LOGINAs she finished the final stroke, a tear struck the page and blurred the name: Hannah Redfield.She handed me the divorce agreement.“I’m sorry.”I took it and left without looking back.Behind me, Cedric’s voice softened as he tried to comfort her.The weight that had been crushing my chest finally lifted. I felt lighter than I had in a long time. Even my uneven steps came more easily.That night, Hannah sat on the street corner outside the inn for hours.One of the guests took pity on her and asked me, “Leon, should we invite her inside to get out of the rain?”Aster Bay rarely saw rain. It was the first time it had rained since I arrived.I shook my head. “No.”Hannah waited outside the courtyard all night as darkness settled and gave way to dawn.I sat awake in my room the entire time.I remained there until she finally staggered away.Three times.She had abandoned me without hesitation three times.At the scene of the crash, on the operating table, and when she del
I watched until he disappeared around the corner, then finally looked away.What I had so confidently called love had been nothing more than a reckless gamble in which I staked everything.I had lost. Completely.It was my choice to place that bet, so the consequences were mine to bear. There was no one else to blame.Three days after she disappeared, Hannah returned to the courtyard of the inn.She had finally understood that the crash and everything that followed had pushed us beyond the point of no return.She asked me to meet her at a cafe and claimed that she was ready to sign the divorce papers.When I arrived, she and Cedric were already waiting.Cedric looked worn and defeated. When he noticed me watching him, he quickly schooled his expression and turned toward the window.When Hannah saw me frown, she immediately stepped in front of me. She said softly, “Leon, Cedric has something he wants to say to you.”When she saw the coldness and disgust in my face, she hurried
“You promised me forever too. Then, you fell for Cedric, and you couldn’t stop yourself from loving him. Isn’t that true? Hannah, you gave up on us first. You broke your promise first.”For Cedric, she had abandoned me at the scene of the crash without a second thought, leaving me with a permanent disability.Because of her, I had lost my chance to ever dance onstage again.She could not erase what had happened to my leg or everything I had endured by just saying casually that it was all in the past. The person who caused the pain got to say it was over.Those who had watched from the sidelines got to say the same.On the other hand, I was the one who had to live with it.I could never move past the terror of lying there helpless, knowing that I was about to die.The coldness she saw in my eyes seemed to break her. Hannah sank to the floor and began to sob, trying to stifle the sound.“I’m sorry, Leon. I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I never wanted this. I never thought the c
I placed the plain band beside my wedding ring and left the house without looking back.I said to myself, “Hannah, I’m letting you go. I’ll never love you again.”When my flight landed, the owner of the small inn where I would be staying was waiting outside the arrival hall.His face was deeply tanned. His eyes were bright and lively.When he saw me wheeling myself toward him, he hurried over and took my luggage.“Mr. Redfield, your room is ready. Just as you requested, it’s on the ground floor and has a private garden. I’ll take you there now.”The winter sun felt warm and gentle against my skin.After the bitter cold of the north, I fell in love with this southern city almost as soon as I stepped off the plane.Even the stiffness and pain in my lower leg began to ease in the warmth, drawing a contented sigh from me.The owner noticed me closing my eyes in relief and smiled with quiet local pride.“Aster Bay has a wonderful climate and plenty of great food. When your leg hea
“You can’t just decide to divorce me like this!”I lay impassively on the cold ground. The chill crept upward from my calves and sank deep into my bones, making every injury ache.When I showed no reaction, panic filled Hannah’s eyes.“I’ll end it with him, okay? I’ll cut him out of my life for good.”She pulled out her phone and deleted Cedric’s contact right in front of me.Then, she opened her photo gallery and began deleting their pictures one by one.Her finger hovered over each photo for a long moment before she could bring herself to delete it. The reluctance on her face was unmistakable.In the end, she forced herself to select every remaining photo and pressed Delete.Cedric’s eyes reddened with tears. He grabbed Hannah by the arm and demanded in disbelief, “You’re going to erase everything between us for him?”Hannah’s finger froze above the screen. She could not bring herself to look at him as she fought back tears.“Don’t blame me, and please don’t hate me. Cedric
The instant the crash happened, his was the name she called without hesitation.Outside my ward, she said it herself that she knew him better than anyone.The image of Hannah outside the car, crouched beside Cedric and sobbing over him, had become a recurring nightmare. Night after night, it kept me from sleeping.It took dose after dose of painkillers before I could sleep at all.I held Hannah’s gaze like a prisoner awaiting the final verdict, bracing for the words that would finish me.Her answer alone would decide whether our marriage lived or died.Hannah turned away. She could not meet my eyes and kept wiping the tears from her face.I said nothing. I simply waited.The silence stretched on until I began to think she would never answer. At last, she spoke in a hoarse voice.“Last year, while you were away at a dance workshop, I was coming off a night shift when I found Cedric injured. I saved him.”Her voice trembled, but each word struck with brutal precision.It hurt,







