Chapter 4

I started packing my things.

I didn't cry or make a scene. The clothes he had bought for me went back into the closet, neatly folded. The clothes I had bought myself went into my suitcase.

In the study, I covered the art supplies he had given me with a dust-resistant cloth. In the living room, I slowly erased every trace of myself.

When Ashton came home, this was the scene he saw.

He had waited at the airport for three days without seeing his beloved Mel. He looked haggard and disheveled. He hadn't shaved, and his eyes were bloodshot.

When he saw me zipping up my suitcase, he froze.

"What are you doing?" he asked hoarsely.

I didn't answer. I bent down to move the monstera from the coffee table to the floor. Then, I took off the engagement ring on my finger.

It was a pink diamond ring. He had put it on my finger himself when he proposed.

He had said, "Shay, marry me and let me take care of you for the rest of our lives."

I placed the ring and the keys side by side in the center of the coffee table.

"Shayna, I'm talking to you! Why are you throwing a tantrum again? What are you upset about now?" Ashton raised his voice as he strode over and grabbed my wrist.

I looked up at him and said, "Ashton, I'm not throwing a tantrum."

He froze for a moment before letting go of my wrist. He rubbed his temples and softened his tone.

"Fine. I admit I wasn't very nice to you the other day." He pulled a card from his wallet and stuffed it into my hand. "I'll double your allowance this month. Put the ring back on and stop making a fuss."

He was throwing money at me again.

In an even and calm voice, I said, "That day, my appendix burst. I almost died."

His hand immediately went slack. Panic flashed across his face, but he quickly suppressed it.

"Was it serious?"

"The doctor said I wouldn't have made it if I'd arrived even a minute later."

His lips moved. "I'm sor..."

I pushed the card, ring, and keys back toward him. "Stop. You don't need to apologize, and I don't plan on forgiving you."

I grabbed my suitcase and turned toward the door.

He wrapped his arms around me from behind and held me tightly. "Shay, listen to me. I had something really important to take care of that day..."

"I know," I said calmly, "Mel was going to break up with you."

His entire body went rigid as he stammered, "H-How... How did you know?"

I pried his hands off me, turned around, and smiled at him. "I've always known."

He took half a step back. All the color drained from his face.

Then, his expression shifted. The panic disappeared, and it was replaced by the cold indifference he used at the negotiating table to crush his opponents.

"You investigated me?"

"That doesn't matter." I picked up my suitcase. "We're done. The wedding is canceled."

His voice came from behind me. "Shayna, are you sure about this?"

I didn't stop.

"What can you do on your own? Draw? Will what you make in a month even cover your rent?"

My hand tightened around the suitcase handle.

"Once you walk out that door, no one will be there to bail you out."

I opened the door.

"You'll regret this."

The hallway was silent. I dragged my suitcase toward the elevator without looking back.