After He Left Me Behind, My Wedding Ring Changed Hands Chapter 07

After He Left Me Behind, My Wedding Ring Changed Hands Chapter 07

Another year passed through spring, summer, fall, and winter.

To me, time had become nothing more than sunrises and sunsets, tides coming in and going out.

Before I knew it, my two years in the fully funded program abroad were coming to an end.

Tomorrow, I was flying home.

When my parents found out, Mom could barely contain her excitement.

“Good, good. When you get home, I’ll make you anything you want.”

Then her voice softened with concern. “You probably haven’t been eating or sleeping properly these past two years.”

“The food over there can’t compare to what you get at home.”

I smiled.

“Thanks, Mom. I want a seafood boil!”

“I’ll make you one!”

Then she abruptly changed the subject and brought up Reid.

“Mara, for the past two years, Reid has been constantly coming by and going out of his way to be nice to your dad and me, all just to ask about you.”

“But don’t worry. We haven’t told him a thing.”

“It’s just… the two of you…”

I cut her off.

“Mom, Reid and I are never getting back together. That stopped being possible two years ago.”

She sighed.

“Okay. I just think the two of you should have one proper conversation. You can’t leave things hanging like this forever.”

I gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.

Then I ended the call.

For the past two years, Reid had kept sending me message after message.

I never responded, but he never went a single day without trying.

Eventually, I got so tired of it that I changed my phone number.

My email address wasn’t so easy to get away from, though, so he switched to email. Every message contained some version of “I’m sorry.”

That was how I knew he had found out everything that happened during those two days.

But by then, I no longer had the energy to argue with him about any of it.

I only wanted to live my own life.

His mother had said I wasn’t good enough for their family.

Fine.

I would stay far away, and none of us would have to get in one another’s way again.

A younger student from my program came to get me for graduation photos, pulling me from my thoughts.

I pushed the past aside and let the camera capture one of the most precious moments of my life.

The next day, I flew home.

When the plane touched down in Ravenport, I finally felt like I was truly home.

I hadn’t been back in two years, yet everything still felt familiar.

My family lived in an unremarkable old apartment building on the outskirts of Ravenport. It was small, but it was warm and homey.

Mom opened the door, and the moment she saw me, she cried, “Mara! You’re finally home. I’ve been counting the days until you got back.”

I wrapped my arms tightly around her, emotion catching in my throat.

“I missed you and Dad so much.”

But when she let me go, she suddenly looked hesitant.

“Mara, there’s something… When I called you yesterday, Reid happened to overhear, so…”

She glanced toward the living room.

I followed her gaze.

Reid was sitting on the couch, staring at me without blinking, his eyes red-rimmed.

“Mara…”

His voice trembled.

The condescension he had carried two years ago was gone. Now he sounded painfully humble, just as I once had.