A deliveryman entered the hall. He walked toward Luke and handed an envelope to him. Luke’s fingers were trembling when he opened it. In the envelope was my farewell letter.
Unbearable pain stung the backs of his eyes. Luke came to the sudden realization that he had lost the person who had always been following after him.
When she realized what was happening, joy flitted across Riley’s features. “Luke, I’m willing to take her place,”
Luke shoved Riley away in the next second. “Shut your mouth. Summer must be playing a joke on me. She’s still pregnant with my child. She must still be angry over the bracelet and wants me to personally pick her up from the house.”
Luke ignored everyone who tried to stop him and headed back home. His breathing turned progressively more ragged as he stood before the entrance of the Logan residence. He recalled how he was the one who held my hand as he led me through the door all those
years ago.
In the present, Luke couldn’t find the courage to push the door open no matter how long he stood before it. He was afraid to face reality. He was terrified to push open the door, only to find an empty house.
1/2
Chapter 5
+15 Bonus
He finally opened the door. His heart froze over instantly. The interior of the house had changed. The photographs were back on
the wall, but only he remained in the frames.
Nearly half of the items in the house had also been removed. I had eradicated every trace of myself from the Logan residence.
Luke knew in his heart that I wasn’t just throwing a temper tantrum. I had truly left.
He noticed a new glass bottle sitting on a wall shelf. Under the bottle was a piece of paper. Hope sparked in his eyes for a moment, but it was quickly extinguished when he approached the shelf. An embryo that was no bigger than a grape rested within the
bottle.
After he looked at the date that was printed on the medical record, the sounds of my desperate sobbing echoed in his ears once
more.
He had heard me that day at the hospital, but he had intentionally ignored my cries for help due to the anger he felt in his heart
and the hurt he felt for Riley. He had wanted to teach me a lesson.
Riley stepped into the house. Her high heels clacked against the floor. She enveloped Luke in a hug. “This is all Summer’s fault. It
has nothing to do with you.”
Luke barked out a disbelieving laugh as he pushed Riley away. Riley’s voice was choked up when she asked, “Why are you mad at me, Luke? I just lost your child, and my body is still weak.”
Luke was stunned for a moment as if recalling something. His hand shot out, and he wrapped his fingers around Riley’s neck.
“That day at the hospital, did Summer try to push you down the
stairs?”
D
