I Don’t Want the Reunion Voucher You Never Meant to Give Me Chapter 05

I Don’t Want the Reunion Voucher You Never Meant to Give Me Chapter 05

The page had no “Better Luck Next Time,” no Seven Days of Silence, no Reunion Voucher.

Just one prize.

[Adrian Cole permanently loses Elise Carter.]

Odds of winning: 100%.

The driver caught his eye in the rearview mirror.

“Where to, Mr. Cole?”

Adrian didn’t answer.

He stared at the line for a few seconds, then laughed, short and sharp, and hit the voice message

button.

“Elise. Are you done yet?”

A red exclamation mark popped up beside the message almost instantly.

The smile drained off his face.

Ivy, sitting next to him, spoke carefully.

“Elise’s probably still upset. Should I give the ring back to her?”

Adrian glanced sideways, saw the old diamond on her finger, and his brow pulled tight.

“Take it off.”

Ivy froze. “But you just gave it to me in front of everyone-”

“I said take it off.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was cold enough to make her flinch.

Ivy’s eyes went red. “Did she tell you to come get it from me?”

“This has nothing to do with her.”

Adrian loosened his tie, an odd, heavy pressure building in his chest.

“It was hers to begin with.”

Ivy bent to pull it off, but the ring caught on her knuckle.

“It’s a little tight. I’ll use soap when I get home-”

Adrian grabbed her hand.

“Now!”

He yanked it off. The band scraped her skin.

She cried out.

When the ring dropped into his palm, there was a faint smear of blood on his fingertip.

He stared at that red mark and suddenly thought of backstage.

My finger had bled too, from that same ring.

I’d said it hurt. But he hadn’t stopped.

He’d even thought I was just making a scene.

Ivy cradled her hand, crying. “Mr. Cole, are you regretting this?”

“Regretting what?”

He closed his fist around the ring, voice still hard.

“She’ll be back in a couple of days.”

Ivy said nothing more.

The car pulled up outside the building. Adrian got out and walked fast, like the moment he opened the door he’d find me on the couch, red-eyed, waiting for him to talk me down.

That’s how it always used to go.

I’d say I’d never forgive him, and by night I’d still leave a lamp on for him.

The lock didn’t recognize his fingerprint. The mechanical voice repeated:

“This user’s fingerprint has been removed.”

His face went completely dark.

He typed the passcode, pushed the door open.

The living room was dark.

Out of habit, he said, “Stop hiding. Come out.”

No answer.

He reached for the light.

Half the shoes were gone from the rack. My towel was gone from the bathroom. The vase on the

dining table was empty.

The gardenia I’d kept alive for five years-gone, just a faint ring of water left on the table.

The closet was even emptier.

Every piece of clothing he’d bought me was still there.

Everything I’d bought myself was gone.

Adrian stood in front of the closet for a long time without moving.

Then he laughed, once.

“Real performance.”

He pulled out his phone and started calling my friends, one by one.

No one answered.

On the fifth call, someone finally picked up.

“Where’s Elise?”

Two seconds of silence on the other end.

“What business is that of yours?”

“I’m her boyfriend.”

Adrian’s voice went abruptly cold. “Put her on.”

“She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“Tell her the wedding planner’s still waiting on tomorrow. If she doesn’t show, don’t come begging me to fix it later.”

The person on the other end sounded like they’d heard something absurd.

“Adrian Cole. You still think she left because she’s trying to force you into a wedding?”

The call cut off.

Adrian stared at the dark screen, the restlessness in his chest getting heavier.

He pulled open the nightstand drawer, looking for my backup phone, and found a stack of receipts

instead.

Stomach medication. Painkillers. Therapy sessions.

The earliest one was dated two years ago.

He’d never known.

Or maybe I’d told him.

I remembered saying I couldn’t sleep, asking if he’d come with me to see a doctor.

Ivy hadn’t even shown up yet, back then.

He’d been out playing golf with some business partner’s daughter and sent back one line:

[Stop depending on me for everything. Go yourself.]

Adrian tossed the receipts back into the drawer.

Just insomnia. I’d always overthought things. No big deal.

He shut the drawer and walked to the dining table.

There was a box sitting on it.

Inside: seven Reunion Vouchers, a set of keys, and the promise ring I’d worn for five

At the bottom of the box was a single note.

[I’m done playing your game.]

Adrian stared at the line, then suddenly swept the box off the table.

Keys and cards scattered across the floor.

“Elise. You’d better not come back.”

He stood alone in the empty living room and waited, a long time.

No one came running out of the bedroom the way I used to, crying, asking if he didn’t want me

anymore.

Adrian crouched down and picked up the promise ring.

Inside the band, engraved, was the date we’d first gotten together.

He closed his fist around it, his voice colder than before.

“Then don’t you dare come back.”

That night, he sat on the couch and waited until sunrise.

But the front door never opened.