Outgrowing Love

This little suburban villa was a home with a yard that Sean specifically chose after the law firm started turning a profit, just to satisfy my love of growing flowers, plants, and fruit.

Whenever work exhausted me, I would look at everything I had planted with my own hands. Watching them grow always made the fatigue disappear. When the fruit ripened, Sean and I would sit in the yard together, watching TV shows and eating freshly picked fruit. Those quiet, warm moments were rare.

Now, the strawberries that had just ripened were ripped out by the roots, thrown aside, and trampled into the dirt. The garden beds had also been flattened and replaced with a newly installed hanging swing. The tree I planted two years ago had been cut clean in half, chopped into pieces, and hauled away. Even the orchids I used for decoration were all gone, replaced with bright, showy peonies.

I rushed forward and demanded an explanation from the workers. That was when I found out it was all Sean’s order. Just to please Brittany and her parents, he had erased every trace of my past here and redecorated everything to her preferences. For that, Sean sure was ruthless.

Coming back to my senses, I didn’t stop the workers anymore. I walked straight into the house, only wanting to pack my things and leave as soon as possible. However, as I searched through the cabinets, something suddenly fell to the floor. I followed the sound and saw the wedding ring Sean and I had bought when we first got married.

Back then, he had just started the law firm. Just keeping it afloat had drained all his savings. He couldn’t even afford a wedding, let alone a ring. To save money, we simply registered our marriage and left it at that. Afterward, we even lived in the office. Every day was beans on toast or whatever food we could get from business dinners. By the time the holidays came around, I didn’t even have enough money to buy myself a new winter coat.

He felt endlessly guilty about it, so much so that he gave up his pride to approach a former rival with whom he had once been at loggerheads. Under the influence of alcohol, he knelt before the man, hoping the man would lend him a hand and provide some resources.

I could vividly remember the night he came back. He was drunk, his shirt was burned with cigarette holes, and there were still faint handprints on his face. However, he didn’t seem to care at all. He just smiled and handed me a diamond ring, saying it was his way of making it up to me before spending the entire night vomiting in the bathroom.

From that day on, I believed Sean loved me with all his heart, and I made up my mind to stand by him and fight alongside him. Alas, I never once had the chance to wear the ring, one he had traded his dignity and pride for. Our relationship had long since fallen apart and was no longer what it once was. I gave the ring one last look before throwing it into the trash and continuing packing.

Come to think of it, it was actually pretty funny. The bedroom was huge, and I spent ages tidying it up, but in the end I couldn’t even fill a suitcase. It was just like our marriage, which existed in name only but was empty inside.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh and dragged my suitcase toward the door. As I passed the corner, the heel of my shoe suddenly snapped. I lost my balance and slammed into the cabinet. In the next second, a dark wooden box fell to the floor, and my expression changed instantly.

That box was the one Sean treasured most. Inside were the belongings his late mother had left behind. All these years, he had never allowed anyone to touch it, nor had he ever opened it in front of anyone. He had even set a password lock on it.

Now, the box had cracked open from the fall, its contents spilling into view. However, with just one glance, I froze where I stood.