After Eight Years of Love, I Finally Walked Away

When I miscarried, the blood soaked into the seat of Luke Gilbert's car.

He shoved me out with disgust. You can't even plan ahead for your own period. Disgusting.

That same night, the moment I got home, he tossed a pair of lacy, seductive panties at me.

Hester Pruitt got hers dirty during her period. Go wash them.

I opened my phone and saw a post his childhood sweetheart had put up not long before.

"The second my period starts, my silly big brother gets more worked up than I do."

The photo showed Luke from behind, standing at the stove, simmering a bowl of brown sugar and peach gum soup.

Calmly, I dialed my boss.

"Give me the overseas project. I'll go."

...

"Are you sure? Once you're out there, it's a minimum three-year commitment."

"I'm sure."

I hung up just as Luke came out of the kitchen.

He was a good cook, though he rarely bothered.

"Who were you on the phone with?"

I didn't answer. I walked straight into the bedroom and found Hester lying in our marriage bed.

She saw me and let out a smug, coy little laugh.

"Alison Fox, this bed is just so comfortable. The second I lie down, my stomach barely hurts anymore."

"You won't mind, right?"

Luke walked in without so much as a glance at me. "Let Hester sleep here tonight. Just find another room."

For once, I didn't argue, didn't make a scene. I picked up my work laptop and left.

Behind me came Hester's pouting, honeyed voice. "Luke, that brown sugar peach gum soup you made is so good."

Luke laughed, indulgent. "If you like it, eat more."

This morning, I miscarried, and the blood soaked into the seat of Luke's car.

He assumed my period had come and threw me out of the car in disgust.

Cold and desperate, unable to get a cab, I fell in the pouring rain.

The doctor said, with real regret, that if only I'd come in sooner, the baby might have been saved.

I turned and walked into the study, opened the project lead consent form my boss had sent, and signed my name.

Luke went to the bathroom and found none of the bathwater I ran for him every night, ready and waiting.

Only then did he finally remember me.

He saw the cold, remote look on my face as I worked away in the study.

He turned to come in and see what had me so busy.

But he'd barely stepped inside when he heard Hester calling for him. The corner of his mouth lifted at once, and he went back to the room.

All night long, he didn't come out again.

The next morning.

I had just opened my door when I saw Luke coming out of the room where Hester was staying.

There was a moment of silence.

Then he offered his explanation. "Hester's stomach hurt all night. She needed someone to look after her."

I answered calmly. "I see."

I walked right past him and went to the kitchen.

Luke frowned and followed. "Alison, let me tell you something. When Hester gets up in a bit, drop this cold act of yours."

"She's naturally sweet and innocent. Don't put any weight on her mind!"

Ever since Hester came back to the country, we'd fought more times than I could count.

Every time I voiced a perfectly normal emotional need, all he worried about was adding stress to Hester's mind.

Now, I truly didn't care anymore.

I took out my phone and set it in front of him. "Don't worry. With you around, your dear little Hester won't have anything weighing on her mind."

On the screen was Hester's post from late that night.

"My silly big brother knew my stomach hurt, so he warmed his palm and kept it on my belly all night. Poor thing, he worked so hard."

The photo showed Luke asleep beside her, his big hand resting on her lower stomach.

Luke choked on his words, mouth open, trying to explain something.

But the sight of my cold, blank face made him knit his handsome brows at once.

"Hester's still young. Don't stoop to her level. Once she's better, I'll send her home."

I nodded. "Fine."

Then I turned to make breakfast.

Seeing the lonely line of my back, his voice softened.

"Haven't you always wanted to try the seafood congee I make? Let me do it."

He got busy at the stove, and something in my chest went tight and heavy.

All these years together, he had never once cooked a single thing for me.

Yet the moment his little childhood friend came home, she got to enjoy his home-cooked meals every single day.

I opened my mouth to say something.

But Hester came running barefoot out of the bedroom.

She grabbed Luke's hand and whined that she wanted the crab-and-shrimp dumplings from that place on the south side.

It was a famous old restaurant, an hour's drive one way, and you had to wait in line.

I'd wanted to go there once, and Luke had said impatiently, "No way. It's far and it's a hassle."

Yet now he only tapped Hester's nose fondly and agreed with a smile.

"All right, whatever you say, you little glutton."

He led her out, forgetting me behind him all over again.

Long used to it, I made my own breakfast.

Calmly, I picked up my phone and canceled the appointment for our wedding photos.

I had just finished when a stabbing pain surged out from my lower belly.

The pain doubled me over on the floor, and without thinking I called Luke.

The phone rang for a long time before his irritated voice came through.

"Enough, Alison. Don't you know Hester's still starving? I don't have time right now. If something's wrong, text me!"

"Luke, I"

Before I could get the words out, the line went dead.

Everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, the ambulance had already brought me to the hospital.

The doctor said I'd just had a miscarriage and needed to rest.

The night I was admitted.

Luke called me. "Why aren't you home yet?"

