He Saved Romance for Her, I Rejected His Late Regret

I'm someone who constantly craves security. In a long-distance relationship, I needed daily updates, a "goodnight" before bed, and some trace of my existence on his social media. But Luke Brooks always claimed his job was highly confidential, making it inconvenient to share details. For two years, despite being in the same time zone, we were always separated by a single phrase: "Busy, talk later." I tried to initiate conversations. Hours later, he would reply with a terse, "Got it. In a meeting." On our third anniversary, I took time off and flew to his city, wanting to surprise him. He wasn't off work yet, so I used my spare key to enter his apartment. While tidying up the coffee table, I found a velvet box inside his coat's inner pocket. Opening it, I found a choker with a hand-engraved Pisces star chart pendant. I'm a Scorpio. I froze for a few seconds, then picked up the card tucked inside the lid. It was in Luke's handwriting, carefully written stroke by stroke: Happy 100th day, Sasha. I stood in the empty living room for a long time. It turned out Luke wasn't naturally cold and distant. He just reserved all his romance and thoughtfulness for someone else. ***** When the lock clicked, I had just put the velvet box back into Luke's coat pocket. He pushed the door open, pausing for a moment when he saw me. "What are you doing here?" There was no pleasant surprise, nor was there a warm embrace. Just a casual, detached question. Clutching the spare key tightly, I tried to keep my voice steady. "Today is our third anniversary, so I took some time off. Did you forget?" Luke glanced at his phone. "Things have been crazy lately, so I didn't keep track of the date. You should've told me before coming. I have plans tonight." I looked past his shoulder. A girl in a white sweater peeked out from behind him, holding a cake with a sweet smile. "Luke, aren't you going to introduce us?" Luke stepped aside. "This is Sasha Harrington, my friend. She just moved here and doesn't know her way around yet, so I'm showing her the neighborhood." She extended her hand toward me. "Hi, I always hear Luke talk about you. He says you're really clingy, and that you'll interrogate him if he takes more than a few minutes to answer your video calls." She spoke with an innocent tone, as if sharing a funny little anecdote. Instead of shaking her hand, I looked straight at Luke. "So she's Sasha?" His brow furrowed. "Did you go through my things?" "The box fell out of your coat pocket." "So you just opened it?" Luke snatched the coat away, his voice laced with accusation. "Jane, touching someone else's things without permission is incredibly rude." I stared at the pocket that rested right over his heart. "A Pisces star chart and 'Happy 100th day'... What does that mean?" Sasha's face flushed first. "Please don't misunderstand. It's just that I've been here for exactly a hundred days. Luke saw that I was struggling to sleep, so he gave me a necklace to cheer me up." "A hundred days is worth a custom-made gift, but our third anniversary isn't even worth remembering?" Luke fell silent for a couple of seconds before handing the velvet box to Sasha. "She's been emotionally unstable lately. Don't compare yourself to her." Sasha took the box and murmured, "Maybe you should give it to Jane instead. She seems to really like it." "She's a Scorpio. Why would I give it to her?" Luke set the cake on the coffee table for her, then turned back to me. "I promised to celebrate Sasha's 100th-day milestone tonight. Since you're here, you might as well join us." But there were only two sets of utensils on the table. On the cake, two fish were drawn snuggling close together, accompanied by a message: "Here's to our first hundred days." I stared at it for a moment, then pulled out my phone to cancel the reservation I had made for our anniversary. Seeing my screen, Luke's tone softened slightly. "I'll make it up to you another day, so stop throwing a tantrum. Sasha doesn't like a tense atmosphere." I nodded. "Sure, you two enjoy yourselves." I turned to grab my suitcase, but he grabbed my wrist. "Leaving right after you got here? Are you trying to make me chase after you again?" In all our past arguments, I would always stay whenever he held me back like this. But this time, I only stared at his hand. "Luke, I'm not throwing a fit. I'm just getting out of your way." His fingers stiffened, and a rare flicker of panic crossed his eyes as if he wanted to say something. Just then, Sasha noticed the shift in the room. Her face suddenly turned pale, and she clutched her chest, her breathing turning shallow and rapid. "Luke, I... I don't feel well again." Luke immediately let go of me and carried her to the sofa. "Look at me, take slow breaths. Don't worry, Sasha. I'm right here." I had begged for those words for three years. Yet he had never said them to me once. I dragged my suitcase toward the door, and Luke didn't even look up. "There are plenty of hotels nearby. Stay there for tonight. I'll come find you once Sasha stabilizes." Before the elevator doors closed, I saw him put the necklace around Sasha's neck. The pendant rested against her collarbone, shining with a blinding light. He leaned down to fasten the clasp, his movements as gentle and patient as if he were handling a priceless treasure.