His Gift Was For Her, I Left

Chapter 5

With the doctor's okay, I went home on our seven-year anniversary.

First thing I did? Hit the kitchen.

Cooking was never my thing. Back when my family still had money, I was Daddy's little princess—never went anywhere near the kitchen. After we lost everything, I was too busy studying and working odd jobs.

But Dax said he wanted home-cooked meals. Said that's the only way he'd feel loved.

Said he was starved for love growing up.

Guess he wasn't lying after all.

I made his favorite barbecue ribs. Cooked that creamy chicken pasta he always raved about. Put together a whole table of everything he'd ever mentioned liking.

Only realized at the very end that I'd forgotten the most important part—the wine.

Opened the liquor cabinet and found it packed with all sorts of bottles. But the one thing missing? His go-to vodka. The one he always reached for.

Nowhere nearby carried it, so I drove all the way out to this vineyard on the outskirts.

And that's where I saw them. Dax and Rachel. Wrapped up in each other.

I stood there in the shadows, my nose stinging, swallowing past the lump in my throat.

A cold wind picked up. I looked up at the sky—dark, heavy clouds rolling in. The storm came out of nowhere. Kind of like my feelings.

Rain started hammering down, and the temperature dropped with it.

I huddled under an awning, shivering. Then a bolt of lightning split the sky, and the thunder that followed nearly knocked me off my feet.

My hands were shaking as I pulled out my phone and called him, trying to keep my voice steady. "Dax, it's thundering. I'm scared..."

There was a pause on his end. I could hear a girl's voice, faint, in the background. Then he came back, all tender and patient, like he was talking to a child. "Babe, it's okay. But this project's a big deal. I really can't leave. How about you put in your earplugs? Then you won't hear a thing."

I let out a soft okay.

He sounded relieved. "That's my girl."

I hung up and just crumpled, right there on the ground. All the emotions I'd been holding back for way too long finally broke through. I was shaking, sobbing, rain splashing in, fingers digging into my palms till they went white.