Love I Can No Longer Touch Chapter 06
Crammed together, they barely filled a small suitcase. There wasn’t much that truly belonged to me in the first place, for Ashley had bought the vast majority of them. Since I’d decided to leave, I naturally wouldn’t be taking any of the things Ashley bought for me.
I took only the few items I’d brought with me from the orphanage all those years ago, all except for the handmade wooden sculpture that sat on the cabinet in the corner of the living room.
It was something we had made together at a market fair on our very first date. It was rough and crude, since neither of us had an ounce of artistic talent. The paint job, too, was a laughable mess of red and Blue splotches.
Even so, we both treasured it and gave it the most prominent spot in the living room.
Ashley had told me then, “No matter how many more precious things we have in the future, none of them will ever mean as much as this. That’s because this is the first thing we ever made together.”
She cherished that wooden sculpture. She would dust it carefully every single day and swap out the little decorations adorning it from time to time, keeping it fresh.
Now, it sat forgotten in some neglected corner, coated in dust.
After thinking it over, I decided to leave it behind for Ashley.
Then, dragging my suitcase behind me, I left the villa I had called home for years. At the same time, I bid farewell to the love that had begun in my youth.
The moment I pushed open the door, I collided headlong with Ashley, who had just rushed back.
She saw the suitcase in my hand and asked, “Where are you going?”
I looked at her. “Is that any of your business? Ashley, we’re already going to get a divorce.”
She reached out to snatch the suitcase from my grip. My hand couldn’t withstand the slightest strain, so l surrendered it to her all too easily.
I let out a sharp hiss of pain. Ashley anxiously grabbed my hand, but I shook her off.
“Shaun,” she murmured softly.
Had it been three months ago, a tender plea like that might have stirred something in me. Now, I was long past feeling anything at all.
“So, what is it you’re regretting? Do you actually feel sorry for me? Or are you just sorry that from now on, I won’t be around to massage away your migraines?”
My buddy, Normal Nielsen, took a swig of his beer and stared at me wide eyed.
“You really said that to her?”
I nodded.
“What? Jordan gets to play mind games with her, but I’m not allowed to land a few psychological blows of my own?”
Norman set down his beer, looking like he couldn’t quite find the words.
“I just didn’t expect it, that’s all. I mean, everyone knows how kind you are.”
Norman was a good friend of mine from the orphanage. Later, he was adopted by a comfortably well-off family and went on to live a happy life.
However, we never lost touch with each other. During the hardest years for Ashley and me, he helped out more times than I could count.
He knew the story of Ashley and me like the back of his hand, and over these past two years, he had grown even more indignant on my behalf than I was myself.
When I told him I had decided to get a divorce, he was ready to run out and buy a dozen fireworks to celebrate my return to single life. However, after hearing everything I’d just said, he had grown hesitant.
“I’m just curious-are you hoping she’ll reflect on all of this and then the two of you will get back together?”
“God, no.” I finally understood why he’d been looking at me like that. “I’ve been hurt too much by her to let her off that easily. I’m not a big enough person to let her ride off into the sunset with Jordan. Even if I’m leaving, I’m going to make sure she chokes on it.”
Striking at the heart was something anyone could do. It was just that I simply hadn’t been willing to make her suffer before. And so, I let her keep hurting me over and over again.
