Chapter 4

At dinner, Shane brought out a pot of rich, fragrant soup he'd spent hours preparing.

He carefully blew on each spoonful before feeding it to Aria.

“Have some more. It's good for you.”

His attention was entirely on her.

Across the table, I sat eating a bowl of plain, watery oatmeal that tasted like nothing.

After a few spoonfuls, Aria gently pushed his hand away and frowned.

“Shane, I can't eat any more...” she said breathlessly.

“Just a little more. Look how thin you've gotten.”

He was endlessly patient with her.

“I really can't.”

She started coughing softly, her eyes turning red.

Shane immediately began patting her back, his face full of concern and guilt.

“Okay, okay. No more. Don't force yourself. I don't want you choking.”

He set the bowl of soup aside without a second thought.

The same soup I wasn't even allowed to touch.

I lowered my eyes to the watery oatmeal in front of me.

Suddenly, I couldn't stomach another bite.

That night, my throat felt dry, and I coughed a few times. After everything I'd been through lately, I must have caught a slight cold.

Shane pushed open the bedroom door, looking furious.

“Can you keep it down?”

He kept his voice low, scolding me like a child.

“Aria just fell asleep. She's a light sleeper, and you're going to wake her up.”

I stared at him.

I didn't even have the energy to argue anymore.

Was my heartbeat too loud for his precious Aria, too?

Was I breathing too loudly?

My lack of reaction seemed to make him even angrier.

“Can't you be a little more considerate? You know how sick she is!”

He slammed the door behind him.

I sat alone in the darkness, too numb to cry.

So this was what it felt like when there was nothing left to break.

No overwhelming grief. No unbearable heartache.

Just emptiness.

Whatever tiny bit of hope I'd still been holding on to after ten years of marriage was finally gone.

His words had crushed the last of it.

Maybe that was for the best.

I wasn't hurting over him anymore.

There was still a little sadness left, though.

Not for Shane.

For the woman I'd once been.

The foolish woman who'd loved him with everything she had for ten whole years.

That version of me had died against the cold counter of that pawnshop.

She'd died a little more every time he took something from me as though he had every right to it.

From the room next door, I could faintly hear Shane speaking to Aria in that gentle voice of his.

Then came her soft laughter.

I reached down and touched my right hand, which still hadn't stopped aching.

Slowly, I dug my fingernails into my palm.

My chance came sooner than I'd expected.

Shane was so busy taking care of Aria, who couldn't stop coughing, that he forgot to lock my bedroom door when he went out to buy medicine.

I quietly pushed the door open.

The hallway was empty.

My heart beat steadily in my chest.

I wasn't afraid.

I'd never been more certain of what I needed to do.

Barefoot, I slipped out of the house without making a sound.

I followed the route I remembered until I reached that dark alley.

The pawnshop was still there.

Above the entrance, three words glowed faintly on the sign.

The Time Pawnshop.

I hid in the shadows beside the door and held my breath.

Just as I'd expected, Shane was inside.

I knew his silhouette better than anyone's.

Yet looking at him now, he seemed like a complete stranger.

He carefully took something out of his pocket and placed it on the cold bronze counter.

He had somehow taken my wedding band.

Then he did something that made my blood run cold.

He slipped his wedding band off his finger.

It caught the dim light as he held it up.

Without a moment's hesitation, he placed it on the counter.

“Our wedding rings” he said, his voice terrifyingly calm. “I want ten more years of life for her.”

I could almost hear the last piece of my heart shattering.

He was even willing to pawn our wedding ring.

Anything to keep Aria alive.

Ten years.

We'd spent ten years together, and to him, even the symbol of our marriage was something he could trade away.

Mr. Black picked up the rings.

A faint look of amusement crossed his gaunt face.

But instead of placing it on the scale, he slowly turned toward the entrance.

Toward the spot where I was hiding.

His eyes seemed to pierce straight through the darkness.

A strange smile spread across his pale lips.

“A transaction this large requires an exchange from both parties.”

Shane whipped around.

The moment he saw me, his expression darkened.

But Mr. Black wasn't looking at him anymore.

His eyes stayed fixed on mine.

When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, yet every word came through perfectly clearly.

“Now, what would you like to pawn of his?”