Twenty Years Ended In Two

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Three years of long-distance. I flew back to Boston a week early, heart in my throat, ready to surprise my fianc.

On the cab ride over, I was mindlessly scrolling through a local viral thread on a gossip subreddit.

[UPDATE: Faking a confession to my boss so I wouldn't get laid off.]

You guys can stop waiting for the other shoe to drop. Were officially together.

Two years of enemies-to-lovers tension. Turns out, even the coldest corporate king can be brought to his knees. ;)

The photo attached to the post was meant to be a casual flextwo hands intertwined, showing off matching couples rings.

My thumb froze over the screen.

Right there, on the webbing of the mans hand between his thumb and index finger, was a faint, jagged scar. My fianc had the exact same one.

We got into a stupid fight yesterday and hes been icing me out. Ugh. But a smart woman knows when to drop her ego and coax her man.

Anyway, Im literally standing outside his gated community right now.

The image on my screen slowly bled into the reality unfolding in front of me.

I looked up, dazed.

A gorgeous, vibrant girl in her early twenties was standing just outside the wrought-iron pedestrian gate, flashing me a brilliant smile.

"Hey! Could you do me a huge favor and scan me in?"

The scanner beeped, recognizing my face, and the heavy iron gate clicked open.

The girl thanked me profusely, took two steps inside, and then spun back around.

"Oh, by the way, do you know which way Phase Two, Unit Three is?"

She stuck her tongue out playfully. "I came completely unannounced. Trying to give my boyfriend a surprise."

Phase Two was a newly developed, ultra-exclusive row of townhouses. There were only a handful of units in that specific section.

Carter Dalton lived in Unit Three.

A familiar scar. A matching address.

My fingertips went numb. A surreal, hysterical feeling bubbled up in my chest.

Its impossible.

I looked at the girl. Her username was Kelsey.

She was a vision of youthful, effortless beauty. Voluminous beach waves, a flawless natural makeup look, and pristine French tips. The spring air was still biting and cold, but she was braving it in a tiny pleated skirt.

Anyone looking at her would smile at the sheer, unstoppable force of young love.

I pointed her in the right direction, and she beamed.

"Wait, which way are you heading?" she asked.

I swallowed the sandpaper in my throat. "That way, actually."

"Oh, perfect!" She immediately looped her arm through mine, pressing in close like we were old friends. "I was low-key terrified of walking through this massive place by myself."

Kelsey was exactly like her online persona: a relentless chatterbox.

In the short walk down the manicured path, she filled the silence. Every third sentence circled back to her boyfriend.

"Hes actually the VP of our division. When I first started, my numbers were awful, so I fake-confessed my love to him just to make him uncomfortable. But guess what? The tips of his ears turned bright red!"

"After that, he magically crossed my name off the layoff list."

"He acts so tough, but hes incredibly possessive. Once, I wore a dress that was a little too low-cut to a client dinner. He looked like he wanted to murder someone, dragged me into the hallway by the restrooms, and kissed me breathless."

As I listened, the suffocating cloud of dread in my chest began to dissipate.

Her boyfriend got jealous. He lost his temper. He picked petty fights that lasted until dawn.

That sounded absolutely nothing like Carter. My Carter was a baseline of steady, unwavering gentleness.

I almost laughed at my own paranoia.

Right.

A scar on the hand wasn't exactly a one-of-a-kind birthmark. And Carter wasn't the only person who owned property in this zip code. Long-distance really did make people crazy. It made you invent ghosts in the dark. How could I ever doubt the boy who had literally taken a knife for me?

Thank God, I thought, the tension bleeding out of my shoulders. Thank God I'm home.

Kelsey pouted, letting out a dramatic sigh.

"We fought all night yesterday, and he wouldn't even reply to my texts. So here I am, delivering myself to his doorstep as an apology."

She shook her designer tote bag, revealing the corner of a familiar dark blue box. She caught me looking, her eyes dropping to the modest diamond on my left ring finger, and gave me a conspiratorial wink.

"Let me guess, you've been away from your husband for a while? Do you have any of these at home? I can spare a few if you need them."

Heat rushed to my face, and I looked away. "N-no, I'm good."

Kelsey giggled, playfully trying to press the box into my hands. "Take some! I bought two jumbo packs. We'll never get through all of them."

My hands froze mid-push.

It was a specific luxury brand. A specific ultra-thin line.

