Chapter 2

2.

I remember when I first met Lucas. I had just been assigned to this rural town as a teacher, and he was in the Army, only coming home once a month.

It felt like fate. He started pursuing me almost immediately.

He even got his commanding officer to put in a good word for him.

Back then, he was wonderful to me.

Every time he came home on leave, he brought me stacks of high-end supplements and gifts from the base.

Those boxes were luxury items back then, usually reserved for major holidays.

But Lucas had given me ten of them just because.

Once, I collapsed from exhaustion at work.

When he found out, he took emergency leave and drove through the night to stay by my side at the hospital for days.

"Let me take care of you for the rest of your life," he had said awkwardly.

I believed him and said yes.

He applied for a marriage license multiple times, but due to administrative red tape, it never went through.

We lived together for years without that piece of paper.

Once he got promoted, he was home more often.

He was still a good man then. He did the chores and barely let me step into the kitchen.

He bought me books because he knew I loved to read.

Neighbors would mock him, asking what use a woman had for books.

He would laugh and defend me. "She likes them, so she gets them. I can afford a few books for my wife."

People called him the model husband of the neighborhood. Everyone envied me.

That happiness felt so real until Celia moved back after her divorce.

Then, it vanished without a trace.

I was packing Nancy's things when Lucas returned home.

He was humming a tune, a smile still lingering on his face from the photo session.

When he saw Nancy, he actually opened his arms.

"Come here, sweetie! Give Daddy a hug!"

Nancy recoiled and hid behind me. Lucas looked confused but didn't snap. He reached out to grab my waist.

"Packing already? No rush. The psychic said the auspicious day isn't for three days. Stay a bit longer before we go up the mountain."

I pulled away. He thought I was packing for the convent.

He had no idea I was packing to leave him forever.

"No need. I'm taking Nancy and leaving early," I said coldly.

Lucas sighed, his voice uncharacteristically tender as he looked at me.

"Don't be like that. Listen to me, wait a few more days."

"I know I was harsh earlier. I brought you guys a couple of little gifts to make up for it. Forgive me?"

He pulled out a cheap keychain and handed it to Nancy. "One for you and one for Mommy. Do you like it?"

My heart sank. I had seen those keychains at the studio.

They were free giveaways for the grand opening of the photography shop.

I thought he'd finally found a conscience, but he was just giving us trash he didn't want.

He pressed the keychain into my hand, looking for a reaction.

I tossed it onto the bed. "Keep your trash."

He had treated us like dirt for two lifetimes. A plastic keychain wasn't going to fix a damn thing.

Fury instantly flashed across his face.

"I try to do something nice and you throw it back in my face?!" he roared.

"Celia and Seraphina never treat me this way! And to think I was going to take you guys for a family portrait! Forget it! Get packed and get out to that mountain!"

He slammed the door and stormed out.

But this time, neither Nancy nor I cried. His anger didn't hurt us anymore.