Chapter 5

On Saturday morning, I was planting flowers on the balcony.

Orion walked over.

“Yvette, what are you doing?”

The floor was full of soil, and the flowerpot was empty.

“You’re awake? Come plant flowers with me.”

“All right. You left the seedlings there for days. Why did you suddenly want to plant them?”

“I just felt like it. Will you help me?”

“I will!”

He rolled up his sleeves and took the shovel from my hand.

I held the seedlings steady and watched him closely.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing. It’s just been a long time since we last saw each other.”

“We’ll have plenty of time in the future.”

“Orion, do you still remember what you said when you proposed to me three years ago?”

“Of course I remember. How could I forget?”

“Could you say it again today?”

He clapped the dirt off his hands and looked at me affectionately.

“Sure.

“Yvette, I once imagined many ways to propose to you, but none of them ever accurately conveyed how you make me feel. I want to wake up every day and see you, and when I close my eyes, you’d still be there.

“Yvette, I love you. Will you marry me?”

The doorbell rang.

He stood up and went to open the door, then stopped when he reached the living room.

“I’m still waiting for your answer.”

The door opened. It was Natalie.

She did not say anything. She simply placed a medical report into Orion’s hands.

He turned to look at me.

“Sorry, I can’t stay with you today.”

“Why?”

“I can’t let her go for her checkup alone.”

“Why can’t she go alone?”

“You don’t understand. Her condition means she can’t be left alone.”

He washed the soil off his hands, grabbed the car keys, and turned to leave.

I called out to him.

“What about the answer? Don’t you want it anymore?”

“We’re already married. The answer doesn’t matter anymore.”

“What about the flowers? Are we still planting them?”

“Wait for me, all right?”

Without waiting for my response, he left, and his figure disappeared from my sight.

“We’re divorced.

“I’m done waiting.”

I sat on the floor with my legs crossed.

I cleaned the soil on the floor. I also cleaned the black soil that Natalie had brought.

I pulled out the small seedlings that had already been planted in the flowerpot.

I threw them all into the trash bin.

My phone lit up. It was Orion.

[Yvette, don’t worry. I won’t be like I was three years ago. Wait for me at home. I’ll cook for you.]

I stared at the message for a long time.

Then, I deleted it.

I blocked him as well.

I cleared everything between us.

I called a moving company.

The truck arrived in less than half an hour. The workers arrived too.

“Miss, what do we need to move?”

“Everything.”

The TV, the fridge, and other appliances filled one third of the space.

The furniture, the couch, and the wedding bed filled another third.

The rest no longer mattered.

I had bought all of these things over the past three years.

I did not want to give them up. I also could not keep them.

I placed the divorce judgment on the table.

I left a note.

[Orion, you bought the house. I won’t take it. I bought everything else inside. I’m not leaving it for you. I wish you and Natalie happiness.]

I packed my bag and left the house without looking back.

My caravan was already waiting downstairs.

The car started.

A familiar figure appeared in the distance.

The sound of sharp brakes cut through the air.

“Yvette!”