Love’s Last Light

The ultrasound jelly was still cold on my belly when I opened a local mom's forum. A new post caught my eye. In the photo, a woman held a rosy-cheeked toddler, flashing a peace sign. But it was the man cooking in the background that froze my blood.

Behind his ear was a familiar, faded tattoomy initials. The sweater he wore was the same cable-knit pullover I spent weeks knitting for my husband, Dominic.

At home, the mansion was silent. The butler brought soup, his expression polite. "Mr. Dominic is working late again. He said not to wait up, ma'am." This was the seventh day he hadn't come home.

I slid off my wedding band, opened the safe, and pulled out the divorce papers. I signed my name. I was done waiting for a man who'd forgotten the way home.

My fingers trembled. I stared at our wedding photo, trying to recall the last time Dominic spoke to me directly. He always claimed the company kept him busy. Lately, there were no texts, no photosonly messages through the butler.

"The company is swamped today."

"Don't wait up. Take care of yourself and the baby."

Large tears spilled over my lashes, hot and heavy.

I didn't know how long I sat there in the dark, but the sky outside the window was beginning to turn a bruised purple when the bedroom door clicked open.

Dominic walked in, his brow furrowing instantly. He crouched in front of me and took my hands in his.

"Didn't I tell you not to wait up?"

"You never listen."

He sighed. Feeling how ice-cold my hands were, he scooped me up into his arms and tucked me firmly beneath the heavy duvet.

My eyes burned terribly. I watched in silence as Dominic meticulously filled a hot water bottle for me and began massaging my swollen calves.

I suddenly wanted to ask him.

Dominic, have you fallen in love with someone else?

Dominic, do you remember the vow you made, promising to hold my hand until our hair turned gray?

But the words felt like crushed glass in my throat.

I didn't dare ask.

I was terrified that if I did, I would unravel into a hysterical, screaming mess.

Noticing my sinking mood, Dominic gently picked up my hand and pressed it against his chest, right over the sweater he was wearing.

"See? I'm wearing the love you made for me."

"Don't throw a tantrum now."

Last night, I had scrolled through every single post on that woman's account.

The Dominic she documented was endlessly patient and tender.

Dominic was a notorious germaphobe, yet he willingly rolled around in the grassy park to fly kites with her and the boy.

Dominic was strictly disciplined with his diet, yet he would drive thirty miles at midnight just because she craved spicy takeout.

They had chased the Northern Lights in Norway and kissed beneath towering, snow-capped mountains.

Meanwhile, I was left to guard a beautiful, empty house.

Dominic's phone suddenly buzzed.

I took the opportunity to wipe my eyes, but my gaze inadvertently caught the screen. He was texting her.

After ten years together, I was simply saved as 'Hazel' in his contacts.

But that girl. He had her saved as 'Baby'.

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted copper. My voice came out hoarse.

"How did you find the time to come back today?"

Dominic didn't even look up. He opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a velvet box.

"Just came back to grab something."

I had opened that box a few days ago.

Inside was a diamond ring, featuring a stone the size of a quail egg.

Before I could say another word, Dominic pressed a quick kiss to my forehead and hurried out the door.

The tears finally broke free. When I first discovered that ring, I had been so thrilled I immediately called my best friend to share the news.

She had laughed, saying she didn't know Dominic had a romantic bone in his body.

She said he must have remembered that he never gave me a proper ring back when we were broke, and was finally making up for it with a massive diamond.

I had hoped so desperately that he would remember today was our tenth anniversary.

I had waited for him to get down on one knee, slide that ring onto my finger, and heal the regrets of our past.

I had longed for him to press his ear to my belly and whisper to our unborn child.

But he forgot.

His heart only had room for the girl he kept hidden in the shadows.

Half an hour later, my phone pinged. The girl had updated her social media.

It was a video.

On the screen, Dominic and a little boy were clapping and singing Happy Birthday.

Then, Dominic got down on one knee. He pressed a reverent kiss to the girl's ring finger before slipping the massive diamond onto it.

The speaker picked up her delighted, high-pitched scream.

With her big, doe-like eyes brimming with tears, she threw herself into Dominic's arms.

"You're the absolute best, hubby."

But as she laughed, a fragile vulnerability entered her voice.

"More than the diamond, I just want all of your love."

She stuck out her pinky finger like a child.

"Promise me. Promise you'll love me the most in this lifetime."

The little boy hugged Dominic's leg, his voice sweet and milky.

"Daddy, you have to love me and Mommy forever."

What a picture-perfect family of three.

The tears flowed freely now. I suddenly thought of the Dominic from ten years ago.

We had just graduated college. We poured every single cent we had into his startup.

During the darkest days, we lived in a cramped, damp basement apartment.

Dominic would hold me in the dark, crying out of pure guilt.

"Hazel, I swear I'll make it."

"I swear I'll give you a beautiful life."

But the only thing I ever wanted was his unwavering love.

When the freezing winter wind howled through the cracked window, I would curl up against his chest for warmth, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat.

"I don't need you to give me the world."

"Just give me all your love, Dominic. Promise you won't ever make me cry."

When his company finally started turning a profit, a rival business hired local thugs to trash our office.

I saw the glint of a knife swinging toward Dominic's back, and I threw myself in front of him without a second thought.

It hurt. God, it hurt so much.

That was the day we lost our first baby.

Dominic cried like a broken man, cursing me for being so stupid.

But I was so terrified of seeing him consumed by guilt that I forced myself to smile. I swallowed my tears and told him I was fine.

Look at him now. The rising star of the industry.

