Mag-log inSorevia City, Darmoria One of my wife's so-called friends practically shouted across the table, "So, you got knocked up by your side piece. What's the game plan?" Vanessa Joplin calmly set a plate of steak in front of me. "We always said if one of us cheated, we'd vanish from each other's lives for good," she said, all sugar-sweet. "I'm not letting that happen. So yeah—I've been careful. Once the baby's here, the only dad anyone'll see is Glen." After that, she signed that she'd love me forever—totally missing the red burn around my eyes. She didn't know I'd gotten my hearing back a week ago. Didn't know I already knew about the guy on the side. And she definitely didn't know I'd bought a ticket north. Seven days. Once the paperwork cleared, I'd be gone. No noise. No goodbye. Just erased.
view more"You've never hit me before. Never."That part was true. I'd never laid a hand on her.I'd always handled her like glass.Before this, if anyone even touched her wrong, I'd lose it.And now—I was the one who hit her."Look at you," I said. "You're acting insane. Who would want you like this?"She stiffened, then rushed toward me. "I'll change. I'll be normal again. Please—don't leave me."For a second, I had nothing.I just let out a tired sigh.Dora stepped up. "If he doesn't want you, why are you still harassing him? And anyway, he already has a new girlfriend. Hanging on is pointless."Vanessa snapped toward her, eyes turning sharp.Dora froze for half a second, swallowed, then lifted her chin. "What? Yeah. Me. That's right. So what?"Vanessa laughed, loud and cruel. "Do you even know who he is? He's my husband—""—He's Glen Gardner," Dora cut in, voice clear and steady. "And like I said, he's my boyfriend."The fire in Dora's eyes made me laugh before I could stop mys
She leaned in, face soft. "You chased me for three years back then. So now I'll chase you for ten. I'll wait until you forgive me. My love for you is real. I'll love you forever."My stomach turned.Maybe someone else could forgive a woman who got pregnant with another man's kid. Maybe someone else could play house after that.That person was never going to be me."I've said this already. If either of us chose betrayal, we'd disappear from each other's lives. Permanently. We're done. And right now, I'm teaching. Leave."She stared like I'd said nothing.She grabbed my arm. "It won't happen again. I swear. Let's go home. This place is brutal. You're a city guy—how are you even surviving out here?"She tried dragging me to the door.I shook her off and laughed. "Home? Which one—the place where you cheated through a wall? The house that was never mine? You keep saying you love me. When you were screwing him, did I cross your mind? What about what we promised back then?"She froze
Dora stood there, wearing a faint smile.Our eyes met, and for a second, my mind blanked.It wasn't love. Her gaze was just... clean. Like a lake you could fall into without realizing it.She shifted under my stare, shy. A light blush crept up her cheeks.I caught myself and smiled, a quiet apology.I was about to speak when she sat down beside me.She was close. Close enough that I caught a faint, clean scent drifting off her.She looked out at the lake and spoke. "This lake has a name—Willowmere. The older folks say if you make a wish here, it'll come true. To us, it's about belief."I paused. "What?"She smiled when she saw my face. "People here really respect this place. If the elders catch you tossing stones, they'll lecture you all day."I scratched my head, a little embarrassed. Watching her calm smile, the heaviness Vanessa left behind finally eased."I didn't know," I said. "I was irritated earlier. If I offended anything, I'm sorry."She waved it off. "You couldn'
This wasn't a school.It felt like a daycare barely holding together.For a second, I thought about quitting too.Then the feeling passed—and I stayed.Under their nervous stares, I walked up to the board, grabbed a piece of chalk, and wrote my name."My name is Glen Gardner. Glen works. Mr. Gardner works too. Glen means 'valley'—a place where people can live."I turned back to them."Starting today, I'm your teacher. So—what's my name?"I looked at them, keeping it encouraging.Learning wasn't the hard part. Fear was. That deep, beaten-down look you get after being turned away too many times.No one spoke. I didn't push. I just stood there, smiling.Then a small, dirt-smudged kid raised his hand, voice barely above a whisper."Your name is Glen Gardner. Glen means 'valley.' A valley is a low place between hills, where people can live."I nodded. "That's right."That was all it took."Mr. Gardner's name is Glen.""Glen means valley.""A valley is a low place between hi






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