Chapter 4
609 Words
"Do you like it?"
Sunday morning, Luke brought me the tiara I'd be wearing at our wedding.
He didn't come upstairs. Instead, he had me sit with him in his car.
"This is the tiara Empress Joséphine wore at her wedding. I remember you saying you loved it."
I looked at him. "You remembered wrong."
The one who loved Empress Joséphine wasn't me. It was Emily.
He gently pinched my cheek and sighed. "I'll never understand you women. You always have the weirdest obsessions. Oh, right. That wedding dress from last time didn't really suit you. Let's just give it to Emily. I already ordered you a new one. It should arrive in a couple of days."
Whatever Emily wanted, he always said yes.
The musical I'd been looking forward to for months. He skipped it because Emily had a fever.
The Colt pistol he'd given me for self-defense. The moment Emily said she liked it, it stopped being mine.
Now even our wedding dress was no exception.
I smiled faintly. "Okay."
Luke blinked in surprise. He clearly hadn't expected me to agree so easily.
"You've been different ever since you got hurt."
"Different how?"
"Whenever I brought up Emily before, you'd always pout and ask if I still loved you."
"We're getting married soon, aren't we?"
"...True."
He leaned in, trying to kiss me. I turned my head away.
"Thea?"
"You should go. Emily's waiting for you."
Her name really was his greatest weakness.
Luke glanced at his watch. His brows furrowed slightly. "Alright. I'll head over. If you need anything, call me."
Call him? When had he ever answered?
After I stepped out of the car, he started the engine. Seeing that I was still standing there, he rolled down the window.
"Anything else?"
I looked at him quietly. "No. I just wanted to watch you leave."
He smiled. "Go inside. It's cold. You'll have plenty of chances to look at me in the future."
I didn't move.
Luke didn't waste another second. He turned the steering wheel and drove away. The car became smaller and smaller until it disappeared from sight.
Funny, my heartbeat stayed calm and steady.
So this was it. It wasn't nearly as unbearable as I'd imagined.
My heart was stronger than I gave it credit for.
Strong enough to let him in.
Strong enough to let him out—forever.
*****
At noon, the airport terminal buzzed with travelers. I wheeled my suitcase through security.
A new notification popped up on social media. Emily had posted again.
The photo showed a delicate coffee cup. A perfect heart-shaped latte art floated on top. Part of a man's shirt cuff had slipped into the frame.
I recognized it instantly. It was Luke's favorite shirt.
Someone just has to make coffee for me himself. I can't stop him, no matter how hard I try.
This time, I didn't stay silent.
I tapped the comment box, typed one sentence and hit send.
Thea: [Hope you two cheating pieces of trash stay miserable together forever.]
The confirmation flashed across my screen. Instead of anger, I felt lighter than I had in years.
That was it.
The feeling of finally walking off a stage after performing in the same exhausting play for far too long.
My phone suddenly started vibrating nonstop. The caller ID: Emily.
I answered. But Luke's voice came through the speaker.
"Thea, why would you say something like that? Emily's crying because of you!"
An airport announcement echoed faintly in the background.
He went quiet for a second. Then his voice suddenly tightened.
"You're at the airport? Are you leaving on a business trip?"
- Writer
