Chapter 3
After selling the house, I drove back to the place I shared with Austin and opened the door to an eerie stillness.
It seemed Austin hadn’t been around for a while-he’d been busy taking care of Rosemary at the hospital.
I couldn’t help but smirk a little. Honestly, that was fine by me. I’d rather not run into him.
Most of my stuff was in the second bedroom, and over the years, I’d had my fair share of arguments with Austin about Rosemary.
I had spent my time in that room during the rough patches and felt like I was constantly keeping my head down.
A bitter smile crept across my face as I packed up my things, remembering how submissive I used to be.
I didn’t bother keeping anything that reminded me of Austin. Two hours later, I wiped the beads of sweat off my forehead with a tissue, feeling a mix of exhaustion and relief.
Then, my phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID and saw it was my mom. I hesitated for a second before answering. “Hey, Mom.”
Her voice was filled with that familiar mix of excitement and nostalgia. “Laurel, how’s it going? Have you gotten the license yet? Have you and Austin talked about the wedding plans?”
I felt something tighten in my throat as I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
There was a long, awkward silence, and when my mom began to press me, I took a deep breath, fighting back tears. “Mom, I’m not getting married.”
“What do you mean, Laurel? What’s going on?” Her tone turned anxious.
I tried to explain, “I just don’t think Austin and I are right for each other.”
Her voice rose slightly. “But Laurel, you’ve been together forever! Why say this now, right before the wedding? Come on, you’re 27, not a kid anymore.”
It struck me that without even asking what I was feeling, she just urged me to get married.
Tears filled my eyes, and I had to cover my mouth to keep from breaking down. After what felt like forever, I found my voice, “Mom, I really just don’t want to marry him.”
My mom didn’t hold back her frustration. “So what do you want, then? Just give up on all these years?”
When she heard my firm answer, her tone shifted. “Laurel, how can you just say you don’t want this after all this time?”
“Well, I just said it,” I shot back, feeling overwhelmed.
My mom’s voice suddenly went all high-pitched, probably still trying to convince me, and before she could make a sound, I heard a dull thud from the other end of the line.
“Mom?” I called out but got no response.
A wave of panic hit me like a freight train. “Mom! What’s wrong? Please answer me!”
All I could make out was a faint moan of pain coming from her. My heart clenched tight, and I hung up in a hurry, flipping on the home security feed.
1/3
In my panic, my phone slipped from my shaking hands, sliding under the couch like it was covered in grease.
I dropped to my knees, desperately reaching for my phone. The security footage showed my mom, clearly in distress, clutching her chest and reaching for her medicine on the table.
All I wanted to do was dive through the screen and hand her the pills she needed.
I had only one thought racing through my mind: save my mom. I quickly opened my contacts and dialed my aunt, Bonnie Porter, who lived in the same building with my mom.
“Come on, pick up!” I pleaded, praying she’d answer fast.
The ten seconds felt like an eternity, but finally, Bonnie picked up. I burst into tears, sounding like a total mess as I exclaimed, “Aunt Bonnie, my mom is having an attack! You need to hurry!”
Bonnie sounded surprised but jumped into action, heading over to my mom’s place while trying to calm me down.
I hung up and immediately called for an ambulance, anxiously switching back to the feed, just hoping someone would get to my mom in time.
At that moment, I regretted everything about moving to Newton City alone and leaving my mom all by herself. Watching her suffer through a screen felt like a nightmare.
I couldn’t help but blame myself for being so hasty in talking to her and pushing her buttons.
The self-loathing and regret were overwhelming. I shouldn’t have done that. I was so wrong. I promised myself, never again.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of two minutes, I heard the doorbell chime, signaling that Bonnie had entered the house.
She rushed in, looking almost like an angel descending from above, and quickly administered the medicine from the table to my mom.
Through the monitor, I watched as my mom’s pale expression started to ease up while my phone slipped weakly to the floor.
Bonnie called me to let me know that my mom was out of danger, and I insisted she take her to the hospital for a follow-up.
It wasn’t until I hung up that I felt like I’d regained my sanity, and my heart, which was racing like crazy, finally calmed down.
Taking a deep breath, I picked up the pace with my packing. The thought of leaving Newton City was getting harder to shake off.
The moving guys were still on their way, so I was waiting and checking in with Bonnie about my mom’s condition when, out of nowhere, Austin appeared right in front of me.
The sound of the bouquet hitting the floor snapped me out of my phone trance, and I was taken aback by his sudden
presence.
He was all dressed up in a sharp suit and tie, with his hair styled just right, showing off a smooth forehead that gave him a touch of mature charm. A bunch of delicate roses lay discarded at his feet.
His eyes looked stormy, filled with suppressed anger as he gritted out, “Laurel, what do you mean by that?”
“Didn’t I tell you? I want to break up. Do you not get it?” My emotions were all over the place, and I was starting to lose my patience, saying whatever popped into my head.
2/3
Chapter 3
He kicked the coffee table in frustration, sending glass flying, and pointed at the photo I had tossed in the trash, shouting angrily, “I’m going to get a marriage license with you today. What do you mean?”
So that was why he dressed up-he thought we were heading to get a license. I assumed he dressed to the nine to pick up Rosemary from the hospital.
“I don’t need that-” I tried to shoot back.
Before I could finish, he cut me off, “Didn’t I promise to marry you? What do you want? Are you done with your little tantrum? If you don’t marry me, what are you going to say to your mom?”
Looking at his smug face, I couldn’t help but think he knew how much my mom had been looking forward to my wedding for ages.
So he knew all the time. He kept me waiting for three long years before finally agreeing to marry me, fully aware of my mom’s situation.
It was just heartbreaking. What was I even doing falling for him?
I found myself staring at Austin in silence, my eyes reflecting a deep emptiness.
His anger started to fade as he seemed to regain some composure, and he began to softly coax me, “I was wrong to stand you up, Laurel. Can we move past this?”
My resolve started to waver, but not because of him-it was all about my mom. I really worried that she would get so upset over everything that it would send her into another health scare.
She’d been adamant about me starting a family, and she’d definitely prefer Austin, the guy I’ve been in love with for years, over some blind date she barely knew.
That bruise on my neck was a constant reminder that I shouldn’t just give in. But my mom was still stuck in that hospital bed, and it stopped me cold.
Just as I was about to crack, something unexpected happened that helped me decide what to do..
