He Saved His Vows for Another Woman

When I got home, the house was pitch black. As soon as I changed into my slippers, my phone rang—it was Shane Floyd's mother, Teresa Jenkins.

"Hey, Rachel. My husband and I went over the engagement dinner menu again. We think it'd be more appropriate to go for the set worth 2,688 dollars. What do you think?"

I pressed my lips together. "No need for that, Mrs. Floyd. The engagement dinner is off."

Teresa's shocked voice came through the phone. "It's off? Why? Did Shane call it off again? What is that brat up to?"

I took a deep breath. "Mrs. Floyd, he didn't call it off this time. I did."

Teresa didn't believe me. "After all these years, I don't know what else he could possibly be unhappy about? Just you wait. I'll ask him myself!"

With that, Teresa ended the call.

In less than 20 minutes, the door flew open. Shane strode in, looking at me like I was beneath him. "Why did you call off the engagement dinner?"

He seemed to be holding back his fury. "What are you throwing your tantrum for? You just left the cake behind at the class reunion earlier and walked out without a word. Do you have any idea how that makes me look?"

I rose to meet his gaze. "Shane, since you promised to wait for Amelia until she turned 30, then what have I been to you for the past seven years?"

His expression shifted, and pain flickered in his eyes. "But Amelia's already married."

I froze as Shane continued, "I promised I'd wait for her until she turned 30 years old, and I intend to keep that promise. Now that she's married, I finally got the answer I've been waiting for."

I was upset. "So, you've been waiting for seven years just for that answer? Shane, what have I been to you for the past seven years? Am I just your backup option? Or your safety net?"

Shane's brows furrowed. "Don't say stuff like that. I do have feelings for you. We've been together for seven years. You should know that.

"Besides, Amelia got married three years ago, but her husband doesn't treat her well. She's not doing… well at all."

I let out a laugh. I was laughing at how pathetic I was.

This time, Shane's voice softened. "Rachel, I already told my parents that you were just saying things in anger. Our engagement dinner will still go ahead as planned."

There was a calm certainty in his voice. "Rachel, we've been together for seven years. I know what matters most to you. Stop making a fuss, okay?"

I took a deep breath, but a sharp, unbearable pain rose in my chest. The heartbreak of being seen as a backup option and the real joys and pains of these past seven years were weighing heavily on my decision.

I recalled how Shane used to keep my hands warm in winter and how he would come home late after overtime and still bring me late-night snacks.

All of that was real, but it was also true that Shane had been waiting for another woman all this time.

With tears in my eyes, I was about to say something when his phone suddenly rang.

Shane's expression shifted, and his voice turned anxious. "Amelia? What's going on?"

I could hear Amelia's broken sobs through the phone.

Shane tightened his grip on his phone. "He hit you again? Where? How bad is it?"

He walked toward the door while saying, "Don't be scared. Find a place to hide and lock the door. I'm coming over to take care of this."

After ending the call, Shane got dressed and walked out of the house without looking back. He left so matter-of-factly that he never even noticed that from the moment he answered Amelia's call, he hadn't looked at me once.