Chapter 5

Luke jolted and shoved me back at once, spinning around to block her. "Chloe, don't say that!"

He lowered his voice and coaxed her until her sobs eased. Only then did he grab my wrist and drag me into the room.

The door shut. His face turned cold in an instant.

Luke sounded tired and disappointed, like he was forcing his emotions down with both hands.

"Ivy." He rubbed between his brows. "I know you don't exactly like Chloe, but can you stop provoking her?"

I stared at him and, all of a sudden, he felt like a stranger.

"You're the only woman I'll ever love." He kept his voice low, the way you soothe a child who won't behave. "So stop testing me like this. There's no point."

Something in my chest sank even further. I tugged at the corner of my mouth, my voice flat. "Fine. I got it."

Seeing how "obedient" I was, he softened. He reached out, trying to touch my face. "So... are you willing to come home now?"

I leaned away from his hand. "No. Let's have dinner tonight. There's something I need to tell you."

His expression flickered. A vague unease slid into his eyes.

He was about to ask what I meant when Chloe started knocking at the door, pitiful and small.

"Luke," she cried through the wood, her voice shaking, "I twisted my ankle. It really hurts... can you take me to the ER?"

Luke's hand froze midair. His eyes were full of struggle.

His mouth wanted to refuse, but his body moved anyway. He went out and caught her.

Chloe cried again, clinging to him. "Luke... I can't walk..."

He shut his eyes for a beat. In the end, he scooped her up in his arms. "Ivy, I'll take her to get checked. I'll be right back."

The moment the door swung closed, Chloe glanced over his shoulder and shot me a smug, satisfied look.

I walked to the window and watched Luke hurry away with her in his arms. Standing there, I felt a sudden clarity settle over me.

This farce was over.

I went straight to the grocery store and quit my job.

That afternoon, I asked a few coworkers I was close to meet me for dinner at Applebee's in town.

By evening, everyone was seated in the private room—everyone except Luke. His chair sat empty.

"Maybe we should start?" Lisa asked carefully. "Maybe something held him up..."

I checked my watch. He was already thirty minutes late. "We're not waiting. Bring the food."

We had barely picked up our forks when I said it calmly, like I was stating the weather. "I'm going back to New York. I'm going home to get married."

The whole table went silent.

Karen's fork clattered against the tabletop. "Ivy, don't do something stupid. Captain Vance, he—"

"It's over between him and me." I cut her off. My voice was light, but every word landed clean.

The door to the room suddenly pushed open.

Luke arrived at last with Chloe trailing beside him, his forehead slick with sweat.

"Sorry. We're late."

The moment everyone saw Chloe, faces tightened, the air turning strange and careful.

Chloe dropped into the empty seat with a thud. Her eyes swept over the dishes spread across the table. She curled her lip and spoke in that sweet-and-sour tone that made your skin crawl. "Ivy, Luke's salary might be okay, but he earns it risking his life. Spending money like this... it's kind of wasteful, don't you think? If Luke hadn't insisted I come, I would've stayed home. At least then I could've helped him save some money..."

Luke frowned and snapped, "Chloe. Enough."

She lowered her head as if she'd been scolded unfairly, yet she showed off a brand-new Bulova watch on her wrist—matching the men's Bulova watch on Luke's wrist, the same style, the same shine.

My coworkers traded looks. The room froze.

Inside, I felt nothing at all.

Luke sensed the mood was off. He poured himself a Budweiser and downed it in one go.

"Ivy. You said you wanted to talk. About what?" He looked almost pleased with himself, and a little put-upon at the same time. "Don't tell me you're in a rush to push us into rescheduling the wedding."

Then he tried to sound reasonable. "Let's give it time. Chloe's still unstable. We shouldn't do anything that makes her anxious. Maybe in a few weeks—"

"Bang!"

Lisa slammed her hand down, unable to listen anymore. Her voice turned icy with sarcasm.

"Captain Vance, you've got it completely wrong. Ivy isn't here to talk about rescheduling a wedding."

"She's here to tell you she's going home."

"To get married."

In an instant, every look at the table turned toward Luke—contempt mixed with ridicule, sharp enough to cut.

Luke's smile stiffened on his face.

"...Married?" His voice trembled. He looked at me, urgent, panicked. "To who? Ivy, say something."

"You're my fiancée—"

I knew he was scared. I set my utensils down and met his eyes, cutting him off. "Luke, I'm going back to New York. My family arranged a marriage for me, and I accepted."

"We're done. Completely."

The glass in his hand slipped.

It hit the floor with a hard crack and shattered into pieces.