Chapter 194
But the one thing he couldn’t stomach was that even Leanne belonged to his brother, Phillip.
Why, of all people, did it have to be Phillip?
If Leanne’s affection tilted towards him, what was he even in love with?
He couldn’t bear going home to face Leanne, who had feelings for Phillip. Instead, he buried himself in project after project, numbing his restless heart with relentless busyness.
He made time to swing by on Devin’s birthday but hadn’t expected Leanne to show up.
When he saw her, all the pent-up emotions flooded back inside, like disappointment, resentment, and frustration.
“Why even you are like this, too? You’re in love with Phillip, so what business do I have loving you? Your heart’s got room for him. I need to make room for someone else to even the score.” He recalled.
And so, he made a mistake that would haunt him for life.
He regretted it right after the words left his mouth as Leanne walked away. Trying to hurt her brought him no satisfaction, only a heavy unease, like the air thick with humidity. before a storm.
Tossing and turning in the deafening silence of the night, he wondered if she’d cry. She was always so quick to tears.
Eventually, he convinced himself to pretend he’d never heard a thing. Leanne wasn’t indifferent to him, was she? Maybe there was a hint of love?
On the day when Phillip announced his engagement, Curtis intended to make amends when they returned to the Richardson Manor.
He wanted to tell her he’d lied that day and that she was the only one he ever loved.
At dinner, Leanne didn’t even look in his direction. Curtis noticed she was completely avoiding her favorite fried chicken.
After dinner, he sought her out, only to overhear her asking Phillip desperately, “Do you love Ms. Watson?”
Curtis couldn’t ignore how she’d stared blankly at Tina during the meal.
The envy in her gaze was like a needle piercing through the last shred of his self-delusion. Leaning against the wallpaper in the hallway, staring at the dim ceiling light, he felt at
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Chapter 194
profound sense of defeat.
It was then that he decided to leave for Emberland.
During his years in Starlake, Curtis threw himself into his fast-paced, high-stress job. The less free time he had, the less he thought of Leanne.
There were sleepless nights and impulsive moments when he almost called her, but he always stopped short, reined in by sober reason.
Half a year later, he returned home, only to find Leanne’s demeanor as icy as before their marriage, if not colder.
She showed no desire to communicate. When Curtis spoke, she often responded with
silence.
One morning, as he came downstairs, she was taking medicine. “Feeling under the weather?” he asked.
“Just a cold,” she replied.
He suggested she dress warm as it might get colder, but she didn’t respond or get additional clothing.
Curtis called out to ask when she’d be off work as he was about to leave. After a pause, she said she’d stay at Joy’s that night.
It seemed she’d forgotten that it was their wedding anniversary.
Curtis had traveled miles to face this anticlimax and flew back to Starlake that night.
As two yea
years passed, the distance between him and Leanne grew. Until that third fall, when Jennifer called to remind him that the three-year mark was approaching and he should come home to finalize the paperwork.
That same day, Leanne, who had never initiated contact, called him, and Curtis knew she must want to discuss the divorce.
In his mind, it was a signal she couldn’t wait to send.
He knew divorce was the best option for him and Leanne. Yet, another force was. wrestling with his logic.
He’d come home to end things, but whenever Leanne seemed ready to bring up that inexplicable force would overpower his reason.
divorce,
So, he evaded and procrastinated, each time more clumsily than the last.
If he’d recognized that force for what it was sooner, admitted he still loved her and couldn’t let her go, would he have been able to keep her?
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