A Love Let Go, A Past Forgotten

Before registering our marriage, Yale Grant and I stopped at the mall to try on the jewelry set for our wedding. Just as I reached for one of the pieces, he suddenly stopped me. "Willa has fairer skin than you, so the jewelry will stand out more on her. Let her try it on instead." Without waiting for my answer, he began putting the jewelry on my best friend, Willa Lawson. He carefully wiped down each piece, warmed it in his hands, and fastened it around her, looking so practiced and attentive that anyone would have thought he'd done it a thousand times before. A couple passing by smiled at them. "A boyfriend that thoughtful is hard to find, sweetheart. You'd better hold on to him!" Willa glanced shyly at Yale, her cheeks turning pink. He made no attempt to correct their misunderstanding. Instead, he quietly handed his card to the sales associate. "I'll take everything." Not once did he ask for my opinion. This was already the tenth time that day he'd had Willa take my place. When we got into the car, he'd insisted that Willa sit in the passenger seat because she was slimmer and wouldn't obstruct his view. He'd put her in charge of all the wedding preparations because she was more attentive to detail. He'd even let her choose my wedding dress, claiming she had better taste. Somehow, Yale always managed to find something wrong with me, another reason I should step aside for the supposedly perfect Willa. If he thought she was so much better than me, she could have this relationship that had gone nowhere, too. The clerks' office was our next stop. When Yale reached for my hand, I pulled away. "No, thanks. Willa is better than me in everything. Why don't you have her take my place and marry you?" Chapter 1 Zoey's POV Yale froze at my words. He glanced at Willa, who looked just as bewildered, before turning back to me, his voice full of irritation. "What's with the childish attitude? We're about to get married. Can't you be a little more mature, like Willa? Stop joking about our marriage, okay?" Immature. That was the 196th flaw he'd found in me. We'd been together for nine years, from our school days into our careers. Yet whenever Willa was around, Yale always found some reason I should step aside for her. Willa was more popular, so she went to his friends' gatherings instead of me. She was more outgoing, so she got to take my place in couples' interviews. Her foreign language was better, so I was expected to give up my spot on a study trip with him. Eventually, everyone assumed Yale and Willa were the couple, while I, his actual girlfriend, was kept hidden away like some dirty little secret. For years, I wondered if I simply wasn't good enough, and I did everything I could to change. Just to earn a place in his passenger seat, I forced myself to lose weight, starving myself until my stomach bled and my thighs were thinner than Willa's arms. Yet after nine years, that passenger seat still belonged exclusively to her. That was when I finally understood. He didn't need a reason to favor her. Seeing us at a standoff, Willa hurried to smooth things over. "Yale, don't be mad. Zoey's probably just talking nonsense because she's hungry. There's no rush to get the marriage certificate. Let's eat first!" She linked one arm through mine, took Yale's hand with the other, and led us into a restaurant. As usual, Yale ordered a couples' meal for himself and Willa, then something separate for me. I used to make a fuss about wanting to share the couples' meal with him, unable to understand why it always had to be Willa. He'd look at me as though I were being completely unreasonable. "Willa eats less than you, so the set meal is better value with her. Stop being selfish and making other people spend more money just because of you." After that, I hadn't dared bring it up again. It wasn't until I tried ordering a couples' meal with a coworker that I discovered Yale had been lying. The portions were no different from ordering separately. He simply didn't want me to be his partner. This time, I swallowed my frustration and asked for the couples' meal myself. The server looked uncomfortable. "Our couples' meal is complimentary when you complete our couples' challenge. Would you like to participate?" Yale's expression tightened. Only after Willa gave him a little punch did he reluctantly nod. "We'll do it." The server then asked Yale to name ten of my flaws. He didn't hesitate. "Introverted, impulsive, careless, oversensitive, selfish..." The list went on and on. He rattled off dozens of flaws without stopping, until even the server couldn't bear listening anymore and finally interrupted him. Willa gave me a sympathetic look. "He's just used to finding fault with people. He'd be exactly the same if he had to list