Chapter 2
The moment he spoke, Luke saw Leslie's face turn pale. He realized he'd gone too far. His tone softened slightly.
He said, "Leslie, I gave her the ring because she's been with me for years, accompanying me from obscurity to success. Don't you think I should thank her for that?"
Leslie stared at him, a wave of bitterness washing over her. It felt like someone was choking her, or like she'd just been slapped in the face.
Her voice was hoarse. "Luke, she's only been your secretary for three years. I've been your wife for twelve years!"
She continued, "On my birthday, you gave me a stray dog nobody wanted, but you used our money to buy her a ridiculously expensive ring as a token of gratitude. Did you ever stop to think about how that makes me feel?"
Luke's face turned beet red as Leslie called him out, his eyes flickering with guilt. Suddenly, he burst out, "Leslie, when did you become so petty? You're just a housewife. Who are you gonna show that ring off to anyway?"
Seeing Luke's guilty and angry face, Leslie's eyes flickered, and she let out a sarcastic smile. He was still fixated on the ring.
After twelve years of marriage, he still didn't get it. It wasn't about the dog or the ring. It was about how he treated her.
Back when they first got together, Luke was flat broke. On her birthday, he couldn't even scrape together ten dollars.
In the end, he made her a ring out of grass with his own hands. He carefully trimmed off the rough edges and handed it to her, looking all kinds of guilty.
"I'm sorry, Leslie. I don't have any money right now, but trust me, I'll work hard and make sure you get the best of everything someday!" he promised.
To anyone else, that grass ring might've seemed worthless, but to Leslie, it was the most precious gift she'd ever received. It carried all the fiery love of a young man.
Now that he finally had money, dressed to the nines and standing in front of her, all those promises he once made were long forgotten.
After Luke finished his rant, he saw Leslie still staring at him. He looked away, waving her off. "I can't be bothered with you anymore. If you keep acting crazy, maybe we should just call it quits!"
Just then, his phone rang.
When he saw the caller ID, all the anger on Luke's face vanished instantly.
He answered right away, his voice suddenly extra gentle. "Abbey, what's wrong?"
On the other end, Abbey's voice was choked with sobs. "Luke, my stomach just started hurting really bad..."
Luke's expression changed in a flash.
He blurted out, "What? Okay, just hang on. I'm coming right now!"
He hung up, worry written all over his face. Not sparing Leslie a single glance, he bolted out the door in a panic.
Leslie watched as Luke rushed out, and suddenly the cake in her mouth tasted bitter and harsh. The appetite she'd had just moments before vanished without a trace.
She slowly put down the cake and got up to head to her room, but just then, her phone chimed.
It was a text from an unfamiliar number.
Almost as if she'd sensed it coming, Leslie tapped open the message. It was from Abbey.
What popped up was a three-month pregnancy checkup report, and right after it, Abbey had tacked on a "thoughtful" message.
Abbey: [Luke and I are having our first baby. To thank me, he bought me a luxury sapphire ring and even gave me a private villa.]
Abbey: [Leslie, Luke is spending the night with me. Why don't you just spend your birthday with your dog?]
Leslie's eyes widened in shock, unable to tear her gaze away from the pregnancy report. It felt like a knife had been driven straight through her heart, and a cold numbness spread through her hands and feet.
Right after that, a message from Luke popped up.
Luke: [Something urgent came up at work, so I won't be home tonight. I'm sorry that I missed your birthday. I owe you one. After tomorrow's business event, I'll make it up to you with a gift.]
Maybe realizing how cold that sounded, he added: [Don't be mad. Get some sleep.]
Leslie stared at the two messages, a bitter, hollow laugh escaping her lips.
She hadn't heard what Luke said on the phone. But from his gentle tone and the way he called "Abbey" tenderly, anyone could tell he wasn't heading out for work.
Even now, Luke was still lying to Leslie.
The clock chimed, its sound echoing through the empty house.
Leslie glanced up at the wall clock and saw it was already past midnight. Her birthday had come and gone.
This marked the twelfth birthday she'd spent with Luke.
They were college classmates. Luke was handsome and top of the class. And when he stepped up as the new student rep on the first day, everyone's eyes were on him.
Leslie was in the audience, and her heart skipped a beat the second she laid eyes on him.
Back then, Leslie was young, came from money, and had all that youthful confidence. She went after Luke with everything she had.
Even though they were in different majors, Leslie made sure to take the electives Luke picked. During PE, she'd slip out of class just to hand him a bottle of water after his basketball games.
She even paid off his roommate to get his class schedule, timing her lunch breaks perfectly so she could "accidentally" run into him at the cafeteria every day.
After a while, everyone on campus knew Leslie liked Luke, but he always kept his distance. That was how things stayed for four whole years.
Even his roommate tried to talk Leslie out of it. "Luke's like an iceberg. There's no way you'll ever get through to him."
But Leslie just smiled, ever the optimist. "Even the hardest iceberg melts eventually. If I keep trying, he'll come around."