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He kept cooking for me,digging for proof tht=at I still loved him.
In an old box,he found mementos—USB drives,a camera,photo albums,diaries...
His eyes gleamed when he looked at me."Remember?We spent three months traveling.You wrote this diary,said Finland was your favorit countrye.Let's go again,okay?"
He opened the album.
A frozen moment of us kissing in front of the aurora.
I loved tangible things,so I printed it,placing it in the album.
The cover was that shot with aurora in it.
Beneath,text:Emily loves Nathan,Forever.
Seeing it,he relaxed,flipping further.
Soon,the people in the photos shifted to him and Vanessa.
Kissing in cars,outside studios,at airports,in elevatorson ,foreign streets.
Parting because work,them glancing back at each other,reluctant.
Vanessa running to him,kissing wildly.
That day,he texted me about extending a business trip.
A blank photo filled a page,stained with yellowed marks of tears,captioned:
[They went in at 11 p.m.,left at noon.A maid I met said they ruined the sheets.]
[Called him,he scolded me for overthinking.I'm so sad, so sad, so sad.]
Opposite,a close-up of Nathan's hand,bare.
[He removes his ring to kiss Vanessa.]
Snap!
Nathan slammed the album shut,forcing a shaky smile.
"I...I was drunk back then..."
He thrust his left hand forward.
"I'm wearing it!I didn't take it off!"
"I only removed it a few times because..."
I watched,waiting for a plausible excuse.
He deflated however,and lowered his head."I'm sorry,I was blind.Now I know who I really want."
I gave him a relieved smile.
"Me too."
I placed a box before him.
"Emily Harper's gone.The ring's yours—do what you want with it."
He shook his head."No...it's not like that...it can't end this way..."
He grabbed my hand,trying to slip it on.
I yanked back,frowning."Enough!I can't wear it—don't you get it?"
He insisted,"We have a marriage license.The law says we're a couple."
I sneered,"The law bounds Emily,not Sarah."
He ignored me,muttering,"It'll work,it'll work."
He forced the ring onto my ring finger,but it slid off.
Sarah's fingers were too slim for Emily's size.
He tried my index finger—it stayed this time.
He beamed."See?It fits."
I flicked my hand;the ring flew in the air,landing in a nearby well.
Nathan panicked,diving in after it.
Paparazzi,lurking nearby,swarmed over the wall.
Cameras zoomed on the well.
Someone shouted,"Nathan Brooks went crazy!Mistook his sister-in-law for his wife and jumped in to die for her!"
"That's the headline!It'll blow up!"
I turned,grabbed my things,and left.
Stepping out,a breeze hit my face.
