Chapter 3

A notification appeared almost immediately.

"Your cancellation request has been received. Confirmation will be completed shortly."

I locked my phone and went straight home.

Then I started packing.

The large house was filled with things Derek had given me over the years.

Jewelry, designer bags, custom dresses - more than I could ever have needed.

To be fair, Derek had not always treated me badly.

He planned our anniversaries carefully, kept track of my cycle so I never had to ask, and brought me warm food whenever I worked late.

Five years earlier, when my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, the cost of surgery kept me awake night after night.

Derek secretly arranged her transfer to a better hospital room and paid the medical expenses while pretending the support came through a charitable foundation.

Then Vanessa came back.

His love began to shift.

No.

Maybe shift was the wrong word.

Maybe it simply returned to where it had always wanted to be.

I shook away the memory.

From the bottom of the closet, I pulled out the suitcase I had brought with me seven years earlier.

That suitcase had carried everything I owned into this house.

Now it would carry everything I wanted out.

Packing took almost no time. I sat on the couch and waited for Derek to come home.

After seven years together, I wanted to say the words to his face, even if I was the one ending it.

I had no idea how long I waited before Derek finally returned.

"Elise, I brought you something. Come look."

He spoke to me while staring at his phone.

The smile around his eyes was tender.

But it was not meant for me.

I stayed where I was and opened the county portal to confirm that my civil-marriage appointment had been canceled.

When I did not run to him the way I usually did, he finally looked up.

"What are you doing? You don't even want your gift?"

He opened a jewelry box and lifted out a pink-diamond necklace.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

The stones flashed beautifully beneath the lights.

It was exactly the same necklace he had given me the previous week as a belated birthday present.

I turned my head away from his attempt to place it around my neck and said calmly, "You already gave me this necklace."

Derek froze, then awkwardly returned it to the box and looked at me as if he wanted to explain.

I sighed and finally began.

"Derek, we're breaking..."

A knock sounded before I could finish, and Derek moved toward the door with unusual enthusiasm.

Vanessa stood outside with a pink suitcase and smiled at both of us.

"I need somewhere to stay. I hope I'm not interrupting."

"You're not."

Derek took her suitcase and handed her a pair of slippers she apparently used often enough to keep here.

When he noticed me staring, he cleared his throat.

"Vanessa had the wedding today, so staying at her family home feels awkward. She'll be here for a few days."

For a second, I did not understand.

Then I realized that must have been what he had been trying to explain before.

The duplicate necklace had simply made him too embarrassed to bring it up.

I almost laughed at myself for imagining there had been anything more meaningful behind his hesitation.

"Fine. She can stay as long as she wants."

I would be gone tomorrow anyway.

My indifference seemed to unsettle Derek. After a long pause, he added, "Vanessa has back problems. The bed in our primary bedroom was custom-made for support, so let her use that room."

I stopped on my way toward the bedroom and looked at the door.

Inside, the room was still decorated for what had been meant to be our wedding night.

Red bedding, rose petals, decorations from the canceled celebration.

This morning it had looked festive and romantic.

Now the red was hard to look at, and none of it felt real.

"Fine."

I nodded, went inside, and rolled out my suitcase.

Derek stared at my back as I pulled it down the hallway and called after me.

I did not turn. "What?"

"...Get some rest."

"Okay."

I answered without interest and moved the suitcase into the guest room.

Then I opened a hotel app and tried to find somewhere else to spend the night.