Carter hated change. He only ever bought this exact kind.

My heart dropped like a stone.

Suddenly, a phone rang.

Kelsey answered it, her voice instantly dropping into a coquettish whine. "Mmm? How did you know I was outside your house?"

A pause. "Are you tracking my location again? Honestly, Mr. Dalton, you need to reel in your control issues."

Mr. Dalton.

My feet stopped moving. I felt anchored to the concrete.

"Okay, okay, I know. Just forgive me this once, please?"

She hung up, gave me a hurried, ecstatic wave, and practically skipped toward the heavy oak door of Unit Three.

The door opened. She flew like a joyful little bird straight into the arms of the man standing in the foyer.

He looked down, his arm circling her waist with practiced ease.

Through the half-open wrought-iron gate of his courtyard, from barely ten feet away, I had a front-row seat.

It was clear as day.

It was my Carter.

"You're freezing. You never dress for the weather."

The words were a reprimand, but the tone was thick with indulgence. Carter stripped off his cardigan and draped it over her shoulders in one fluid, habitual motion.

As if sensing a shift in the air, his eyes flicked upward toward the gate.

"Who's that behind"

Kelsey cut him off, wrapping her arms around his neck and breathing against his jaw. "I hand-delivered myself to you, and you're looking at someone else?"

"Mr. Dalton," she whispered, loud enough to carry through the crisp spring air. "I bought a new set. Today... I'll let you do it anywhere you want."

"The kitchen island, the sofa, the balcony... let's try them all."

Carter didn't say a word.

But I knew the subtle darkening of his eyes. I knew the way his jaw tensed.

He was turned on.

The heavy front door slammed shut.

It locked out the rest of the world, leaving me standing alone in the biting wind, surrounded by the blooming spring I had been so desperate to return to.

How?

How could it be him?

But my eyes didn't lie.

When I was three years old, my parents moved us to a house at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. Five-year-old Carter Dalton had marched right up to me, pinched my cheek, and then blushed furiously. "Are you going to live next door?"

When we were nine, playing house in his backyard, I claimed the role of the mom. Carter shoved the other boys aside, smiling that easy, brilliant smile. "If Natalie is the mom, then I have to be the dad."

When I was eighteen, a home invasion turned violent. A man cornered me in the kitchen. In the second before the blade sliced across my neck, Carter lunged, grabbing the raw edge of the knife with his bare hand.

Blood poured down his wrist, staining my shirt crimson.

By the time the paramedics arrived, he was ghost-pale, yet he still managed to smile at me while they bandaged his ruined hand. "Don't cry, Nat. You're safe. Your protector isn't hurting at all."

The nerve damage left him with a permanent tremor in that hand.

I chose to go to medical school because of him.

During our undergrad years at different colleges, every guy who tried to ask me out was "coincidentally" intercepted by Carter. He played the role of the overprotective older boy next door, scaring them all away.

Until one night, smelling of cheap beer and desperation, he pinned me against the wall outside my dorm, his voice ragged.

He said it over and over.

"Natalie, I don't want to just be the boy next door anymore. I can't do it."

Four years after we officially got together, I was accepted into a prestigious medical fellowship in London. Knowing how heartbroken I was to leave, Carter gathered both our families and all our closest friends for a massive farewell dinner.

Right there, in front of everyone, he dropped to one knee. His eyes were entirely mine.

"Nat, go chase your dream. When your fellowship is over and you come back to me, we're getting married."

I believed him.

I suppose fate loves nothing more than making a mockery of fools who believe in things too deeply.

It only took one look.

Twenty years of devotion, of shared history, of an unbreakable bond.

Obliterated in a single, earth-shattering second.

The spring rain started to fall.

Fine, misty droplets hit the pavement. I couldn't tell if my face was wet from the rain or from my own tears.

It wasn't until I pulled out my phone that I realized my hands were shaking violently. It took me four tries to hit his contact name.

Ringing. Ringing. Voicemail.

I didn't stop. I knew he was up there. Separated from me by nothing but brick and drywall.

But I didn't have the courage to walk up to that door and confront them.

So I just stood in the rain, pressing redial. Over and over.

Like a complete idiot.

Half an hour later, he finally picked up.

His voice was rushed, the underlying breathlessness poorly concealed.

"Nat? Hey, baby, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

I swallowed the jagged glass in my throat. "Nothing... I just missed you."