mine." Yet when Yale turned to Willa, he fell silent. He thought for so long that the diners at the next table, who'd arrived after us, had already packed up and left. Still, he couldn't come up with a single flaw. Willa finally broke the silence, joking, "Come on, your eyesight can't be that bad! You can't even see something as obvious as my pimples?" "Even your pimples are pretty," he blurted out. For a moment, everyone was stunned. Then the server broke into a smile and congratulated them. They were the first couple at the restaurant to complete the "Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder" challenge, earning themselves a complimentary couples' meal. I tilted my head back and made a show of rolling my eyes at Yale. No one noticed how badly my eyes stung or how close I was to tears. He could list flaw after flaw in me without repeating a single one, yet even Willa's pimples were beautiful to him. Once again, I'd lost, and it was a crushing defeat. Chapter 2 The rest of the meal passed in silence. No one brought up what had happened, and by the time we left the restaurant, the sun was setting. The clerks' office had already closed. Yale checked his watch with a frown, clearly annoyed. "Next time you feel like throwing a tantrum, at least pick a better time. We took time out of our day off to come with you, not to put up with your nonsense. If you could be as considerate as Willa, we might actually have gotten what we came for done." Inconsiderate. Flaw number 197. I silently added it to the list, my throat too tight to get a word out. Today was their day off, not mine. Apparently, no one remembered that I'd worked through the night just to take today off. Yale had always believed Willa was better at planning things, so he'd never bothered asking for my opinion when choosing dates. Like the anniversary trip I'd been looking forward to for so long. I'd waited eight hours at the airport and called him 108 times. It wasn't until after dark that he finally replied, as casually as if nothing were wrong. "Willa said the day before yesterday was a better day to travel, so we already went. We're still getting over the jet lag. You're the one who wasn't free. Who else can you blame?" Two days earlier, I'd been picking out an anniversary gift for him, a pair of matching rings I planned to surprise him with during our trip. He'd asked if I was free, and I'd told him I was busy. He'd simply replied, "Okay." Then he'd gone on our anniversary trip with my best friend instead, without telling me a single thing. Out of spite, I'd decided to save the rings for our next anniversary. Then he'd see what he'd missed out on and regret it. Yet nine years had passed, and he'd never spent a single anniversary with me. The ring box was still lying in my suitcase, like a silent grave. Willa gave Yale a playful punch on the arm. "Hey, don't be mean to our Zoey! It's just a marriage certificate. You two can always get it another day." Yale affectionately ruffled her hair. "But you might not feel like coming next time. I know you. You're always changing your mind." "Then what if I want to go see the ocean right now?" "Your wish is my command." Just like that, they'd decided where to go next, without a single word to me. I watched them walk toward the beach, side by side in the golden light of the setting sun. The sight hurt so much I could barely look. I wanted to ask Yale why Willa's willingness to come along mattered when it was our marriage certificate we were getting. My lips parted, but I couldn't bring myself to speak. I could practically hear what he'd say. Maybe flaw number 198 would be that I was too jealous. With a bitter little smile, I opened my chat with my boss. [Ms. Zane, I've decided to accept the promotion you mentioned last time, the one that comes with a five-year overseas assignment.] Her reply was a simple [OK. See you at the airport tomorrow at 2 p.m.] When I looked up from my phone, Yale and Willa were leaning against each other in the distance. She'd completely taken the place that used to be mine, and they looked so comfortable together, as though it had always been hers. While I stood there staring, Yale suddenly stopped and turned to wave at me. "Zoey, come here!" I instinctively drew a breath, ready to shout that they didn't have to wait for me. Before I could get the words out, however, they'd already turned away, their shoulders touching once more. The breath left my lungs like air escaping a punctured balloon. I blinked a few times, then turned and walked in the opposite direction without looking back. For nine years, I'd been the foolish little bird waiting in the same place for them. For once, I wanted to spread my wings and fly away before they did. Chapter 3 Back at the home Yale and I were supposed to