Never Fading Love

Three years after I left Rick Hayes, I moved back into his house.
He was still single.
Shamelessly, I slept in his bed, used his credit card, and slept with him. It only took a month for everyone to assume we were getting back together. I even managed to drive out the secretary who had been by his side for a decade.
The day she got married, a completely drunk Rick finally seemed to surrender.
“Fine,” he slurred, a note of helpless resignation in his voice. “I’ll remarry you.”
But the next morning, I wasn’t there.
Waiting for him on the steps of City Hall was my three-year-old daughter.

1
When Rick and I divorced, it was ugly.
I was convinced something was going on between him and his secretary. He insisted I was being irrational.
“For God’s sake, Lara, can you just let it go? It was a cup of hot water. When are you going to drop it?” Rick, who hadn’t spoken to me in over a week, finally broke his silence, rubbing his exhausted temples.
A cup of hot water.
It was the incident that made me the laughingstock of our entire social circle. No one could understand why I’d thrown such a massive fit over Rick simply pouring his secretary a cup of hot water.
I’ll admit, there were times I wondered if I had overreacted. But every time I replayed that moment in my mind, the same bitter sense of betrayal washed over me.
We had both been caught in a downpour—me and Anna, the secretary who had been with him for years. The second we got into the car, before I had even closed my door, I saw Rick grab a thermos from the console and hand it to her. It was so natural, so effortless.
She took it without a second thought, cradling it in her hands and taking a few careful sips.
In that instant, my own hands were so cold they trembled. My heart felt like it had been encased in ice. This was the same man who wouldn’t even bother to pick up a knocked-over trash can at home, yet here he was, attending to another woman with such quiet, intimate care.
I lost my temper immediately.
Rick didn’t see the big deal. “Anna’s on her period today,” he said dismissively. “You’re not.”
And with those words, I filed for divorce.
The proceedings dragged on for nearly six months. We fought at home, we fought at his parents’ house, we fought at his office. It became a public spectacle, and eventually, the gossip started to tarnish his secretary’s reputation.
Only then did Rick finally agree to sign the papers.
The day it was finalized, we stood glaring at each other, clutching our divorce decrees, and swore we would stay out of each other’s lives forever.
But three years later, I showed up on his doorstep with a suitcase in my hand.
And he let me in.

2
Rick hadn’t changed much. He was just as handsome, but the look he gave me was colder than I remembered.
The reunion wasn’t as awkward as I’d feared. He just stood there, silent, staring at me with that icy expression. I squeezed past him and strolled inside as if I owned the place.
“I’m broke,” I announced, my voice full of unearned confidence. “I’ll be crashing here for a while.”
I then asked the housekeeper to take my bags upstairs. Rick didn’t move from the doorway.
“Get out.”
I made myself comfortable on the sofa, poured a glass of water, and waved a dismissive hand at him. “Don’t be so stingy. It’s not like you’ve remarried. I won’t get in your way.”
That was a lie. I was here specifically to get in his way. I didn’t know why he hadn’t married his secretary yet, but I was going to make sure he never did.
Rick, for all his faults, was a gentleman. As long as I was shameless enough, he wouldn’t physically throw me out.
And so, I successfully moved back in.
He worked in his study late into the night. When he finally came to bed, freshly showered, his arm brushed against mine. He flinched as if he’d been burned.
In less than a second, he had rolled over and pinned me to the mattress, his body a dead weight on top of mine. His eyes were narrowed to slits, the words ground out between his teeth.
“Lara, you are playing with fire.”
I let him hold my wrists, my body going limp against the soft mattress. “I’m used to this bed. I can’t sleep anywhere else.”
A bitter, humorless laugh escaped him. His handsome features twisted into a sneer as he leaned close to my ear. “So you haven’t slept in three years?”
My, my. A few years apart, and even the emotionally stunted Rick Hayes had learned sarcasm. Must be the influence of his cheerful little secretary.
Unsurprisingly, he grabbed me by the collar and tossed me out of the room. He even threw my slippers out after me.
Such a temper.
I sat on the floor for a moment, looking at the dark bruises already forming on my wrist. I zoned out for a second. He hadn’t actually used much force. It was just the medication—it made my body more fragile than a normal person’s.
I stood up, dusting myself off, a pang of regret hitting me. Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed him so hard.
I only had a month left. I hoped it would be enough time.