"Where are you?"

I heard the subtle exhale of relief on his end. "I'm still at the office. Things are just crazy right now, lots of fires to put out..."

He didn't even get to finish his lie.

A sickeningly sweet female voice drifted through the receiver, entirely too close to the mic.

"Mr. Dalton, this project is very urgent. We really shouldn't waste any time."

The muffled friction of skin and sheets cut through my ear like a serrated blade.

Carter cursed under his breath and hurried to hang up.

"Nat, I've got to go handle this. I'll call you back later tonight. I love you."

Every single time we hung up, Carter ended it with "I love you."

Today was the day I learned the truth.

I learned that he could say those three words to me, while physically inside someone else.

My phone vibrated again in my palm. I frantically wiped my eyes. "Mom."

"Yes. My flight landed. I'm back."

She was practically glowing through the phone.

"Oh, honey! Have you seen Carter yet? Have you guys set a firm date for the wedding?"

It was spring. The cherry blossoms were blooming everywhere.

On a FaceTime call last year, Carter had planned it all out: "Nat, you'll be back right when the weather turns. We'll do an outdoor garden wedding. It'll be perfect."

I opened my mouth, but only the bitter taste of ash came out.

"Mom."

"There's not going to be a wedding."

It wasn't until I was back in my childhood bedroom that the freezing dampness of the rain began to fade.

My mother hovered in the doorway, her face etched with careful concern.

"Did you two have a fight?"

When I didn't answer, she seemed to take it as confirmation, her shoulders relaxing slightly.

"Natalie, listen to me. When two people have been together as long as you have, friction is normal."

"Your father and I watched Carter grow up. You two have practically spent your whole lives together. You don't just throw away a wedding over a little spat."

Right.

From the time we were three, up until todaymy twenty-seventh birthday.

Every single brilliant, sunlit memory of my life was tethered to Carter Dalton.

When did it rot? When did the foundation turn to sand?

I stopped listening to my mother's reassurances. I offered a hollow nod and gently closed the door.

I turned my phone back on.

I pulled up Kelsey's profile. I scrolled all the way to the very first post, and I started reading.

She hadn't lied about a single thing.

It had all started with that ridiculous, brazen confession to save her job.

Carter's attitude toward her had slowly shifted into something ambiguous. Something dangerous.

He had saved her job, then promoted her three times in two years, bumping her all the way up to his executive assistant.

Drunk on her own success, Kelsey had only grown bolder.

I complained yesterday that I couldn't sleep without someone next to me, and he brought me back this custom room spray from his business trip! Does anyone recognize the brand?

My finger hovered over the photo.

It wasn't a brand. I had made it myself.

Carter had always struggled with insomnia. While studying in London, I took an apothecary class, carefully blending lavender, cedarwood, and chamomile, and tucked the bottle into his suitcase the last time he visited.

When I asked him on the phone if it helped him sleep, he had evaded the question, his voice dropping low.

"Nothing works when you aren't here."

I had been too busy blushing at the compliment to realize he had handed my handmade devotion straight to his assistant.

The betrayal had started so long ago.

Fighting the sharp, agonizing spasms in my chest, I kept scrolling.

Last March, Kelsey had been hospitalized for an acute stomach ulcer.

I recognized the extravagant arrangement of pink Stargazer lilies in the corner of her hospital room photo.

I had ordered them.

That was the night Carter called me at 3 AM London time, frantic, saying a close friend had collapsed. I spent hours on the phone, leveraging connections with visiting American doctors to get his "friend" bumped into a VIP private room.

I sat awake in my cold apartment the entire night, terrified that he was the one who was sick and hiding it from me.

It was her. It was always her.

And then, the post from two days ago. Kelsey standing under a massive, sprawling oak tree.

My boss finally brought me to his childhood home.

I dug up the time capsule he buried ten years ago. Honestly, who cares about a childhood sweetheart? I am his future now, and as of today, I've claimed his past too.

The caption was aggressive. Pointed.

I understood exactly what she was doing.

My heart, piece by piece, turned to ice.

Inside that time capsule was a Polaroid of me and Carter.

On the back, in his messy handwriting, he had written: "To my Natalie. Now and forever."

Kelsey knew exactly who I was.

Our encounter at the gate wasn't an accident.

It was an ambush.

A notification popped up at the top of the screen. Kelsey had just posted a new update.