I lied without a second thought. "Working late."

Luke said nothing more, only left me with one instruction.

"Hester's staying at the house these few days. If you come home late, don't wake her."

All those late nights I'd worked before, Luke had never once called to check on me.

Now he did, and only because he was afraid I might wake Hester.

I didn't go home all night, and Luke never called again.

No doubt he'd spent the whole night at Hester's side.

The next day, I checked out and went to pick up my medication.

At the hospital entrance I saw Luke and Hester.

The girl kept her hand pressed to her stomach, as if in terrible pain, slumped weak and limp against Luke's chest.

Luke saw me and knitted his brows, about to speak.

I pretended I hadn't seen them and started to walk past.

But Luke grabbed my hand and asked, puzzled, "Alison, you came to see a doctor too?"

There was displeasure in his tone, as though he suspected I'd been following him.

I looked at him quietly. "Mm. Cramps. I came to see the doctor."

Only then did he remember kicking me out of the car two days ago, and his face turned ugly.

Hester seized the chance to collapse against him again, her voice all snide and mocking.

"Alison must not be hurting too badly, if she can come to the hospital all by herself."

"Luke, aren't I useless? It hurts so much I can't even walk, and I had to have you bring me here."

At that, Luke gathered her up in his arms, aching with tenderness for her.

"If you feel unwell, tell me anytime. I'll stay with you these few days."

He'd taken two steps before he remembered me.

He turned his head and called to me, like tossing out charity, "Come on, I'll drive you home."

I refused outright, saying I needed to get back to the office.

Ignoring me completely, he pulled me into the back seat.

Hester sat up front in the passenger seat, for all the world like the lady of the house.

"Alison, just let Luke drive you. He's been skipping work lately just to keep me company. He's got plenty of time on his hands."

Eight years together, and no matter how important the occasion, Luke had never once set the company aside for me.

Yet the moment Hester came home, she got to bask in his special kind of doting.

The thought made me glance at the two of them up front.

Just then I heard Hester cry out, "Luke, I think I got your car dirty."

There it was on the passenger seat, a faint smear of dark red.

Luke's gaze went soft, and without the slightest concern he said, "It's fine. A quick wash and it'll be as good as new."

The words had barely left him when, without thinking, he flicked a look at me in the rearview mirror.

Seeing that I wasn't looking his way, he turned his eyes aside.

We reached the foot of the office building.

The moment I opened the car door, I saw my boss.

He asked me, "Alison, have you really thought this through? Once the application goes through, there's no reversing it. Weren't you planning to get married and go on your honeymoon next month?"

I was just about to answer.

But Luke rolled down the window, his expression cool and remote.

"Alison, Hester wants to travel next month. Let's push the wedding and the honeymoon back a month."

I gave a small nod. "Fine."

The instant I said it, Luke froze.

He'd expected me to kick up a fuss, and instead I was being unnervingly agreeable.

He was about to say something.

But Hester tugged at his arm and cooed, "Luke, don't push the honeymoon trip back next month. Let's all go together."

The corners of Luke's mouth lifted, and without asking for my opinion, he agreed at once.

"Alison, we'll just book our honeymoon trip separately."

I didn't refuse.

After all, we weren't even planning to marry anymore, so there was no need for a honeymoon either.

Watching the car pull away.

My boss looked at me with concern. "The application takes a week to process. But if you need it, I can push it along. You could be gone the day after tomorrow at the earliest."

At the end of the workday, for once in his life, Luke came to pick me up.

The moment I got in, he handed me a bowl of brown sugar peach-gum soup, saying he'd made it specially for me.

No sooner had he spoken than the phone he'd set aside lit up.

A message from Hester.

Luke, you big dummy, boiling up this much brown sugar peach-gum soup, are you trying to turn me into a little piggy?

The car fell silent.

Luke broke the quiet first. "Why are you reading up on an overseas project? Are you planning a business trip?"

I shook my head. "My boss wants me to study it."

Seeing I was in low spirits, the man who was usually so cold went so far as to say, almost coaxingly,

"Take the day off tomorrow. I'll take you to a movie. Weren't you always going on about wanting to see that new one that just came out?"

"No need. I don't have time tomorrow."

It had been his favorite movie to begin with.

But he'd already seen it with Hester.

There was no point in seeing it again.

Luke, however, misread what I meant, and his face darkened.

"Alison, what's that supposed to mean?"

"I just let Hester stay at the house for a few days, and you won't let it go, is that it?"

I was a little speechless, and was about to explain that I hadn't done any such thing.

The man sneered.

"With an attitude like yours, once I marry you, who knows how much Hester will have to put up with!"

"Let me make this perfectly clear. I'm the one who calls the shots in this house. Never mind letting Hester stay a few days, even if I let her live here for the rest of her life, you have no right to point fingers."

With that, he slammed on the brakes.

He dumped me on a pitch-black side road two miles from home and told me to walk back on my own and think hard about what I'd done.

