After exchanging a few polite words with his former colleague, I finally returned to our home—or what was supposed to be ours. The place felt hollow, the warmth gone, leaving nothing but shadows of memories in every corner. Everywhere I looked, I saw traces of the love we once shared, like ghosts of the past. Even the smallest trinket seemed to carry the weight of a forgotten promise.
In one of those corners sat a memento from a time when he once whispered, “Fionna, I may have nothing now, but I’ll work hard to build a future for us—a life that’ll make you want to be my wife.”
I had believed him. Days, months, even years had slipped by with me holding on to that promise. He never mentioned marriage again, but I thought I could wait. I thought he just needed time.
But now, those promises felt as empty as the rooms around me.
Suddenly, a wave of anger surged through me, stronger than the sorrow. I began tearing things off shelves, ripping up every remnant of his so-called surprises, throwing them into the trash one by one. Every token, every keepsake, every little piece of sentiment that used to mean so much to me was now nothing but a reminder of his betrayal.
I didn’t stop until the place looked like a storm had ripped through it. When Darrel finally walked through the door, he froze, staring in shock at the mess around him, his face pale as he took in the piles of things I’d thrown away.
He rushed over, grabbing my shoulders, his voice shaking with disbelief. “Fionna, what are you doing? Did you throw away all of this? Do you realize what you’ve done?”
I barely raised my eyelids, meeting his desperate gaze with a look of cold indifference. I shrugged, pushing his hands off my shoulders. “Oh, all that stuff? I noticed it was dusty, outdated, a bit… tacky. Thought I’d save you the trouble and take care of it myself.”
I turned away from him, refusing to let him see the sadness lurking beneath my anger. My heart ached as I looked around at the empty space, feeling as though something inside me had shattered.
Yet, I couldn’t say I missed any of it.