Chapter 2

2.

My hands were covered in tiny cuts. I bandaged them up and went back to our old place.

Since Evangeline regained her memory, she rarely came back here.

Everything she owned was still there―our photos, the ceramics we painted together.

The house looked the same, but the warmth was gone, replaced by a chilling silence.

A cheap, poorly made ring in the trash can caught my eye.

I had taken a day off work and spent hours crafting that ring the night she confessed her love to me.

She had been so emotional then, promising to treasure it forever.

Now, she had tossed it away like it was garbage.

I packed my bags and cleaned the house from top to bottom, removing every trace of her existence.

As I went to take out the trash, I saw a familiar car at the community gate.

Evangeline got out of Silas Sterling's car, and they shared a long, passionate kiss.

She clung to him, kissing his cheek and whispering something sweet.

"I'll miss you," she said playfully.

I stood in the corner, feeling like a filthy thief watching someone else's happiness.

When she turned and caught my eye, my first instinct was to run.

Evangeline walked inside and looked around the spotless house, looking pleased.

"You really were born for housework," she said.

I twitched my lips. For eight years, I had given up my dream job as a designer to work three part-time jobs just to support her.

I knew she was a neat freak, so I had kept every corner of our home perfect.

To her, all that sacrifice was just me doing what I was born to do.

But when she noticed that all her belongings were gone, her face twisted with rage.

"Where is my stuff?! Did you throw it all away?"

"Caleb, are you crazy? I bought those things! What right do you have to trash them?!"

I didn't understand why she was so angry. She was marrying Silas; she was never coming back here.

"I was just cleaning up," I said coldly.

She clenched her fists until her knuckles cracked, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"What is with this attitude?! Don't you dare act like―"

She stopped mid-sentence when she saw my hands, which were pale and still bleeding from the soak.

"How did you do that?" she asked, frowning.

She grabbed my hand roughly. "You don't even know how to put on a bandage! Come here!"

She found some ointment and forced me to sit down.

For a split second, she looked like the girl I fell in love with, and my heart ached.

I opened my mouth to ask if she was really getting engaged.

If she had lied, if she had given me any excuse, I probably would have believed her.

But then her phone rang.

The moment she heard the voice on the other end, her expression changed to one of panic.

"Silas, wait for me right there! I'm coming now!"

She didn't give me a chance to say a word. She dropped the ointment on my open wound and rushed out.

"I have something to do. Fix it yourself," she shouted over her shoulder.

She left without looking back once.

The sharp edge of the tube poked into my cut, making the pain even worse.