Chapter 5

Marielle didn't come home for an entire week.

Dorian still knew where she was. Elias posted practically every moment of their trip online: hot springs, the ocean, sunrise photographs with Marielle pressed close beside him.

In those pictures, Dorian saw a Marielle he barely recognized, one who could act like any woman in love. Just never with him.

He stopped studying the pictures. Whenever a new post appeared, he glanced at it and kept scrolling.

He had enough to do.

It took days to sort through everything they'd accumulated. He also visited his parents, Richard and Joanne, and told them he was joining a restricted research program. He warned them that they might not be able to contact him for long periods.

Richard stared at him. "But you're getting married soon. Are you planning to live apart from Marielle?"

Joanne took his hand. "Think carefully, sweetheart. It took so long for you two to get here. What if she refuses to let you go? What happens to the wedding?"

Dorian understood their concern.

They'd watched him spend years pursuing Marielle, and they knew she rarely returned his affection. Before he proposed, they'd gently urged him to reconsider. He'd insisted that given enough time, she would learn to love him openly. Eventually, they'd supported him.

Now they feared his career decision would push her away and leave him devastated.

They didn't know he was the one ending things.

"The wedding is canceled," he told them.

Both fell silent.

He didn't tell them about the pregnancy. The truth would hurt them too much. Instead, he said he'd realized he wanted to devote himself to scientific research.

His parents exchanged a long look. Finally, Richard sighed and patted his shoulder.

"As long as it's your decision, son. Just make sure you won't regret it."

When Dorian returned home, he called his childhood friend Griffin Muir to help throw out the boxes of unwanted belongings he'd packed. The living room was full of them. After several trips up and down the stairs, the place was almost bare.

Griffin looked around, shaking his head.

Only two months earlier, Dorian had dragged him out for drinks after the proposal, grinning all night and repeating that his greatest wish had finally come true.

"So you're really doing this?" Griffin asked. "I thought you were joking when you said the wedding was off. I've watched you chase Marielle for years. What happened?"

He tossed Dorian a beer and opened one himself.

Perhaps because he was about to leave, Dorian finally wanted to talk. He told Griffin everything that had happened over the last month, including the fact that Marielle was already pregnant with Elias's child.

Griffin swore.

"After everything you did for her? She goes and gets pregnant by another man before your wedding, then expects you to approve? What the hell is she thinking?"

Dorian shrugged with a bitter smile.

"She says Elias saved her life. Apparently that means she has to grant his every wish."

Griffin looked furious.

"But you saved her life too! What gives her the right to treat you this way?"

Dorian took a sip of beer and said nothing.

Maybe the explanation was simple. Marielle had never loved him.

It didn't matter anymore. Soon, he'd be gone.