3
I was up before dawn the next morning, shooing the housekeeper out of the kitchen so I could make Rick breakfast myself.
I’d never cooked for him once during our marriage, but here I was, three years divorced, slaving over a lavish spread of four dishes and a soup. Surely, he would be moved.
Just as I set the food on the table, Rick came downstairs, impeccably dressed for work. He walked right past me as if I were invisible, heading straight for the door.
I quickly blocked his path. “Rick, you are not leaving until you eat what I made.”
He shot me a contemptuous look. “With your cooking skills? I’d rather not be poisoned.”
That was the old me. I had a culinary certificate now.
When he didn’t move, I grabbed the sleeve of his pristine shirt and tried to pull him toward the table. He stood rooted to the spot, immovable, but at least he wasn’t leaving. Taking that as a cue, I hurried to ladle out a bowl of chicken soup. I’d been simmering it since last night. It smelled divine.
But before I could bring it to him, the front door opened.
“Mr. Hayes, I brought you breakfast,” a cheerful voice called out. “It’s a bit cold, let me just heat it up for you.”
Rick’s secretary, Anna, bustled in, not noticing me at first. She moved toward the kitchen with a practiced ease that told me she’d done this a hundred times before.
“No need,” I said, my voice bright and sweet as I held up the bowl of soup. “I’ve already made breakfast for Rick. You can have yours, Miss Foster.”
She froze, her eyes widening when she saw me. I could see the fear in them. She forced a smile. “Mrs. Hayes… you’re back?” Her voice trembled, and she’d forgotten to use my maiden name.
Before she could correct herself, I shot a flirtatious glance at Rick and said, “It’s alright. Maybe in a few days, I’ll be Mrs. Hayes again.”
Rick rolled his eyes, probably worried I was about to bully his precious secretary. “Anna, forget breakfast. Let’s go.”
I blocked the doorway, holding the soup in one hand and raising the spoon to his tightly pressed lips with the other. I was prepared for a long standoff.
But just then, a side effect of the medication kicked in. My hand started to shake uncontrollably. Hot soup sloshed over my knuckles, turning the skin an angry red.
Terrified he would notice, I summoned the last of my strength to step aside and clear a path for them.
But Rick, who had been so eager to leave, suddenly snatched the bowl from my hand and downed the entire thing in one go.

4
Anna didn’t come back to the house after that day. I casually asked the housekeeper about it. Apparently, aside from the occasional breakfast delivery, Anna had never spent the night.
It didn’t seem like a typical boyfriend-girlfriend arrangement. But that was impossible.
Anna had been with Rick since she graduated from college. Ten years, and not a single boyfriend. I didn’t believe for a second that she wasn’t in love with him. And Rick… he had been willing to divorce me to protect her reputation. He had to be crazy about her.
Could it be that Anna refused to stay here because I had once lived in this house? Did they have another home together somewhere else? If so, my being here was completely pointless. I couldn’t break them up if they weren’t even around.
No, I had to go to his office.
Using the excuse of bringing him lunch, I had the housekeeper pack up a few dishes and headed to his company. The security guard at the front desk didn’t recognize me, so I had to call Rick. He sounded like he was in a meeting and hung up on me before I could finish my sentence.
A few minutes later, Anna appeared, dressed in a sharp white power suit. On her home turf, she was a different person.
“Miss Reed,” she said, her voice dripping with condescension, “Mr. Hayes is busy. If you have a message, you can give it to me.”
Had he sent her down to get rid of me? She must have complained to him after seeing me at the house, and now he was letting her put me in my place.
I smiled sweetly. “Miss Foster, if Rick was really in love with you, don’t you think he would have married you by now? He proposed to me a month after we started dating.”
Yes, I was trying to stir up trouble. But she was good. Rick had trained her well. She didn’t even flinch.
“Miss Reed, I don’t believe my relationship with Mr. Hayes is any of your business.”
She had a point. I couldn’t argue with that. So, I resorted to brute force.
When she wasn't looking, I made a mad dash for the elevators.
In the end, Rick himself had to come down to get me.
Inside the elevator, he didn’t even spare me a glance. His attention was solely on his secretary. “Are you hurt?” he asked her, his voice soft with concern.
She shook her head, looking at him with adoration, and then shot me a tiny, triumphant smile. She was taunting me again.
Since no one was talking to me, I decided to start a conversation myself. “Rick, is this elevator for your personal use only?” I had seen the “CEO Only” plaque on the wall. But Anna had used it to come down.
“I have a weak constitution,” Anna answered for him, her voice full of pride. “Mr. Hayes is considerate. He doesn’t want me to get jostled in the crowded staff elevators. So yes, only the two of us are allowed to use this one.”
Rick remained silent, but I saw his brow furrow slightly.

