Second Lead in My Own Love Story Chapter 04

Second Lead in My Own Love Story Chapter 04

It was the first time he had ever called me by my full name like that. The urgency and accusation in his voice made it sound like I had committed some unforgivable crime.

I froze for a second, and then a wave of utter absurdity washed over me.

In front of all our former classmates, he had casually claimed he had no idea where I got that matching bracelet.

And now, with just the two of us, it had suddenly become the bracelet he gave me.

I looked at him calmly and answered.

“I cut it.”

“What?” Luke looked like he hadn’t heard me right. His face was full of shock and disbelief. “What did you say? Say it again!”

“I said I cut it apart and threw it away.” My tone was flat, as if I were talking about something completely meaningless. “With scissors. One clean snip.”

The color drained from Luke’s face instantly.

He let go of my hand and stumbled back a step, as if my words had sucked every bit of strength out of

him.

“W-Why would you take it off?” His voice was shaking. “That was our promise! We said we’d wear it for

the rest of our lives!”

“A promise?”

It was the funniest thing I had heard all my life. I laughed out loud until tears streamed down my face.

Then I looked him straight in the eye.

“Luke, you tell me. Tonight, when Tina and all our former classmates were making a scene, why didn’t you admit that you were the one who gave me that bracelet?

“Why did you say you had no idea where I got it?

“And since when does a promise bracelet get given to two different people? One for me, one for Sarah. Luke, you really spread the love around.”

My voice got louder and louder as ten years of hurt and frustration exploded out of me all at once.

Luke was struck speechless by my questions. His eyes darted away as he stammered weakly, “I… I wasn’t thinking that much at the time. Everyone was there. I just didn’t want Sarah to feel embarrassed…”

That line again… It was always because he didn’t want Sarah to feel embarrassed.

Ten years ago, it was the same. Ten years later, nothing had changed.

The last bit of warmth inside me finally went cold.

I smiled and asked softly, “What about now? There’s no one else here.

“Luke, do you dare go into the class group chat right now and tell everyone that we were already together in high school? That we’ve been married for five years? That Sarah is the one chasing after someone

else’s boyfriend-someone else’s husband?

“Do you dare?”

I stepped closer to him with every question, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.

A deep pain flickered in Luke’s eyes. Out of habit, he reached out, trying to pull me into his arms like he

had done countless times before.

“Avery, please don’t do this…”

“Don’t touch me!”

I shoved him so hard that even I startled myself.

Dragging my packed suitcase behind me, I walked straight for the door without looking back.

At the entryway, I stopped. But I still didn’t turn around.

“Luke, let’s get a divorce. My lawyer will send you the papers tomorrow.”

The door slammed shut with a loud bang, cutting off any chance he might have had to stop me.

Outside the door, I leaned against the cold wall and took deep breaths of air that finally felt free.

Inside the apartment, Luke stood frozen, staring at the now-empty living room. For the first time ever, an expression called regret appeared on his face.

I didn’t go home.

Instead, I went straight to the hotel I had already booked downtown.

After a hot shower, I washed away ten years of exhaustion and grime.