Purr Ever After

When Anna Lowe, the cleaning lady, came to clean the house, she carefully approached me and asked, "Mrs. Summers, there was an unfinished bracelet hanging on the desk in the study, and I accidentally knocked it to the floor. Some of the beads spilled out. Would you like me to help you put it back together?"

I was stunned and instinctively asked, "Beads? A bracelet? We don't have anything like that in this house."

I was a pretty laid-back person who never showed interest in crafty things like that. Additionally, Lucian Summers had never given me any cute little trinkets. Besides, he was an active-duty soldier who had not taken leave yet.

Where on earth did this thing come from?

I could not help but wonder if someone had broken into our house.

Anna gestured for me to come take a look. Suspicious, I followed her into the study. There on the desk was indeed a bracelet with a lion charm.

The bracelet was a mess, its threads already snapping. The colors were mismatched, and the little accent beads were scattered everywhere.

I waved her off, saying, "Don't worry about it. Just keep doing your work."

I had just gotten a new phone and had not synced the home surveillance system yet. I sat in the study for a long time, then finally decided to insert the surveillance camera's memory card into my laptop.

The surveillance system was originally set up to keep an eye on our three cats. After scrolling through several days of footage, I finally found a familiar figure in the archives from three days ago: it was Lucian.

"Alright, got it. I know. I just got off the plane and came back to grab some clothes before coming to see you, so don't worry," he said into his phone as he walked through the door.

His tone was incredibly gentle, unlike anything I had ever heard from him. Yet, even with that tender voice, he still drove away one of the cats that came to greet him.

My heart sank in that instant. I had never received that phone call, and I did not even know he had come home.

So, where had Lucian gone, and who was he calling?

Lucian went into the study, then came out dragging his luggage and left again. There was no surveillance in the study, so that must have been when he dropped the bracelet.

On the monitor, the house returned to its deathly silence.

I opened my phone and logged into Lucian's shopping app. When I saw the long list of purchases, my head buzzed.

There was a lion charm bracelet, an electric kettle, skincare products, heating patches for cramps, clothes, jewelry, and bags.

Everything one could imagine was there.

I remembered that skincare brand because I had seen the same order on his shopping app a year ago. At the time, I had asked him who it was for.

Lucian had brushed me off casually, saying, "A friend asked me to buy it for them."

I had pressed him relentlessly, asking, "What kind of friend needs an active-duty soldier to buy things for them? Can't other people help out?"

He had impatiently dismissed all my questions. "Just a regular friend. I was doing them a favor. Stop being unreasonable."

It was already dusk, and I had not turned on the lights as I sat in the dim study for a long time. My body had not moved an inch, but my mind was in complete chaos.

Last Valentine's Day, there had been a trend online where people would tag their partner and have them make a bracelet. I thought those lion charm bracelets were absolutely adorable, so I forwarded the post to Lucian.

I even added a message.

[Honey, why don't we make one bracelet for each other?]

The message showed that it was seen, but he never replied.

When I was hanging out with my best friend, Serena Hayes, she showed off the bracelet her boyfriend had already made for her.

I said sadly, "Lucian saw it but never responded."

Serena grinned mischievously. "Maybe he's already made one and is planning to surprise you. Call him and ask!"

Encouraged by Serena, I called Lucian and put it on speaker so Serena could listen too.

On the other end, he replied impatiently, "What bracelet? You're way too old to be into that kind of stuff."

I felt hurt.

Serena could not stand it anymore and said, "What does age have to do with it? It's just a way of showing love."

Lucian snapped, saying, "Stop being dramatic. I'm busy. If it's nothing important, I'm hanging up."

Serena sighed and patted my hand. She did not say another word.

However, he was no longer afraid of trouble anymore. It was not that he hated the hassle; it was just that he had not found someone worth the trouble until now.

I barely touched my dinner that night. After sitting in silence for a long time, I finally texted my lawyer friend.

[Help me draft a divorce agreement.]

My friend quickly replied to me. [Are you sure? Military divorces are complicated.]

[Even if it's complicated, I'm doing it.]