share after our wedding, I opened the suitcase beside the bed and began packing. We'd only moved in a month ago, so there wasn't much to take. Once I'd thrown away the ring box I'd kept hidden for nine years, there was even less. I'd just closed my suitcase when an electronic voice rang out from the front door. "Lady Lawson has arrived! Everybody, make way!" A gust of salty sea air swept inside, and I stared in surprise as Willa pushed the door open. "Zoey, why'd you come back early without telling us? Yale and I waited forever for you at the beach!" Ignoring her reproachful look, I kept my eyes fixed on the door. "How did you get in?" "Yale registered my fingerprint on the very first day! Did you hear my special welcome message? Pretty awesome, right?" I nodded, a bitter taste filling my mouth. In the month since we'd moved in, Yale had given me nothing but a key. Whenever I forgot to bring it, I had no choice but to wait until he got off work so he could let me in. Only now did I discover that he'd registered Willa's fingerprint the very day we'd gotten the keys to our new home. He'd even set up a personalized welcome message for her. In our marital home. Before I could ask anything else, Willa excitedly pulled out the jewelry we'd bought earlier. "Oh, forget about Yale! He's gone to buy me some tampons. Come on, let's try on the ring!" With that, she slipped the ring onto my ring finger. Except Willa was the only person who'd tried it on at the store, so of course it didn't fit me. The ring scraped painfully against my knuckle, and I couldn't help pushing her hand away. Willa lost her balance and grabbed my wrist to steady herself, sending us both tumbling to the floor. She landed hard on her backside, while I struck my forehead and split it open. Yale came through the door just then, his voice rising to a shrill shout. "Zoey Shaw! What the hell are you doing?" He rushed over and carefully helped Willa to her feet. Whenever I'd fallen and asked him for help in the past, he'd only told me to learn to be independent like Willa. Yet now that Willa had actually fallen, he couldn't bear to let her struggle for even a moment. Only after thoroughly checking that she was all right did he finally look at me, his voice turning ice-cold. "When did you get so vicious? Willa was just trying to help you try on the ring. Why did you push her? Apologize to her right now!" Vicious. Flaw number 199. Blood was running into my eyes, and I was in too much pain to speak. Willa held her backside and waved him off. "It's not Zoey's fault. I'm just tired and lost my balance." She tried to straighten up to show she was fine, but suddenly went pale and clutched her stomach. Yale immediately scooped her into his arms. "We're going to the hospital!" Willa tried to insist it was just period cramps, but for once, Yale refused to listen to her. He grabbed his car keys and headed straight for the door. Just before he opened it, I called out through my sobs. "Yale! I'm bleeding." He stopped and turned to look at me, frowning at the blood covering half my face. His lips parted as though he was about to say something, but the moment Willa cried out in pain, he turned away again. Just before the door closed, I heard his hoarse voice. "I'll call an ambulance for you. But if anything happens to Willa, you can forget about getting married." Chapter 4 In the end, the ambulance Yale promised never came. Even as I slipped into unconsciousness, I'd clung to the hope that he might at least have the decency to call one, if only so I'd still be around to apologize to Willa. He hadn't. When I woke in the middle of the night, I was still lying on the floor, the blood around me long since dried. Somehow, I managed to drag myself up and call a cab to the hospital. As the ER doctor tended to my wound, he sighed. "You're a grown woman. It's about time you found yourself a boyfriend. Otherwise, when something happens in the middle of the night, you're stuck dealing with it all alone. You should've seen the guy who came in earlier tonight. His girlfriend had menstrual cramps, and he carried her all the way to the operating table in his arms. He even threatened our careers if anything happened to her!" I forced a faint smile but said nothing. What he didn't know was that I had a boyfriend. We'd even been on the verge of getting married. My fiancé had simply abandoned me, bleeding and injured, in the middle of the night so he could play knight in shining armor for another woman. After getting five stitches, I spent the rest of the night in the hospital lobby. By the time the first wave of patients began arriving in the morning, I finally dragged my aching body home. The moment I opened the door, I was greeted by the heartwarming sight of a happy family of three. Willa sat on