Chapter 1

When I received the flowers that day, I had been genuinely happy.

I thought Audrey Levingston had finally come around and prepared a wedding anniversary surprise for me.

But the moment I opened the card tucked inside the bouquet, my smile froze.

[Thank you, Audrey, for going out of your way to perform surgery on my aunt. My entire family is deeply grateful. I picked out these flowers especially for you because I think they represent “us” perfectly. I hope you like them. —Ryan Ludlow]

My hand shook, and the bouquet slipped from my grasp and fell to the floor.

Three years ago, Dad fell seriously ill.

The doctor said he needed surgery immediately.

However, the medical facilities in our hometown were limited, and Dad was too weak to survive a long transfer to another hospital.

So, I begged Audrey to come home and perform the surgery herself.

Her answer had been simple.

“Our hospital doesn’t allow doctors to take outside cases. Work is work. I can’t break the rules because of a personal relationship.”

In the end, Dad died in the ambulance during the transfer.

It became the greatest regret of my life.

As I laid Dad to rest, I specifically chose black roses.

They symbolized everything I felt about him—the unpredictability of death and an enduring love.

But it turned out that there had never been anything unpredictable about it at all…

I had lost count of how many nights I woke from restless dreams. Each time, the memory of Dad’s graying hair as he lay dying left me quietly crying.

I kept telling myself not to resent Audrey, since everyone had principles they were determined to uphold.

It finally dawned on me that rules could be broken and principles set aside.

It was just that I, Luke Gatlin, was never worth making an exception for.

After ending my call with Evan, I stuffed the ribbons and balloons I had so carefully arranged into the trash.

Then, I opened a search engine and typed in: Silver Peak Highway road trip guide.

The images showed snow-capped mountains, endless grasslands, crystal-clear lakes, and a highway stretching all the way to the horizon.

Dad and I had once promised each other that, while we still had the chance, we would drive the Silver Peak Highway together with our cameras in hand.

After he passed away, Audrey tried to comfort me by promising that she would finish the journey Dad and I never got to complete.

But that year, Audrey had just become an attending physician. She was so busy that she barely had time to eat.

I could not bear watching Audrey suffer from stomach pain after constantly skipping meals while still reviewing patient records and writing research papers.

So, I closed my photography studio and left my career behind to become Dr. Levingston’s husband.

Despite winning a national photography award that year and receiving offers from several prestigious companies, with a promising future ahead of me, I still walked away from it all without looking back.

Audrey eventually became the youngest chief of cardiothoracic surgery, earning widespread recognition throughout the medical field.

I once believed that every sacrifice I made and everything I gave up for her had been worth it.

Looking back, I realized just how painfully ironic it all had been…

The sound of the door unlocking pulled me out of my thoughts.

Audrey was home.

She shrugged off her coat and glanced at the empty dining table, frowning.

“Where’s dinner?”

I kept my eyes fixed on the computer screen and did not look up.

“I didn’t feel like making anything. I’m tired.”

Her frown deepened.

“More tired than me after a day at work?”

Before I could reply, her phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID and answered it almost immediately.

“What’s wrong?”

A gentle male voice came from the other end of the line.

The tension on Audrey’s face eased immediately. A faint smile even tugged at the corners of her lips.

“Don’t worry. I’m on my way,” she said.

The voices of her coworkers drifted through the phone.

“Oh, Mr. Ludlow’s calling for backup again.”

“Hurry up, Dr. Levingston. Mr. Ludlow can’t hold out much longer.”

Laughter filled the background. The mood was light and playful, and everyone sounded like they were rooting for the two of them.

I was her legally married husband, yet somehow, I felt like an outsider.

After hanging up, Audrey slipped her coat back on.

“Was that Ryan?” I asked.

She froze for the briefest moment.

“One of his patients took a turn for the worse, and I’m the only one he could call. Someone’s life is on the line, so don’t overthink it.

With that, she turned and left.

I watched her walk away.

It reminded me of last week, when she had rushed out just as quickly, telling me she was leaving on a three-day business trip.

Only then did I realize it had never been a business trip.

She had traveled more than three hundred miles to perform surgery on Ryan’s aunt.

“Audrey,” I called after her.

She turned around. “What is it?”

I looked into her eyes and asked softly, “Do you remember what today is?”

Without hesitation, she answered, “June first?”

I smiled.

She really had forgotten.

It was our fifth wedding anniversary.

Thankfully, it would also be our last.

“It’s nothing.”

I looked away.

“Have a good day at work.”

Audrey studied me, as if she had sensed something was wrong.

After a moment of silence, she forced some words out. “I’ll come back as soon as I’m done. Do you want me to pick up a late-night snack?”

I shook my head. “No.”

I would never need her to do so again.

After Audrey left, I went alone to the restaurant I had booked a week earlier.

The room sparkled with light. Couples sat together all around me, while I was the only one dining alone.

“Sir, when will your guest be joining you?” the waiter asked.

I smiled faintly. “She won’t be coming.”

She never would again.

I called the dealership after dinner.

“I’d like to order an SUV. It needs to be capable of handling the Silver Peak Highway, and my budget is around eighty thousand dollars.”

The sales manager said they had a model that fit my needs, but it was in such high demand that they were out of stock. It would take a week to bring one in.

Seven days would be enough time for me to let go of the past and deal with the mess my marriage had become.

“I’ll take it. I’ll pick it up in a week.”

After ending the call, I opened my browser and continued searching for Silver Peak Highway road trip guides.

As I scrolled through photo after photo, the dream I had put on hold for five years slowly came back to life.

Not long after, Evan Chauncey called to tell me that the divorce agreement had been drafted and emailed to me.

I murmured in acknowledgment.

There was a long silence before he finally asked, “Luke, you loved her so much. Are you really able to let her go?”

I asked him in return, “Have you ever seen Audrey set aside her principles and go all in for someone?”

“No,” he admitted honestly.

“I have.”

I stared out at the vast darkness beyond the window, a bitter smile tugging at my lips.

“But it just wasn’t for me.”