5
Now that I was in his office, there was no way I was leaving easily. After about a dozen trips to the bathroom to stall for time, I used the excuse of being too sleepy to keep my eyes open and crashed on his sofa.
The medication made me tire easily, so it wasn't entirely a lie. I actually did drift off.
In a daze, I thought I felt him drape a jacket over me.
Anna came in and out several times, bringing him coffee, delivering files, her eyes constantly darting in my direction.
I vaguely heard her say, “Mr. Hayes, if this is difficult for you, I can have security escort Miss Reed out. Having her here like this… it’s causing gossip among the staff.”
The pen in Rick’s hand stopped moving. He looked up, his eyes cold. “What did you just call her?”
Anna’s face went pale. She bit her lip, looking pitiful and fragile.
Rick’s harsh demeanor softened. “You can go,” he said, his voice gentle. “You don’t need to stay and work overtime with me tonight.”
But for once, the ever-obedient Anna stood her ground. “Mr. Hayes,” she said, her hands clenched at her sides, “when you were at your lowest, she humiliated you in front of your competitors and stole the project you’d worked on for a year. Why are you still letting her back into your life?”
Rick’s face darkened. He looked at the tears welling in Anna’s eyes and, against his better judgment, offered an explanation. “What happened back then wasn’t her fault. I wasn’t clear with her. She misunderstood.”
Anna’s tears finally spilled over. “You poured me a cup of hot water! How much clearer did you need to be? I explained it to her! I told her you always remembered my cycle because you would lighten my workload during that time. But she wouldn’t listen! She used your love for her to throw tantrums time and time again, and you were always the one to apologize first. You’re finally free of her. Why would you get tangled up with this mess again?”
The next second, a stack of files went flying off his desk, hitting the floor with a loud thud that made Anna jump.
Rick glanced over at me on the sofa.
Then, his voice low and dangerous, he said to Anna, “Get. Out.”

6
I slept for a long time. When I woke up, it was dark outside. The office was pitch black, except for the single desk lamp illuminating Rick’s workspace. He was still there, working.
He’d always been a workaholic. He’d forget to eat, to drink, to sleep. I used to invent all sorts of ridiculous errands for him—buy me bubble tea from the West End, pastries from that bakery on the East Side—just to get him to leave the office at a decent hour.
The memories flickered before my eyes. If it weren’t for what happened, Rick would have been a good husband. He never once refused any of my requests.
He saw that I was awake. He closed the file in front of him, came over, and took his suit jacket off of me, his back turned to me the whole time. “Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”
Had he been waiting for me? He could have just woken me up.
Anna was gone. Had she gone home for the night? But if she was his girlfriend, surely she wouldn’t be comfortable leaving him alone with me.
I decided to ask. “You and Anna seem to have a pretty open relationship. She’s okay with you being alone in a room with your ex-wife?”
Rick stopped walking and turned to me, a confused look on his face. “Why would I need her permission?”
“Well, you two are together, aren’t you?”
He took a step closer, his gaze intense as he stared into my eyes.

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