Taking Back an Unrequited Love

Dominic left me behind.As the engine roared in the underground garage, I received a text message from him. "I'll be away for a while. Clear your things out of the house. I'll have someone change the locks in two weeks."I didn't reply. I silently cleared away all traces of myself from the mansion where I'd lived for five years.After a long while, my phone screen lit up again from a text. Dominic had probably met with the terrified Lily by now and was attempting to wrap up our ten-year relationship with some semblance of dignity."Call me if you need anything. We're still friends even if I couldn't commit to you."I had loved Dominic for ten years, only to be casually dismissed as a friend.…That torrential rain continued for two full days. Westbrook was drenched in the downpour, leaving everything feeling cold and clammy.I couldn't sleep and repeatedly got up in the middle of the night to click my lighter.The year I got together with Dominic, he was just a broke troublema

I still remember my second year with Dominic. A severe flu epidemic swept through Westbrook with a three percent mortality rate.I caught it immediately due to my weak immune system. Then, at my request and to protect others from infection, the school doctor had placed me in isolation.My eyes burned from the fever, making everything blurry. So I thought I was dreaming when I saw Dominic's face hovering above me.I clutched his hand and called to him with my raspy voice. "Dominic, I've missed you so much. Am I going to die without seeing you again?"I could only stay conscious for a few minutes each day. Dominic had never cried in front of me before. That day, though, he sobbed uncontrollably.This troublemaker had somehow found connections to get hired as a security guard at the school. He'd worked his way from Building A to Building C before finally finding me.I called Dominic an idiot for risking his life to care for someone as contagious as me. Even so, he wouldn't listen an

As Maxwell placed me back in the passenger seat, he stated flatly, "He didn't take proper care of you these past ten years."It wasn't a question—it was a statement of fact.I wanted to argue defiantly, but my nose stung with unshed tears, my resolve crumbling. The warm, soft feeling against my feet was like an addiction I couldn't quit. It made me want to burrow into Maxwell's embrace and have a good, long cry.The car broke through the curtain of rain, continuing to move forward.Seeing my reddened eyes, Maxwell said gently, "Ms. Ingram, the best way to forget the previous chapter is to begin the next one."I always acted on impulse when I was with Maxwell. The moment he finished speaking, I commanded, "Pull over somewhere."His hand on the steering wheel paused. Maxwell looked confused, but he still complied.I climbed over the center console the second he pulled the handbrake and straddled his lap. Maxwell tensed nervously, trying to lean back.The extra space he created on

I discovered something after my shower. Dominic and Lily's room was right next to mine.The Ingram residence wasn't particularly well-insulated for sound. I could hear passionate kissing from next door right after stepping out of the bathroom."Dominic, why haven't you thrown that lingerie away yet? Doesn't it disgust you?"Dominic pressed Lily's head against him but lowered his eyes. His entire demeanor turned icy cold."I just wanted to remind Violet how pathetic she looked begging beneath me. How could someone as weak as Maxwell possibly satisfy her? She's just latched onto the first man she could find to make me jealous."I found his words almost laughable. I had more class than to find another man just to make him jealous.Turning around, I collided with Maxwell's dark gaze. He had come to bring me hot milk.This time, however, was different. He silently placed the milk on the table and turned to leave.Maxwell had a habit of deliberately slowing his pace when he was angry

I knocked on the study door.Maxwell's frameless glasses perched on his nose. His gentle appearance had receded, revealing a sharp, unapproachable edge.After studying him briefly, I suddenly realized that my longtime impression of Maxwell as gentle, rigid, and rule-abiding might have been completely wrong."Maxwell, let me see your phone."He looked startled but handed it over without hesitation. My fingerprint could unlock it directly.As my fingers brushed the edge of the frame, I detected a faint smell of cigarettes. Maxwell had cleaned up all traces meticulously, except for the one photo of me in his gallery.Both Dominic and I were still dirt poor that year. After his leg was broken in a fight, I carried him all the way to the hospital.My white sneakers had turned yellow and were soaked through. My jeans were bulging, and my hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. One look at the photo would make anyone's heart ache.I looked just like how Lily appeared to me that day