Love Long Gone

The next day, I showed up for my shift as usual. The restaurant was eerily quiet.

I looked up.

My mom was sitting in the middle of the dining room. In front of her sat a cup of tea, untouched. Her face was dark — the kind of dark that made your stomach drop.

The manager was wiping sweat off his forehead, forcing a smile. "Ms. Miller, we'll definitely look into what happened yesterday and get back to you with an explanation..."

Before he could finish, her eyes locked onto me. That familiar wave of pressure hit me square in the chest. I knew it. She was here for me.

I walked over, my voice hard. "Sarah, what do you want?"

She looked up at me, her tone ice cold. "Something was wrong with your food yesterday. My daughter got sick on the way home. Her father is very upset."

I smiled tightly. "So? Are you using this as an excuse to come after me? Or do you want to drag me and my dad over to apologize to Caleb like you did three years ago?"

Her expression shifted instantly. Something flickered behind her eyes — guilt, maybe, or struggle.

I knew she remembered that night three years ago. The way she'd played both me and my dad for fools.

Back then, my dad and I really thought she'd gone bankrupt. She said she'd lost her company. Said she was drowning in debt. Said she couldn't keep her head above water anymore and wanted a divorce so she wouldn't drag us down with her.

My dad worked a dozen jobs a day to pay off her debts. He got so exhausted that he could fall asleep standing up.

Debt collectors showed up at our door more than once. Finally, my dad went with them to an underground clinic and donated part of his liver. The day he came home, his face was shockingly pale.

But even then, he gritted his teeth and bought me a small cake. He even made a whole table of food.

I was starving, but I didn't touch it. Because my dad put his hand on my head and said, "Let's wait a little longer. We'll light the candles when Mom gets home."

We waited from nightfall until dawn. We reheated the food again and again.

Mom never came.

The next morning, every billboard and news feed was playing the same story. Mom was wearing a couture gown, holding Caleb's hand, having a fairy-tale wedding in front of the whole world.

I stood under the screen, tugging at my dad's shirt. I asked him quietly, "Dad... is that Mom?"

My dad stood in front of the TV, his whole body shaking. His hands were cold as ice.

He grabbed me and took me straight to the wedding.

When he burst in, the whole place went dead silent.

His eyes were red. He was so angry that he could barely control himself. "Didn't you say you were broke? You've been lying to me this whole time? I'm your husband! Why are you marrying someone else—"

His voice broke.

Caleb went pale on the spot and shrank into my mom's arms. "Sarah, is he telling the truth?"

My mom pulled him close and whispered something to calm him down.

But when she looked at us, her face went cold instantly. Like she was looking at trash.

"Security!" she snapped. "Get these two lunatics out of here!"

Right then, the whole room erupted. The insults hit me and my dad like slaps.

"Shows up with some kid and thinks he can marry into a wealthy family? Shameless."

"Everyone knows Caleb and Sarah grew up together. She's famously devoted to Caleb. Who do these nobodies think they are?"

Later, Mom came to find my dad again. She brought gifts. She kept saying we were the ones she really loved. She even said that faking the bankruptcy was just a test of his love. She told us Caleb had a terminal illness and she just wanted to grant his dying wish.

She told my dad to be patient, just a little longer.

"Really," she said. "Once he's gone, I'll bring you and Kevin back out in the open. I'll make it up to you double."

My dad was crying so hard he could barely stand. He shoved her hands off him. He pounded his fist on his chest and screamed, "You knew I donated part of my liver to pay off your debts! You knew your own son couldn't even afford to go to school! Sarah, I hate you. How could you do this to us?"

Back then, the soles of my shoes were practically worn through. But I never complained. I even said I wanted to save Mom money.

Mom just stood there. For a second, I thought I saw guilt in her eyes.

But before she could say anything, there was a crash at the door.

Caleb was standing there, white as a ghost. "Sarah... why is he here?"

Mom's face changed completely. She shoved my dad away and ran to Caleb. "Caleb, don't misunderstand. He's just some crazy man. He won't leave me alone."

Then she turned back to my dad, her face full of disgust. "You scared Caleb. Apologize to him. Now."

That night, her security guards forced my dad to his knees outside the door. I got down on my knees right next to him.

While we were kneeling outside, they were celebrating their wedding night inside. My dad and I froze outside. The snow came down hard and fast, burying us before long.

"Don't make a scene."

My mom's voice pulled me back to the present.

I looked at the woman in front of me. The memories kept replaying, over and over, until there was nothing left to feel.

She still didn't know that my dad had lost his life because of her.