the couch, sipping a mug of hot tea, while Yale sat close beside her, gently massaging her stomach with his large hand. His mother, Margaret Grant, had prepared a whole table of nourishing dishes and was fussing over Willa as she ladled out a generous serving. The smile that had left deep creases around Margaret's eyes vanished the moment she saw me. "Well, look who's got the nerve to show her face after hurting my precious goddaughter!" She'd always adored Willa, treating her as more of a daughter-in-law than she'd ever treated me. The only reason Willa was her goddaughter instead was that I'd already taken the position of daughter-in-law. When I didn't argue, she grew even bolder. With a sneer, she reached into her bag and began pulling out tools one by one. A screwdriver, a wrench, a pair of pliers, a hammer, and a pipe wrench. "If you don't like the jewelry Willa picked out for you, then you can take these tools with you and attend the wedding instead!" I turned to Yale. "Is this what you want, too?" I asked quietly. His hand paused briefly against Willa's stomach, but he made no attempt to stop Margaret. "You owe Willa an apology." A bitter smile crossed my face. I should have realized long ago that Margaret would never have treated me so cruelly without his tacit approval. Yale had never cared when I was hurt or humiliated, no matter how difficult his mother made things for me. Naturally, she'd taken his indifference to mean that I didn't matter to him, and her treatment of me had only gotten worse. This time, though, I was done putting up with it. I pushed the tools back toward her. "Save yourself the trouble, Mrs. Grant. I'm not getting married anymore." Yale reacted as though I'd slapped him simply by my casual attitude. He completely ignored my announcement about the wedding, apparently dismissing it as another tantrum. "Zoey Shaw, when did you become so disrespectful? You can't even show my mother enough respect?" Yet when had his mother ever shown me any respect? I'd made so many mistakes over the years, the biggest being my belief that if I endured enough, things would eventually get better. Instead, Yale had just found my 200th flaw. According to him, I had no respect for my elders, and he expected me to bow my head and accept his judgment. What chance was there that anything would ever change? I should've learned my lesson the first time. Instead, I'd kept making the same mistake with Yale, two hundred times over. Enough was enough. It was time to walk away. Ignoring his dark expression, I slapped the key to our marital home onto the table and retrieved my suitcase from beside Margaret's feet. "We're over, Yale." His expression shifted slightly. His gaze moved from the key to my suitcase, then back to my face. Suddenly, he let out a contemptuous laugh, as though he'd caught me trying to pull some obvious trick. "There's a limit to playing hard to get, Zoey. You're thirty. That kind of nonsense doesn't work anymore. Willa is better than you in every way. Who else besides me would put up with all your flaws?" I paused on my way out, but only long enough to leave him with one final sentence. "Then marry your perfect Willa and leave me alone." Behind me, Yale's furious voice rang out. "Let her go! Willa, you can move into the master bedroom. Don't waste your time worrying about people who don't matter!" I tuned out the noise behind me, went straight downstairs, and took a cab to the airport. My phone buzzed twice. Willa had messaged me, urging me to be patient and suggesting that Yale and I get our marriage certificate the following week instead. Once again, one of them had made the decision without asking me. This time, though, I wouldn't have to exhaust myself working overtime just to squeeze in another day off for them. Instead, I could quietly board a plane and fly toward a new life on the other side of the world. - Third-person POV Seven days later, Yale deliberately arrived at the registry office half an hour late. He'd actually come to regret the harsh things he'd said to Zoey and had even made Willa move out of the master bedroom. What angered him more, though, was that Zoey hadn't sent him a single message in all those days. It was almost as if they'd really broken up. He sat in his car, waiting impatiently. After an hour, he figured she was still sulking. By the second hour, he was convinced she was deliberately trying to put him in his place. Three hours passed, and he began to wonder if something had happened to her. By the fourth hour, he couldn't stand it anymore. He finally messaged one of her close coworkers, Megan Parker, to ask where she was. The reply came almost immediately. [Zoey? She got promoted and left for a five-year overseas assignment. You're her boyfriend. How do you not know that?]