We moved into the most exclusive neighborhood in the city. He hired top-tier specialists to nurse my battered body back to health.

Diamonds, designer clothes, rare handbags. They flowed into my life like water.

Everyone told me I had an incredible eye, that I had bet on the right horse.

Yet I missed the old Dominic so fiercely it felt like an open wound. The boy who, no matter how exhausted or how late it was, would always rush home just to coax me to sleep.

Tears?

I didn't even know how many I had shed over the years.

In the final second of the video, fireworks exploded outside the window.

The bright flashes illuminated a very familiar skyline in the distance. Moonridge.

My heart was suddenly seized by an invisible hand, squeezing until I couldn't breathe.

I knew that view.

It was the view from the tiny, rundown house my late grandmother had left me. My only inheritance.

Without a moment of hesitation, I dug through my vanity drawer, grabbed the rusted key, and drove straight to Moonridge.

I kept one hand on the steering wheel and called Dominic.

Call declined.

I called again.

After an agonizing amount of attempts, Dominic finally picked up, his voice laced with heavy irritation.

"Make it quick. I'm in the middle of a crucial meeting."

It felt like someone was carving a chunk of flesh straight out of my chest. I swallowed the thick lump in my throat.

"I miss my grandmother. I'm going to Moonridge to look around."

Dead silence on the other end.

After a long pause, his tone softened into something resembling coaxing.

"The place is still under heavy renovation. You're pregnant, you shouldn't be running around."

"Once the construction is completely done, I'll take you there myself."

A faint female voice drifted through the receiver, urging him to come cut the cake.

My nails dug so deep into my palms they nearly drew blood. I let out a long, shaky breath and spoke with absolute finality.

"I just miss her too much."

"I'm going to take a look tonight, even if it's just from the outside."

I hung up before he could say another word.

The moment my car rolled to a stop outside the property, the lights inside the house abruptly flicked off.

I marched up the front steps, only to collide right into Dominic.

A fine layer of sweat coated his forehead. He grabbed my hand and immediately started pulling me back toward the driveway.

"Didn't I tell you it's a construction zone?"

"The fumes are toxic. It's dangerous for you and the baby."

Dominic was rarely a talkative man. His sudden barrage of excuses was a glaring cover for his panic.

I violently ripped my hand from his grip and pushed past him.

"I said I just want to look."

He shifted his weight, completely blocking the doorway. His eyes darkened, pooling with a heavy, dangerous emotion.

We stood in a suffocating stalemate.

Then, he stepped forward and pulled me into a tight embrace, patting my back like a child.

"Be good. Listen to me."

My cheek was pressed against his neck, and my eyes fell on the tattoo right behind his ear.

Five years ago, a horrific car crash left me in a coma.

Dominic knelt outside the ICU for three straight days, begging whatever god was listening to spare my life.

Maybe the universe took pity on him.

I survived the critical window, but I wouldn't wake up.

The doctors warned him that if I stayed under much longer, I might be trapped in a vegetative state forever.

Desperate and losing his mind, he listened to an old superstition that said carving a loved one's name behind your ear could absorb their misfortune.

He was notoriously sensitive to pain, but he refused the numbing cream so he could get back to my bedside faster. He let the needle bite into his skin, etching my name into his flesh.

I finally woke up.

But five years had passed, and the ink had faded into a blurry grey.

Just like his love for me. Fading. Disappearing.

A tidal wave of betrayal and grief crashed over me.

I lost my mind. I started thrashing, hammering my fists against his chest, and then I sank my teeth right into his neck.

A sickeningly sweet vanilla perfume filled my nose, slicing through my heart like a serrated blade.

I didn't let go until the strong, metallic taste of his blood flooded my mouth.

I pushed him hard.

My vision was completely blurred by tears. I couldn't even see his face.

"Dominic, if you don't love me anymore."

"You can just tell me. I would leave."

He grabbed my wrists with crushing force and yanked me back against his chest, holding me so tightly it felt like he was terrified I would vanish.

Like he wanted to crush my bones into his own.

"Don't say stupid things. How could I ever stop loving you?"

Maybe he did love me.

Otherwise, why would he hide that girl away like a shameful secret?

But his love was so incredibly cheap now. It was something he could just casually slice up and serve to someone else.

Once my breathing finally leveled out, he drove me home.

On the way, we passed a boutique florist. He pulled over abruptly.

The owner was already flipping the open sign to closed, but Dominic bent down, pleading with the man.

Just like he used to do.

For every anniversary, he would cancel every single meeting.

He would burst through the door right at midnight, holding a delicate pastry and a bouquet of the most vibrant roses.

I used to cry tears of pure joy.

He would tell me how he had to beg the florist to open up, asking for a kiss as his reward.

But that girl didn't have to wait until midnight.

She just snapped her fingers and got the entirety of his devotion.

I unlocked my phone and sent a quick text to my best friend, Stella, asking her to pick me up on Wednesday.

The car door opened. Dominic handed me the bouquet, his eyes briefly flicking down to my illuminated screen.

"Who are you talking to?"

I locked the screen and took the flowers, not even bothering to look at the petals.

"Just a friend."

A suffocating silence filled the rest of the drive.

After dropping me off at the mansion, he claimed there was an emergency at the office and sped off into the night.

I ordered a cab and followed him. I watched as the darkened windows of Moonridge lit up once again.

The woman was waiting by the front steps, holding the child.

Dominic jogged over, wrapping her in a tight hug. He laced his fingers through hers.

The three of them leaned into each other, walking toward the front door.

It was the exact image I had pictured in my head a thousand times.

Me holding Dominic's left hand, our baby holding his right, walking into our forever home.