowly unpacked her bag.

Jake kept acting up and Lily kept trying to make up something in her mind to defend the fact that she was being treated wrong for absolutely no reason, or reasons unknown to her.

 "Where have you been, Lily?" her best friend, Claire, asked over the phone one night.

 "We barely see you anymore."

 "I've just been busy," Lily lied, twirling the cord of the phone around her finger. She could hear Jake in the other room, pacing. He didn't like it when she spent too much time on the phone.

 "Busy with what? Jake?" Claire's voice was tinged with suspicion.

Lily bristled.

 "What's that supposed to mean?"

 "It means I'm worried about you," Claire said bluntly.

 "Ever since you moved in with him, it's like you're disappearing. You never come out anymore. You're always 'too busy.'"

Lily wanted to argue, to defend Jake, but the words stuck in her throat. Instead, she ended the call abruptly, her heart heavy.

Over time, Lily's world grew smaller and smaller. Her friends stopped calling as often, tired of being ignored or dismissed. Her family began to feel like strangers, their once-weekly calls reduced to sporadic texts. And all the while, Jake filled the space they left behind, his presence growing larger and more consuming.

 "You don't need anyone else," he would say, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

 "I'm all you need."

And for a while, Lily believed him.

Lily decided to ignore the new-found attitude Jake developed and poured herself into her work, using her frustration and heartbreak as fuel for her creativity. Her paintings became darker, more intense—a reflection of the storm brewing in her personal life, but Lily became fed up with everything after this scenario. 

One day, she received an email. A prominent gallery owner had seen her work online and wanted to feature her in an upcoming exhibition. It was the break she had been waiting for.

When she told Jake, his reaction was far from what she had hoped.

 "That's great, but are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked, his tone dripping with doubt.

 "What if they don't like your work? What if you embarrass yourself?"

Lily's excitement deflated.

 "Why can't you just be happy for me?"

 "I'm trying to protect you, Lily," he said, his voice softening.

 "I don't want to see you get hurt."

But Lily wasn't sure if Jake was protecting her—or himself.

 The night of the exhibition arrived, and Lily stood in the gallery, surrounded by her paintings and a crowd of strangers who marveled at her talent. For the first time in months, she felt alive, unburdened by Jake's criticisms.

Jake arrived late, his expression sour. As he walked through the gallery, his eyes scanned the room, searching for flaws. When he finally reached Lily, he pulled her aside.

 "These people don't care about you," he said in a low voice.

 "They're just here for the wine and free snacks."

Lily stared at him, her frustration bubbling over.

 "Why do you do this, Jake? Why do you always tear me down?"

 "I'm not tearing you down," he replied defensively.

 "I'm being honest. Someone has to be."

"Honest or cruel?" she shot back.

After the exhibition, they drove home in silence. She couldn't take it anymore, she was done with this, whatever*this* was.

 "What are you doing?" Jake asked as he watched Lily take out all her clothes from the wardrobe and start packing them in her box.

 "I'm leaving, I can't take whatever this is anymore," she simply said, trying her best to show no emotion.

 "Why?" Jake asked with so much fear and tension in his voice.

 "Why?" Lily repeated as she dropped the shirt in her hand.

 "Because I'm done enduring it, because I can't take you mentally draining me one more day, because I can't stay here being pitiful towards myself, because I'm done asking myself why the sudden change of character."

 "What do you mean?"

 "Don't do that Jake, don't fuckin do that!" she yelled with uncontrollable tears dripping down her cheeks.

 "Your possessive self, always making excuses when I decide to go somewhere or do something for myself. The sudden regular criticism of my career, my mode of dressing every fuckin thing. I'm done!"

 "Lily please.."

 "No!" she cuts him off.

 "I've been trying to understand the new you for a while now, but you've refused to open up to me, to tell me what's wrong with you, so don't do that now…it's too late" she blunted out as she zipped her box and started rowing it towards the door immediately, to Lily's surprise Jake crashed to her feet on his knees holding her waist

 "I'm sorry baby, please don't leave me."

 "Jake, please let go of me" Lily said as she tried to separate herself from him.

 "Okay fine. I'll tell you why I suddenly started acting up. I'll tell you everything." He quickly said, fighting the grip on her waist.

 "Please don't leave, give me a chance to explain myself"

Lily was really at it, but she very much still loves the guy kneeling down before her, pleading to be heard. 

 'Maybe just this last time' Lily thought to herself.