wave of distance surged in my chest.
I looked up at Chad slowly. “Heather knew everything. She knew how much I loved you back then. Remember my first solo show that fizzled out? The gallery was full of paintings of you.”
11
A bitter smile curved my lips. “I displayed a few of Heather’s portraits so she wouldn’t feel bad. I said they were a gift for your first anniversary.”
I had spent three months preparing for the exhibition, nervous as hell as I slipped the ticket stubs into Heather’s drawer.
Downstairs, their engagement announcement had hit me like a brick. The next day was their engagement party.
Paintings didn’t lie.
Heather must’ve seen my covered easel countless times. She must have seen the longing I poured into sketching Chad.
Now, with everything out in the open, I could see the past differently.
That time at the Ferris wheel, Heather feared heights and pushed me to go with Chad. When we came down side by side, she grinned at me.
“Well, you guys look kind of cute together,” she said.
I blushed, thinking she’d seen through my secret.
Chad looked away. “Nah. We’re more like buddies.”
His tone was playful as he added, “She’s such a quiet one. Call me brother, and I’ll have your back.”
My face burned as I fled. The sound of my racing heart was drowned by sorrow.
After that, I hid in my studio and skipped their invites.
As a teenager, I couldn’t switch off my feelings. Good thing Chad did it for me in those ten years.
Meeting his gaze now, I no longer flipped. The joy flickering in his eyes faded, replaced by confusion and helplessness.
“So, back then, you…” he murmured.
It didn’t matter anymore.
. I pulled my coat tight and walked out. Chad chased me, spinning me to face him outside the gallery.
He demanded, “Why didn’t you say anything? We had years. Why keep quiet? Why wait until…”
Chapter &
I finished his sentence in a flat tone. “Until it’s all too late, and the feelings are burned out?”
He fell silent, then heaved a sigh of relief. “Not quite. We’re still married. We can tear up the papers anytime.”
I pushed him away gently and stepped back. “But I haven’t changed my mind about leaving you.”
He was stunned. “Doesn’t discovering the truth change anything?”
“Nothing,” I replied.
+25 Bonus
His face darkened, and I continued, “I wanted to confess to you at that exhibition. It was my deepest regret. I thought you wouldn’t care, so I picked a place far away to hold this one. Now that you’re here, take a look. Every painting is my goodbye.”
“Burning” was painted a month after we married. “Caged Bird” was created six months after my miscarriage. “Fresh” was a series of flowers, covering a 30–foot wall. Each one symbolized a girl.
Chad’s eyes darted over them. His grip on me tightened, like he feared I’d bolt.
I walked him through it. “This is the first girl you had me deal with. She loved white dresses and looked like a peony,”
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