Elara's POV
He slapped the letter down on the table, his voice cold enough to frost over. “What is this?”
Then something seemed to click in his mind. “No wonder you were acting weird today. First, you jumped to conclusions about Briar and me. Then at dinner, when we were talking, you didn’t even get jealous.”
His face twisted with sudden anger. “So, this is it. You’re planning to divorce me and run off! You’re a woman. Why would you go to such a remote place alone? Someone must be taking you there, right? Who is he? How long have you two been together?”
The absurdity of it almost made me laugh. He had built a whole life with another woman in Washington, and yet here he was accusing me of cheating.
I calmly walked forward, picked up the application letter and the divorce papers. “I originally planned to go to the Northwest to find you. That’s why I had someone draft the letter. And the divorce agreement doesn’t belong to me. I was helping someone else deliver it. I’m giving it back tomorrow.”
Callum stared at me, skeptical at first, but when he saw my expression hadn’t changed, the frost on his face finally melted. He let out a relieved laugh and said, “I knew it. You waited for me all these years, loved me all these years, how could you possibly divorce me?”
I lifted my head and met his eyes. “But if you ever betrayed me, if you ever settled down with another woman, then yes, I would divorce you. I waited because I love you. But that doesn’t mean I’m some fool who’d forgive betrayal. So, Callum, in these eight years, have you betrayed me?”
He froze for a couple of seconds before smiling helplessly and reaching for my hand. “Why are you suddenly talking like this? Of course, I wouldn’t betray you. If I ever did, may I die a terrible death. How about that?”
He even raised his hand dramatically, as if making a casual oath, smiling like it was all a joke.
If I hadn’t met his comrade, if I hadn’t seen his wedding photo with Briar, I would’ve believed him without question.
But now, the cold in my chest was bone-deep.
He looked at me with a face full of affection and cooed, “Elara, you’re the person I love most in this world. Those hard years in the Northwest, I survived them by looking at your photos every night. All I dreamed of, these eight years, was working my way up, getting transferred somewhere better, buying a big house, and bringing you all to live with me, so you could finally have the life of a respected officer’s wife.”
“There was one time, I fell off a snowy cliff and was unconscious for days. The doctors said I might not make it. But the moment I thought about leaving you a widow at such a young age, I forced myself to wake up. Elara, come to Washington with me. From now on, I’ll never let you suffer again,” he even added.
I wiped the faint dampness at the corner of my eyes and gave a quiet reply. “Alright.”
Callum, you lied about never betraying me. So, I guess it was okay that I lied just now, too.
That night, we slept on the same bed. When he tried to hold me, I subtly shifted away. After the second attempt, he sighed and rolled over, no longer moving. Only then did I finally drift off.
In my dreams, all I saw were memories of us when he used to ride his bike every day to take me to high school in town, and after class, he’d pull a warm roasted sweet potato from his sleeve for me.
When winter came, he secretly sold the family’s eggs so he could buy me a bright red scarf from the supply store.
Once, while we watched a movie about a man proposing to a woman, he leaned close to my ear and whispered, “When we get married, I’ll buy you a wedding dress just like that.”
But in the end, Briar was the one who got to wear that exact wedding dress he promised me.
