I shook my head, saying nothing, holding Daniel’s hand tight. We’d relied on each other as children, fallen in love as teenagers, and now we were finally husband and wife. Nothing else mattered. I was with the man I loved.
Ethan left the ring with Olivia for me. She scoffed. “He finally buys a ring, and it’s too late.” Olivia never liked Ethan much, and she’d never approved of our relationship, though she couldn’t do anything about it. Ethan was
generous with me, showering me with
necklaces, bracelets, earrings, brooches…
everything but a ring.
Once, during dinner, Olivia had jokingly asked
him when he was going to give me one. He’d
made a phone call, and a few minutes later, his
driver delivered an emerald necklace. Olivia was
furious. “I said a ring, Ethan! After all these
years, she doesn’t deserve a ring?”
Ethan had draped his arm over my chair, a
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possessive gesture. He crossed his legs,
smirking. “She’ll get one eventually. What’s the rush?” He tilted my chin up, smiling. “I’ll give you a ring. Within ten years.”
I’d smiled, saying nothing, thinking of Daniel. Daniel wouldn’t make flippant promises. Even with the same face, they were different people. After that dinner, I tried to distance myself from Ethan. I ignored his calls and texts, changed my locks, stopped going to his place. But a few days later, his ulcers flared up. He sent me a video call, his face pale and drawn. I was reminded of Daniel before he disappeared, how exhausted he’d looked. I couldn’t help myself. Despite Olivia’s exasperated sighs, I went to
him.
His apartment was littered with empty bottles. He’d clearly been drinking heavily during the
week I’d avoided him. I sighed, cleaning up,
making him porridge, doing his laundry, cutting
up apples, nursing him back to health. He’d
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taken my hand. “Don’t avoid me, Avery. I’m
serious. I’ll get you a ring within ten years.” He
made a gesture with his fingers. “A huge rock.”
I laughed. “Why not now?”
He went quiet. After a while, he said quietly, “I
have some unfinished business to take care of.”
He pulled me down beside him, holding me
close. “Avery, I’m serious. Wait for me. Ten
years.”
I looked at his face, saying nothing. He held me
tighter, as if afraid I’d disappear. “So, it’s
settled then. Ten years.”
I rested my head against his chest, listening to
his heartbeat. Heartbeats didn’t lie.
Ten years later, on my wedding night, Daniel
and I barely slept. The next morning, while he
was still asleep, I blushed as I went downstairs
to dispose of the evidence of our passionate
<
night. Ethan was standing by his Ferrari. He had
stubble on his chin, his eyes bloodshot, the
ground around him littered with cigarette butts.
He’d been there a while. He glanced at the
clear plastic bag in my hand and looked away,
his voice raspy. “I waited all night, Avery.
Watched your lights go out.”
The usual arrogance was gone. His eyes
avoided the bag, but not the red marks on my
neck. The proud Ethan, the rich kid, looked like
he’d lost his most prized possession, his eyes
welling up. “Avery, I’m sick. I feel awful.”
If he’d said that before, I would have dropped
everything to take care of him. Cooked for him,
cut up apples, given him medicine, checked his
temperature. Now, all I could say was, “Go buy
some medicine.”
He swayed, tears spilling down his cheeks. He
didn’t bother to wipe them, just stared at me.
Ethan’s family was wealthy, and afraid he’d be
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kidnapped, they’d enrolled him in self–defense
classes from a young age. He prided himself on
being tough, despite being a spoiled only child.
Now, he was crying in front of me.
“Avery, when I saw how you smiled at Daniel, I
thought a lot. I could treat you like that too.” He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. “Even if I was
a replacement. Replacements can become the
real thing, can’t they? I can’t… I can’t handle
you being with someone else like that…”
I held up my right hand, showing him the
wedding ring. It wasn’t a huge diamond, but I’d
designed it myself. His face paled. “Avery, take
it off. Are you going to take it off, or do I have
to do it for you?” His voice was a desperate
plea. “I’ll buy you any ring you want, just get rid
of that one. Please.”
I shook my head. “I can’t, Ethan. This is my
wedding ring.” I looked down at it. “Daniel gave
it to me. I love it.”
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He choked back a sob. “Don’t say that, Avery. It
hurts. It really hurts.”
I sighed. I didn’t resent Ethan. His face had
helped me through the darkest period of my
life. I wanted him to move on. I was searching
for the right words to comfort him when a
familiar figure appeared.
