He Only Sent Me Traffic Lights but Took Wedding Photos with Her Chapter 02

He Only Sent Me Traffic Lights but Took Wedding Photos with Her Chapter 02

After I got back, Brooke asked me, “Are you really willing to let go?”

I didn’t answer.

I dumped the still-warm chicken noodle soup into her dog’s bowl.

The little dog wagged its tail happily and wolfed it down.

Even the dog knew to thank me with a wag after eating my food.

I wasted ten years of my life on him, only to end up as his dirty little secret.

“I told you from the start—normal couples don’t just send green and red light emojis.”

“You were the only one still believing him!”

Brooke got angrier as she spoke.

“You’ve been together ten years. You stuck by him through everything after college, and this is how he treats you?”

“No way. We’re going over there right now to confront him. I wanna hear what he has to say!”

She grabbed my arm to pull me up.

I gently shook her off, then bent down to pet the dog that was still eating happily.

It looked up and nuzzled my palm, its eyes wet and trusting.

We both came from a small town in the Midwest, where our families had been farmers for generations.

Getting into college and escaping the mountains that had trapped our families for generations—it took everything we had.

Because of that, we knew exactly how hard it was for each other.

So in college we made a promise: we’d work hard, build something in our own fields, and get married once we were stable.

He wanted to start his own company.

To help him save up, I worked three jobs at once.

Besides my regular job, I did delivery gigs at night and side hustles on weekends.

In the toughest times, we wouldn’t even buy condoms, just to save a few extra bucks.

Later, my company had a big project on the table, and landing it meant a huge bonus.

I didn’t even know how to drink, but I forced myself to down glass after glass just to close the deal.

When they rushed me to the hospital, I found out I was pregnant.

The doctor told me the alcohol and exhaustion had already cost me the baby. After the surgery, I might never get pregnant again.

I cried my heart out that day.

He held me tight with red eyes, apologizing over and over.

He said it was his fault for not taking care of me, for not being able to give me a good life yet.

He told me to stop pushing so hard. From now on, he’d carry us.

He’d carry us… but in the end he walked off the path we’d planned together and straight into someone else’s life.

That parenting book in his study was for her kid.

Ten years.

From eighteen to twenty-eight, every step of my life had him in it.

I thought we’d get married like it was meant to be, grow old together.

Turns out I was the extra one all along.

I pulled out a wet wipe and slowly cleaned my palm where the dog had nuzzled it. My movements felt mechanical.

“What’s the point of a confrontation? The answers are already right in front of me. I was just refusing to face them.”

The engagement ring hidden in his desk drawer was probably meant for her anyway.

I’d actually thought he was about to propose to me.

It was already late when I got back from Brooke’s.

I was still standing at the door, shoes on, when I heard Ethan’s laughing voice.

“I thought that movie was pretty good too. If you like it, we can watch it again tomorrow. The little girl in it has these big eyes, just like…”

He trailed off as he looked up and saw me standing there, face pale as a ghost.