He Thought I Loved Him, I Only Loved His Face Chapter 08

He Thought I Loved Him, I Only Loved His Face Chapter 08

After the auction, Piper skipped over to Rowan holding the snow globe.

“Honestly, it’s not even that special. Shouldn’t have bothered bidding.”

She let it fall.

Deliberately. Like an accident.

Glass shattered across the floor.

Maya knelt before the fragments. Her fingers trembled. She didn’t dare press too hard on any piece, as if the shards were pieces of Caleb’s face. She tried, with desperate care, to fit it back together.

Broken things don’t mend.

No matter how hard she tried, the pieces would never be whole again.

Her heart cracked alongside that snow globe.

All these years, no matter how Rowan hurt her, she had never felt grief like this.

But now, sorrow swallowed her.

She was falling into an abyss. Any moment, she would shatter completely.

Why?

Why couldn’t he let her have this one thing?

She never wanted to fight Piper for anything.

Piper wanted Rowan? Take him.

Rowan saw her devastation and strolled over. His tone was dismissive.

“It’s just a trinket. There are plenty more like it. I’ll buy you another one.”

Maya looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. She was done pretending.

“This snow globe was irreplaceable.”

She gathered the broken pieces and walked away.

The days that followed, Maya shut out everything connected to Rowan.

He came home. She pretended to be asleep.

He left. She came out of her room.

They lived under the same roof and didn’t see each other for days.

Until one night, Rowan got blind drunk at a private club.

His friends called Maya like they always used to. “Hey, Maya. Your husband’s wasted at the club again. Not gonna rush over like the devoted wife routine you always pull?”

Maya’s voice was calm. “I can’t come. From now on, call Piper for things like this.”

She hung up without waiting.

Everyone exchanged looks. Shocked. They turned to Rowan.

“Weird. She actually said no.”

Rowan’s heart had never felt this tangled.

He remembered the way Maya’s eyes looked that day when they parted. Red. Shattered. Something clawed at his chest. Aching. Stinging.

He shoved away from the group and got into his car. Told the driver to take him home.

Maya hadn’t expected him back this early. She was still in the living room.

Rowan pulled several snow globes from a bag and tossed them in front of her.

“Enough already. I told you there are plenty of similar ones. How long are you going to drag this out?”

Maya didn’t even glance at them.

She stood up quietly and turned to leave.

Her phone buzzed on the table.

Rowan leaned over and saw an airline ticket confirmation.

He seized her wrist. His voice went cold. “You bought a plane ticket? Where are you going?”

Maya gave a casual excuse.

“I’m bored at home. I want to travel. Clear my head.”

Rowan paused.

Something felt wrong.

He wanted to press further. His phone rang.

Piper.

He answered. Her weak, tearful voice came through immediately.

“Rowan, I twisted my ankle. It hurts so much.”

The second he heard Piper was hurt, every other thought flew out of his head.

He rushed out and told the driver to take him to Piper’s place.

Maya’s travel plans were instantly forgotten.