Chapter 8
A month had flown by since I’d escaped abroad.
This past month had been everything I’d dreamed of and more. My best friend Mindy was by my side, I had a stable job, and I’d even adopted the sweetest little cat – something I’d always wanted but never could have before.
My weekends were filled with shopping trips and nights out at bars, losing myself in the pulsing. lights of dance floors, enjoying the thrill of anonymous flirtations and the pure joy of freedom. It was everything my old life wasn’t.
Today, sunlight filtered through the courtyard’s leaves, creating dancing patterns on my skin as my cat purred contentedly in my lap. I ran my fingers through its soft fur, feeling a deep sense of peace. wash over me. This was what happiness felt like simple, pure, and completely mine.
Nolan had never let me have a cat. At first, I’d assumed he just didn’t like animals, but later I learned the truth: Skylar was allergic to cat fur. That revelation had stuck in my throat like a bitter pill, just one more reminder of how I’d always come second.
I was sitting there in my little slice of paradise, cat in lap, soaking in the rare moment of perfect. tranquility, when my world tilted on its axis. A familiar figure appeared at my door – Nolan, clutching a bouquet of flowers, looking like he’d stepped straight out of my past and into my carefully
constructed new life.
For a moment, I thought I was seeing things. I blinked hard, but he was still there, real as life. He looked awful – exhausted, desperate, his usually impeccable appearance showing signs of wear. “Lily, I finally found you.” His voice cracked, trembling with emotion I’d never heard from him before.
“This month without you has been hell. Please come back with me. I know I messed up. I know I took you for granted.” The words tumbled out of him, pleading.
“I don’t blame you for running from the wedding. We’ll have an even bigger, more beautiful ceremony. I want everyone to know you’re my wife – my real wife.” His voice rang with determination. and promises I’d heard too many times before.
I felt dizzy, almost disconnected from reality. This wasn’t the Nolan I knew the cold, distant man who’d kept me at arm’s length for seven years. This desperate, emotional person in front of me was
a stranger.
When I didn’t respond, he stepped forward, reaching for my hand. I instinctively backed away, clutching my cat closer, creating a barrier between us.
His face froze, hurt flashing across his features. His eyes fell to the cat in my arms, and something seemed to break inside him. “You always wanted a cat… why didn’t you ever tell me?”
I couldn’t help the bitter laugh that escaped my lips, my emotions a tangled mess of anger, pain, and something dangerously close to pity. “Nolan, I’ve made myself clear. Go home. I don’t want to see
you anymore.”
1/3
9:13AM Mon 17 Feb
08
His
eves rod
voice thick with emotion. “Lily, even criminals get a second chance. You won’t
even give me one? How is that fair?”
Fair? The word hit me like a slap. Fair? We’d spent seven years together, and all that time, his heart had belonged to Skylar. Where was the fairness in that? The irony of him speaking about fairness now was almost too much to bear.
Had he even considered if it was fair to me when he abandoned me on the street for Skylar?
A lump formed in my throat as I blinked hard, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. “Just go, Nolan. I told you already – I don’t love you anymore.”
Nolan shook his head desperately, thrusting the flowers toward me like a child offering his most precious possession. His eyes were filled with raw pleading. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t love me, Lily. This time, let me be the one to love you.”
I froze, staring at the vibrant roses in his hands. This was the first time Nolan had ever brought me flowers. Back then, he’d always dismissed such romantic gestures as beneath him. Yet here he was now, putting his whole heart into it.
Before I could refuse, Mindy appeared out of nowhere, positioning herself between us like a mama bear protecting her cub. Her eyes blazed with fury and suspicion.
“What are you doing here, Nolan?” she demanded.
“Haven’t you hurt Lily enough already? Let me make this crystal clear our Lily isn’t going back to you. You can forget about that right now.” Mindy’s voice rang with fierce determination, creating a protective shield around me against all the pain he’d caused.
Nolan’s mouth opened and closed, words forming on his lips, but Mindy was already pulling me
inside the house.
He called out from the doorway, his voice tinged with desperation: “Lily, I’m not giving up. I’ll prove
to you just how serious I am.”
“SLAM!” Mindy threw the door shut with all her might, her chest heaving with anger. “The nerve of that jerk! After everything he put you through, he has the audacity to show up here?” She turned to me, her expression fierce. “Lily, listen to me – you absolutely cannot let your guard down this time.” I nodded, my resolve crystal clear: “Don’t worry. After the way he treated me, I’d have to be crazy to fall for his act again.”
Through the window, I watched Nolan’s figure grow distant and blur.
I hugged my cat closer to my chest, my heart filling with hope for the future and a sense of peace about the past. Finally, I was ready to let go.
