In a small town where whispers traveled faster than the wind, Jenna found herself caught in a love triangle that had drawn sharp lines across her heart. It had been years since Emily, an ex-girlfriend of her now-partner Alex, had left a mark—both in their lives and on his heart. Jenna remembered the way Emily had graced every room she entered, draped in that unforgettable green dress. Alex had loved her once, and Jenna had always harbored a suspicion that Emily still lingered in his thoughts, a ghost haunting their relationship.

One evening, while cleaning up their small apartment, Jenna stumbled across an old photo of Alex and Emily together, smiling and carefree. Anger bubbled up within her, a cocktail of jealousy mixed with determination. She didn’t want to be just another chapter in his story, a side note to some idealized memory. So, with an impulsive stroke of a permanent marker, she drew an X across Emily's face in the picture. It was a bold statement, a proclamation that she was now part of this narrative, and that Emily was a thing of the past.

“I know he loved you a long time ago,” she mumbled to herself, but deep down, she felt a rush of pride in her declaration. “You were never good enough for him or anything like me.” The words echoed in her mind, a way to assert her position in this complicated love saga. She wasn’t jealous; she just wanted Emily to know that she was not a shadow, but the light in Alex's life now.

As days turned into weeks, Jenna noticed Emily's name pop up more often. Unwelcome phone calls reminiscing about old times, messages that made her skin crawl. Emily seemed to check in, wanting to know how Alex was doing, almost as if testing the waters of what she had lost. Emily’s presence felt like a lingering perfume that wouldn’t wash away, an indelible mark on Alex’s heart.

One night, after yet another incident where Emily had tried to reach out, Jenna confronted Alex. “You just need to keep it off the wall,” she warned, referring to the emotional clutter left by Emily. “She’ll never find all the pieces she shattered.”

But deep within, Jenna knew the stakes. She couldn’t change the past, but she could shape their future. So she vowed to draw her own marks: the love they shared, the laughter, and every moment they were building together. Each day, she added layers to their love, making it vibrant with her presence.

Still, the battle raged on in her heart. Each time she saw that unmistakable 'X' she had drawn, it reminded her of her purpose—to remind Emily of what she had broken. Jenna was determined that no more pieces of Alex would be lost to nostalgia again. She might not have signed the contract of their love in permanent marker—but she was ready to make her mark, bold and unapologetic, crafting a story where she was no longer a side character but the leading star in Alex’s life.