A Decade of Devotion, Then Letting Go Chapter 1

On the day of our engagement party, I couldn't reach Aidan Cross, the man I’d loved for ten years. I waited for him at the restaurant for eight solid hours.

As night fell, he finally called me back, his voice tinged with a hollow apology.

“Lia, I’m so sorry. Something came up. I hope I didn’t make your parents wait too long.”

I massaged my aching legs and told him they hadn't.

His voice was laced with fatigue. “Let’s reschedule the engagement party. How about next week? I’ll call your parents and explain.”

My phone vibrated. My social media feed had refreshed with another picture of Aidan and Megan Chen, cozy and intimate. Our mutual friends were all cheering in the comments, congratulating Megan on the 25 lavish gifts Aidan had prepared for her 25th birthday.

The final gift had been a surprise visit.

Which meant that for the eight hours he’d stood me up, Aidan had been on a flight to the next city over to celebrate his childhood friend’s birthday.

A new message popped up on my screen. It was from Megan.

【Lia, the only person Aidan truly cares about is me. Are you really sure you still want to marry him?】

I turned off the screen, no longer feeling the need to question him or spiral into doubt. I simply replied to Aidan’s text.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re… done.”

Lia Stone was done trying to marry Aidan Cross.

* * *

“Dad, I’ll do it. I’ll marry Tim Cohen.”

“I’m glad you’ve come to your senses, sweetheart. When it comes to love, you have to know when to cut your losses.”

After hanging up, I made dinner, three dishes and a soup, just like any other night.

When Aidan got home, he was holding a bouquet of my favorite white freesias.

“Went out of my way to get these for you. Don’t be mad anymore.”

Normally, I would have rushed over, taken the flowers, and thrown myself into his arms. This time, I just kept eating, my expression placid.

“Still angry? How about I buy you flowers every day for a week?”

He towel-dried his hair, a roguish grin on his face that was handsome enough to send hormones into overdrive.

I dropped my gaze, collected my plate, and walked into the bedroom.

“There’s no need.”

Aidan followed me, his placating tone much softer now.

“Alright, Lia, I know I was wrong to miss the engagement party. But I already apologized, didn’t I? You know how busy the Search and Rescue team is…”

I cut him off. “What does your team have to do with you skipping our engagement party to go to Megan’s birthday?”

He was speechless for a moment, his eyes darting away.

“Lia, you know…”

I interrupted him again, my voice steady. “Aidan, this has happened too many times.”

On my birthday, he was with Megan, watching a meteor shower.

On our anniversary, he took her out for a candlelit dinner.

For five Valentine’s Days in a row, he lit up the city harbor with fireworks for her.

A chill settled in the air between us.

I took a deep breath. “Aidan, you knew she was doing it on purpose, and you went anyway.”

“For eight hours, I stood there at our engagement party like an idiot, like a doll someone had thrown away.”

My eyes burned, and I refused to say more.

Aidan frowned and pulled a small, cheap-looking pouch from his pocket.

“Lia, it’s all my fault. I picked out a gift for you…”

Inside the flimsy pouch was a necklace. It was the cheap, complimentary item that came with one of Megan’s expensive designer birthday gifts.

A throbbing started in my temples, and it took every ounce of my self-control to suppress the wave of rage that threatened to boil over.

For all these years, no matter how deep our love was, Megan had always been wedged between us.

Aidan’s parents died when he was young. Megan’s parents took him in, fed him, clothed him, and raised him. He told me everything the day we started dating. He said he owed them a debt of gratitude, that he had to be good to Megan for the rest of his life.

I never objected to that.

But for her, he abandoned me, hurt me, time and time again. And every time I tried to have a serious conversation with him about it, he would just laugh it off, saying Megan was just a kid who didn't know the difference between platonic and romantic love.

But what about him? Did he know what love was?