Love Died One Apology at a Time Chapter 01

Love Died One Apology at a Time Chapter 01

My lawyer boyfriend’s client—a teenage girl—put thumbtacks in my shoes.

They pierced my feet until they bled.

And, he apologized for her again.

The doctor was disinfecting my wounds. Giving me a tetanus shot.

The needle went deep, and I screamed.

“Ethan.” My voice cracked. “How many times have you apologized to me because of Riley?”

He froze.

His eyes met mine—red, swollen, full of tears.

“Fifty-one,” I answered for him.

An average of once a week.

Ever since he took on Riley Morgan’s case, through the eighth year we’d been together, his apologies had become background noise.

A rhythm I’d learned to live with.

My voice trembled as I wiped away my tears.

“Ethan, I’m sick of this.”

“I’m exhausted. Aren’t you?”

—

“I’m sorry.”

After a long silence, that was all he said.

I let go of his hand.

I was terrified of needles.

For years, whenever I had to get a shot, Ethan would automatically hold out his hand for me to squeeze.

Now I released it.

“Ethan, I’m sick of hearing that word.”

He looked down at my feet. I could barely walk.

“I’ll make Riley apologize too.”

“Claire.” His voice softened. “I promise. This is the last time.”

When I saw Riley, she was already sobbing.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“The thumbtacks spilled. I didn’t know they fell into your shoe.”

Ethan believed her before I could even react.

“Claire, the security footage is blurry. You can’t just assume she did it on purpose.”

Like every other time he defended her.

“Let’s just drop it.”

My wounds were still bleeding.

“Ethan, you apologized for her and decided for me too.”

“You’re really good at handling things.”

He caught the sarcasm in my voice.

His brow tightened instantly, and his tone sharpened.

“She already said it was an accident. What else do you want?”

“What kind of apology would satisfy you? I’ll do it.”

He loosened his tie. Looked at me like I was the unreasonable one.

“Riley is young. She’s not as bad as you think.”

“You’re years older than she is, Claire. Why are you being so petty?”

His chest heaved.

Normally, I would have backed down by now.

I hated arguing with him.

I hated the way he cornered me until I gave up.

But this time, when I looked at Riley—already back at our house before us, busy in the kitchen—

I couldn’t pretend nothing had happened anymore.

The moment she heard the front door open, she popped her head out.

“Claire, I figured you hadn’t eaten yet, so I came over to make dinner.”

“Consider it my apology.”

“I’m a really good cook.”

“You know, while you were away on your work trip, I came by and cooked for Ethan every day.”

My stomach twisted.

Riley’s fingerprint was registered on the smart lock of my home.

She wore the same style of slippers as Ethan.

She was dressed in my pajamas.

She moved around the kitchen like she owned the place.

That casual line—”I came by”—said everything.

“Ethan.” My voice was flat. “Does she come here a lot when I’m not around?”

He pressed his lips together.

“She’s taking a break from school right now. She said she gets bored at home and wanted to cook for me.”

“She means well. It doesn’t affect you.”

My eyes were still puffy from crying.

“It does affect me.”

Of Ethan’s fifty-one apologies—

One was because Riley had broken the necklace I left in his car.

Several were because he abandoned me midway through plans to rush off and help her.

Others were because she forced herself into our dates.

Or because she tripped me, spilled hot soup on me, and left me injured again and again.

I pointed at Riley.

“Pay me back for the medical bills.”

“And not just those. Everything before that too.”

I quickly calculated the amount.

Beside me, Ethan’s jaw tightened.

I continued.

“And take off those clothes…”