Ch. he left me waiting for 3 years so i left him forever 5 he left me waiting for 3 years so i left him forever 5

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Chapter 5 

On Saturday morning, I was planting the seedling on the balcony when Ethan walked over. 

“What are you doing, Claire?” 

Potting soil was scattered across the balcony floor, and several empty flowerpots surrounded me. 

“You’re up? Come help me plant this.” 

“Sure. That seedling’s been sitting here for days. What suddenly made you want to plant it?” 

“I just felt like it. Will you help me?” 

“Of course.” 

He rolled up his sleeves and took the hand trowel from me. 

I held the seedling upright and looked at him carefully. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“Because it’s been such a long time since I last saw you.” 

“We’ll have plenty of time together from now on.” 

“Ethan, do you remember what you said when you proposed to me three years ago?” 

“Of course I do. How could I forget?” 

“Could you say it again?” 

He dusted the soil from his hands and gave me an indulgent smile. 

“All right.” 

“Claire, I imagined proposing to you a thousand different ways, but none of them could express how deeply I 

wanted a life with you. I wanted to wake up beside you every morning and fall asleep beside you every night.” 

“Claire Bennett, I love you. Will you marry me?” 

The doorbell suddenly rang. 

Ethan stood to answer it, but halfway across the living room, he stopped and looked back. 

“I’m still waiting for your answer.” 

When he opened the door, Serena was standing outside. 

Without saying a word, she thrust a medical report into Ethan’s hands. 

He glanced at it, then turned toward me. 

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“I’m sorry, but I can’t stay with you today.” 

“Why?” 

“I can’t let her go to her follow–up appointment alone.” 

“Why can’t she go alone?” 

“You don’t understand. Given her condition, she can’t go alone.” 

He hurriedly washed the soil from his hands, grabbed his car keys, and headed for the door. 

I called after him. 

“Don’t you want my answer?” 

“We’re already married. It doesn’t matter anymore.” 

“What about the flower? Are we still planting it?” 

“Wait until I get back, okay?” 

He was gone before I could answer. 

} 

“We’re divorced,” I said into the empty apartment. 

“And I don’t want to wait anymore.” 

I sat cross–legged on the balcony and gathered up the spilled soil. Then I added the dark potting soil Serena 

had brought to the pile. 

Then I pulled the newly planted seedling out by the roots. 

In the end, I threw all of it into the trash. 

My phone lit up with a message from Ethan. 

[Claire, don’t worry. I won’t leave you again like I did three years ago. I’ll make dinner when I get home.] 

I stared at the message for a long time, then held my finger over it and tapped Delete. 

Afterward, I blocked his number and erased every trace of our shared past from my phone. 

Then I called a moving company. 

The movers arrived less than half an hour later. 

“Ma’am, what would you like us to take?” 

“Everything.” 

The television, freestanding refrigerator, and smaller appliances filled nearly a third of the truck. 

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The couch, the rest of the furniture, and the bed we had bought for our marriage filled another third. 

Whatever remained wasn’t worth mentioning. 

I had spent three years buying everything in that apartment. I couldn’t bring myself to abandon it all simply because I was leaving. 

I placed the divorce decree on the table and left Ethan a note. 

[Ethan, the apartment is yours, and I don’t want anything that isn’t mine. But I paid for everything inside it, so I’m taking it all with me. I wish you and Serena every happiness.] 

I picked up my bags and walked out without looking back. 

My RV was parked at the curb downstairs. 

I had barely started the engine when a familiar figure rushed in front of the RV. 

The brakes shrieked. 

“Claire!” 

Chapter 5