Seven Years and a Lifetime of Lies Chapter 04

Seven Years and a Lifetime of Lies Chapter 04

“Besides, I’ll be the one providing for you from now on.”

“Think of it as doing her a favor—helping her get that permanent position. Isn’t that a good thing?”

I kept my head down, quietly contacting a moving company on my phone to schedule my relocation, and reaching out to a well-known recruiter in my industry to let them know I was looking for a new job.

Only after I finished did I look back up at Hank’s self-satisfied face.

“No. It’s not a good thing.”

“Hank, who do you think you are? What gives you the right to decide my future for me?”

“We’re not even married yet—and even if we were, you’d still have no right.”

“You’re going to provide for me? That’s the most ridiculous delusion I’ve ever heard.”

“Have you forgotten that you only got your manager position because I helped you get there?”

“Did I cover so much of your workload and fix your tough problems for you that you’ve genuinely convinced yourself those standout performance reports were all your own hard work?”

Hank turned beet red with embarrassment before going ashen-faced.

He always hated it when I brought up how I’d written his reports and solved his problems.

Back in college, he’d said he liked women who relied on him—someone like Cindy.

Now, he flew into a humiliating rage again. He grabbed the ring box off the table and threw it to the floor.

“That’s enough, Stella Owen! I can’t stand how headstrong and domineering you are all the time.”

“You just don’t carry yourself the soft, feminine way Cindy does. I love that she leans on me for everything and turns to me whenever she needs a hand.”

I pressed a hand to my aching chest and stared at him blankly.

“You finally said it out loud…”

He looked at me with regret, crouched down, and tried to explain.

“I’m sorry, I just lost my temper—”

He sighed. “If only we already had a child. Everything would be different.”

I stayed seated, closed my eyes, and let the tears fall as I spoke.

“Hank, we almost had a—”

I swallowed the word before it came out. His next sentence made me realize that our relationship was already beyond saving, with or without that baby.

He said, “Once you have a child, you’ll understand that work isn’t that important.”

“You were never like Cindy. She was still young enough to chase career advancement relentlessly”

“Stella, you’re not getting any younger. It’s time to put family first.”

His words drained every last bit of emotion from me. A bitter smile crossed my face as I mocked my own foolishness for devoting seven years to such a shallow man.

Hank noticed the shift in my mood and fell silent. He picked up the ring, sighed, and got down on one knee again—but before he could speak, his phone buzzed.

The caller ID flashed right in front of me: [Babe Cindy.]

Hank followed my gaze and quickly hung up, flustered. It’s just a stupid inside joke from a bet we lost during a game night, nothing more. Don’t read into it.”

I nodded, not bothering to argue.

His phone buzzed again. Cindy was calling a second time.

Hank’s finger hovered over the decline button. He couldn’t bring himself to press it. Finally, he looked at me with an apologetic expression.

“Cindy almost never rings me twice in a row unless something serious is going on.”

“I need to go sort out whatever trouble she’s having right now, and we can pick back up this conversation once I’m home.”

I looked down at the ring he had so easily set aside on the coffee table. I looked at the formal gown creased and crumpled from his reckless rush to answer the phone. I spoke firmly.

“Hank, we’re done.”

After I said that, I looked up.