With each example I listed, my eyes grew more tearful.
“Lucas, you love her, and you’ve betrayed me. Do I need to go on?”
The line went dead with a click.
Lucas couldn’t even manage a single apology.
What a coward he truly was.
—
Not long after that call, Lucas left town.
He went to Hereford for a business deal, with Holly tagging along.
I tried not to keep tabs on him, but Holly kept flooding social media with updates.
Fed up, I finally blocked her.
My life narrowed down to just the dance studio and home.
Before, I used to squeeze time out of my busy schedule to prepare Lucas’s lunch.
I’d cook, pack it up, and trek all the way to his office, only to hear him say Holly’s takeout tasted better.
Now all that saved time meant I could finally get proper rest.
No more dozing off at the studio, no more choking down bitter espressos, no more catching naps on hard benches.
A week later, Lucas returned.
He appeared at the studio entrance in a black checkered coat, cutting a striking figure with his hands in his pockets, blocking my path.
“Sophie, let’s talk.”
Lucas took me to Sunset Restaurant, where he’d once proposed.
Same center table, complete with flowers, applause, and a cellist playing softly – the atmosphere elegant and serene.
He passed me a slice of cake, his voice husky, “I’ve thought seriously about what you said that day.
“I can change.
“From now on, I’ll be on your side.”
I put a bite of cake in my mouth, saying nothing.
“I know I confused family with romance, sister with fiancée. I’ll change, Sophie. Can you give me one more chance?”
Truth be told, my heart wasn’t completely unmoved.
So when I met his earnest gaze and saw the diamond ring nestled in the cake, I felt that familiar flutter.
Slowly, I said, “Okay.”
Lucas’s tense expression instantly relaxed.
But just as he was about to slip the ring on my finger, a familiar ringtone cut through the air.
Lucas instinctively glanced at me, then slowly angled his phone away, dimming the screen – small gestures I caught perfectly.
The caller’s identity was obvious.
I knew that ringtone – it was Holly’s special one.
Lucas shot me a guilty look.
I lowered my head and spat out the cake.
He always used to give me that same guilty look when taking Holly’s calls in front of me.
I’d pretend to be understanding, tell him it was fine.
Lucas had grown comfortable treading that line, enabled by my tolerance.
And here he was, doing it again.
“I – I should take this, Sophie. Holly wouldn’t call unless it was something serious.”
I neither agreed nor objected.