A selfie of her flushed, glowing face, with torn blue wrappers scattered across the hardwood floor behind her.

It wasn't even subtle anymore.

A wave of pure nausea hit me, so violently I had to grip the edge of the desk.

I forced myself to breathe. Then, I dialed Carter's number.

"Nat, baby, I'm so sorry, I was just slammed with"

"Carter," I interrupted him, my voice dead flat. "You once told me you would do anything for me. Is that true?"

"..."

"Of course it is."

"Your new executive assistant. I don't like her."

"Fire her. Right now."

Dead silence on the other end of the line.

When Carter finally spoke, his voice was tight. Defensive.

"...Where is this coming from?"

"Who's been talking to you?" He was struggling to keep his temper in check. "Kelsey is just an assistant. I kept her on because she gets the job done. It's not easy for a young girl trying to make it in the corporate world. You expect me to just fire her on a whim?"

Perhaps realizing how harshly he was snapping at me, he took a breath and softened his tone.

"Nat, is this just pre-wedding jitters? Are you feeling insecure because we've been apart for so long?"

"I promise you, I only have eyes for yo"

I let out a breathless, broken laugh. The tears were falling freely now, hot and fast.

"Carter."

"I never even told you her name."

Before he could say another word, I ended the call.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand, walked over to my safe, and opened it. When my fingers brushed the cold, heavy gold of the vintage bangle inside, I froze.

During my medical rotations, I had seen so much death.

Unrequited love, bitter divorces, grudges held for decades, the inability to let go.

In the end, it all just turned into ash by a hospital bed.

Life is too short.

Loving someone fiercely is never a mistake.

And walking away when it's broken isn't a failure either.

Even if... even if it ends as ugly as this.

Making the decision took less than a second.

I opened my contacts and sent a mass text to every single family member and close friend who had attended our engagement dinner.

The next afternoon.

The private dining room of our favorite country club slowly filled up.

Everyone who walked in greeted me with a knowing, teasing smile.

"Well look who's back! Planning a massive surprise for Carter, huh? Absence makes the heart grow fonder!"

Every single person in that room thought I had called them here to fast-track the wedding.

Only Carter's parents looked slightly confused.

"Natalie, sweetheart, why all the secrecy? The courthouse is already closed today, isn't it?" Mrs. Dalton asked.

"Are you two planning an elopement? Wait, where are your parents?"

I didn't answer her directly. I poured her a cup of tea and set it gently in front of her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dalton. My parents felt it was best they didn't attend today."

Mrs. Dalton frowned, opening her mouth to ask another question, when the heavy mahogany doors burst open.

Carter rushed in, his hair disheveled. He made a beeline for me, grabbing my hands, panic radiating off him.

"Nat, when did you get back? Why haven't you been answering my calls?"

"Whatever you heard about her, I swear to God it's just office rumors, you have to belie"

He cut himself off.

He finally looked around the room, the color draining from his face.

"What... why is everyone here? Mom? Dad?"

For a few agonizing seconds, he just stared.

And then, his panicked expression smoothed out into a fond, exasperated smile. His eyes filled with that familiar, indulgent warmth.

"Oh, I get it. You were just messing with me yesterday, weren't you? Making me sweat for this big surprise."

The jagged scar on his hand was pressed directly into my palm.

I looked down at it.

Then I looked up, meeting his incredibly convincing, deeply affectionate gaze, trying to find the man I thought I knew.

Kelsey's aggressively floral perfume still clung to his collar. On his right hand, the silver band she had bought him was gone, leaving only a faint indent in his skin.

I wanted to ask him how he did it. How he could look me in the eye and pretend absolutely nothing had happened.

But I realized that asking him would only invite more lies, stretching this nightmare out indefinitely.

I was done.

I slowly, deliberately pulled my hands out of his grip.

I picked up the heavy velvet box and slid the heirloom Dalton bangle across the table to his parents.

The room went dead silent.

Every person in our circle knew exactly what that bangle meant.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dalton. The wedding is off."

Carter's pupils blew wide. The charming smile contorted into genuine anger.

"Natalie! Do not make jokes like this in front of my parents!"

"The wedding is off? Twenty years of our lives, and you're just throwing it away? Over what? Office gossip?"

I looked him dead in the eye, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Over what?"

"Carter. When you were balls-deep in Kelsey Monroe yesterday, playing me for an absolute fool, did you think about our twenty years then?"