Once he got home, he coaxed Hester to sleep while he waited for me to come apologize.

Eight years together, and every time something went wrong between us, I was the one who backed down.

But this time, he sat there stiff and useless all night, and no knock ever came at the door.

The next day, right after work.

Luke messaged me, telling me to come home and pick up Hester's medicine.

The location pin was a private room at a well-known restaurant.

I didn't want to go, but I remembered the crisis my family had gone through years ago, and how he'd stood by me through it.

Call it even, then.

I got to the room with the medicine, only to hear teasing voices inside.

"Hester, is coming back home this time all about your Luke? When are you two getting married?"

Hester let out a coy little laugh. "That's up to Luke. Whatever he decides is fine by me."

Luke didn't answer, but he didn't refuse either.

When I pushed the door open, he was feeding Hester a bite off his chopsticks while the others egged them on.

The moment he saw me, his expression went cold.

"Alison, you're following me?!"

One line was all it took for me to know she'd been the one who sent the message.

But so what. I tossed the painkillers to him without a flicker of feeling.

"You're the one who texted me to bring the medicine. Forget already?"

With that, I turned and walked out.

Luke froze on the spot.

The old me would already have been staking my claim in front of everyone, unable to wait a second.

But this version of me, who didn't fight and didn't argue, left him strangely off balance.

While I was waiting for the elevator.

My boss called to say the application had come through and I could go ahead and book my flight.

I nodded. "Got it, I'll book it now."

The words had barely left my mouth when Luke's puzzled voice came from behind me. "Book what?"

I made something up on the spot. "My boss is treating a client to dinner and wants me to reserve a private room."

At that, he said nothing more.

He rode the elevator down with me, saying he'd take me home.

We'd just reached the ground floor when Hester called him.

"Luke, my tummy hurts. Can you come back and stay with me?"

Still on the phone, Luke turned straight back to the elevator and went up without another glance at me.

Back home, I started packing up my things.

The phone rang. Luke asked, sounding thoughtful,

"Weren't we supposed to take our wedding photos today? Why didn't you remind me?"

With the wedding coming up, I'd been the one arranging everything.

And now, somehow, I hadn't reminded him about the wedding photos, and it left him displeased.

I kept packing and answered absently,

"You're busy with Hester anyway. The wedding photos can wait until the honeymoon."

I never expected one sentence to set off his temper completely.

"Alison! Do you have any idea how precious my time usually is? Why can't you ask me before you decide things?"

"If you keep making calls like this on your own, then forget the wedding altogether!"

The line went dead with a slam.

For a moment my heart clenched.

The boy who'd once stood under a sky full of fireworks and promised to make me happy forever was long gone.

I picked up our photos together, and without a shred of sentiment left, threw every last one into the trash.

Late that night, Luke came home with a drunk Hester and found the place emptier by a lot of things.

Already in a foul mood, he only got angrier.

"Alison, what are you up to this time?"

I answered calmly. "The place was a little messy. I'm tidying up."

He shot me one cold glance, then carried Hester straight into the bedroom.

Before long, the sound of her whining and fussing drifted out.

Luke told her to settle down, then came out to ask me for hangover medicine.

He used to have a lot of business dinners, so I always kept some on hand at home.

Now, I'd already thrown every bit of it into the trash.

Remembering that, I answered flatly, "We're out."

"Then give me the app so I can order it myself."

When I ignored him, he snatched my phone off the table in irritation.

He punched in the password like he owned it.

But he tried several times and couldn't get in, growing more and more agitated.

"Alison, when did you change the password?"

I took the phone back. "I felt like it. No reason."

That set Luke off completely. "How long are you going to keep throwing these tantrums?"

He turned on his heel, walked into the bedroom, and slammed the door hard.

All night, the room echoed with Hester's coaxing voice, begging Luke for kisses and cuddles.

The next morning, an earthquake hit.

The instant Luke woke, he scooped up the screaming Hester and rushed her out of the house.

Only after the shaking stopped and the danger had passed.

Did he remember I was still inside, and start searching for me in a panic.

But by then, I was already at the airport, waiting to board.

Watching Luke's name flash across my screen, I hit decline without a thought.

Right before boarding, I sent Luke one last text.

Let's break up!

Then I dropped my SIM card into a trash can at the airport.

The moment he saw my breakup text.

Luke gripped the phone so hard his knuckles went white, his face turning cold enough to chill the room.

A flicker of delight crossed Hester's eyes, but she forced out a fake little sob.

"Luke, honey, Alison must be blaming me. That's why she's threatening you with a breakup."

"It's all my fault. When she comes back, I'll move out. I promise I'll never get in the way of you two again."

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose, irritated.

"Don't worry. I won't let her drive you out."

He pulled out his phone, about to type a message telling me to get back here.

But the moment he saw what I'd left behind, his breath caught hard.

At that very same moment, friends and family started calling him one after another.

"Luke, check the link in the group chat, quick. What on earth is going on?"