On Our Anniversary, She Chose Him

Crystal Linley called the next morning.

She wanted to know why breakfast wasn't ready, why I hadn't been home waiting for her. "We agreed I'd explain everything to you. Are you even..."

I cut her off, my tone flat. "I'm busy. We'll talk later." Then I hung up.

She didn't take that well. My phone rang over and over until I finally put it on silent.

By the time I got home, it was already evening. The moment I opened the door, I could feel the storm waiting for me inside. Crystal sat on the couch, her face like thunder, one leg crossed over the other, glaring at me.

"Where were you?"

"Job hunting."

Her brow twitched at that. Then she waved a hand, as if she were doing me a favor by letting it go. "Fine, whatever. Go make dinner. I'm starving."

"I already ate."

Her head snapped up. She stared at me like she couldn't believe what she'd just heard. "Collin, what is that supposed to mean? What's with the tantrum?"

I looked back at her for a long moment, then shook my head, mimicking the falsely patient tone she liked to use on me. "I'm not throwing a tantrum."

Something about my tone must have thrown her off. A few seconds passed before the hostility finally drained out of her face, replaced by an expression she probably thought looked patient. "Luke just got back into the country. He's got no one, no friends, no family. I'm the only one he has."

I nodded and waited for her to go on.

Reading my silence as a good sign, Crystal relaxed against the couch cushions and went back to giving orders. "Good, you understand. Now go make dinner."

I hung up my coat and ignored her completely. "I already ate. I'm not cooking. If you're hungry, order takeout."

"Collin!" Her voice cracked with anger behind me.

I turned and looked at her, my expression cold enough to douse whatever fire she'd worked up.

Finally, she pulled a tin box out from beside her. A cruise line's logo was printed on the lid. At a glance, it looked like an elegant gift.

In reality, it was a promotional freebie handed out to cruise passengers. It had shown up on Luke Dillon's Instagram Story hours earlier, visible only to me.

I nodded, didn't take it, and thanked her politely anyway.

"Where's my ring?"

"I threw it away."

"Excuse me?"

Crystal's face went red with rage. I pointed at the trash can. "You didn't seem to want it, so I threw it out. It's probably already been collected. If you want a new one, I can send you the link and you can buy it yourself."

The response caught her completely off guard. Her eyes went wide, her lips moved without any sound coming out. For a second, she looked like she might fall apart.

I used to plan surprises for her, put real thought into her gifts, every holiday, every anniversary. She'd just gotten so used to it over the years that she stopped even noticing.

"If there's nothing else, I'm going to my room. It's been a long day. Try to keep it down tonight."

I left her there, losing her temper in the living room, and shut myself in my study.