Chapter 5

On Saturday morning, I was out on the balcony planting flowers.

Amelia walked over.

“Nicholas, what are you doing?”

The floor was strewn with dirt and empty flowerpots.

“You’re awake? Come help me plant these flowers.”

“Sure. The sapling has been sitting here for days—what made you suddenly decide to plant it today?”

“Just a sudden whim. Will you stay and help me?”

“Of course!”

She rolled up her sleeves and held the flower sapling upright.

I stopped the trowel in my hand and looked at her intently.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Well, it’s been a long time, after all.”

“We’ll have plenty of time from now on.”

“Amelia, do you still remember what I said when I proposed to you three years ago?”

“I remember. How could I ever forget?”

“Can you answer me one more time today?”

With a face full of smiles, she stood up straight and agreed softly.

I patted the dirt off my hands and dropped down onto one knee.

“Amelia, I’ve imagined proposing to you in countless ways, but there’s never been a moment where I wanted to share my life with you more than this right now. I want to see you every morning when I open my eyes, and every night before I fall asleep.

“Amelia Rose Whitmore, I love you. Will you marry me?”

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

She turned to open the door, but stopped dead in her tracks in the living room.

“Wait for me to get back. I’ll give you my answer then.”

She opened the door—it was Austin.

He didn’t say a word, simply thrusting his medical records into Amelia’s hands.

She turned to look back at me, her expression brimming with guilt.

“I’m sorry, I can’t stay with you today.”

“Why?”

“I can’t let him go for his checkup alone.”

“Why can’t he go alone?”

“You don’t understand. His illness requires constant supervision.”

She washed the dirt off her hands, snatched her car keys, and turned to leave.

I called out to her.

“Aren’t you going to give me your answer?”

“We’re already married. The answer isn’t important anymore.”

“What about the flowers then? Are we still planting them?"

“Wait for me to come back, okay?”

Without waiting for my reply, her figure vanished from my sight.

We’re divorced.

And I don’t want to wait anymore.

I sat cross-legged on the floor.

I cleaned up all the dirt on the ground, including the black potting soil Austin had brought over.

I pulled the newly planted sapling straight out of the pot by its roots.

Finally, I tossed all of it directly into the trash can.

My phone screen lit up with a message from Amelia:

“Nicholas, don’t worry, I won’t disappear like I did three years ago. Wait for me to come home and cook dinner for you.”

I stared at that line of text for a very long time.

I pressed and held the message, then tapped delete.

Along with that, I added her to my block list, thoroughly clearing out every single trace of our shared past.

I made a phone call and hired a moving company.

In less than half an hour, the moving truck and workers arrived.

“Sir, which items need to be moved?”

“Everything.”

The television, refrigerator, and appliances filled up a third of the truck.

The furniture, sofa, and our marital bed took up another third.

As for whatever was left, none of it mattered anymore.

Over these three years, I was the one who had bought every single piece of furniture here.

If I were forced to abandon them for her sake, I simply couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I placed the court’s divorce decree on the table and left a written note:

“Amelia,

I’m leaving the apartment to you so you’ll always have a place of your own. But I’m taking everything inside the house with me. Also, I wish you and Austin a lifetime of happiness.”

I threw my backpack over my shoulder and walked out of the home without a single backward glance.

Downstairs, my RV was already waiting.

I started the engine.

Just as I accelerated, a familiar figure suddenly darted across the driveway.

The screech of slamming brakes pierced the air.

“Nicholas Bennett!”