They Buried A Promise For Ten Years, They Broke It In Ten Minutes Chapter 07

They Buried A Promise For Ten Years, They Broke It In Ten Minutes Chapter 07

“Ava, can you stop being so heartless? I flew all 

the way here and you won’t even see me?” 

Ethan stood outside my office, his coat collar 

turned up, holding a paper bag. His face showed 

the exhaustion of a long flight. 

I saw him from the third–floor window. 

A coworker tapped my shoulder. “Ava, there’s 

someone outside looking for you.” 

I didn’t move. 

My phone rang. Ethan. 

I answered. “Ethan, I told you not to come.” 

“You said what you said. I came anyway. Five 

years together–if you’re breaking up with me, you 

owe me a face–to–face conversation.” 

“When I left that night at the steakhouse, did you 

say a single word to make me stay?” 

He paused. 

“That’s different-” 

“How is it different?” 

Silence. 

Then he took a deep breath. 

“Ava, I know I was wrong. About Lily. I’ll keep my 

distance from her from now on. Will you come back?” 

Keep my distance. 

Not cut her off. Not explain. Just keep his distance. 

Which meant even he knew he’d crossed a line. 

“Ethan, listen to me.” I stood by the window, looking down at the tiny figure below. “I’m not coming back just because you’ve decided to keep your distance from someone else. I’m not coming back because I don’t want to be in that position anymore.” 

“What position?” 

“The position where you can ignore me whenever you want. The position where you only care when it’s convenient. The position where I exist only to prove you have a girlfriend.” 

He didn’t speak. 

After a long moment, his voice came through, 

rougher than I’d ever heard. 

“You’re really just going to throw it all away?” 

I leaned against the window, watching him stand 

there for a long time. 

“Ethan, did you stop by Lily’s place on your way 

here?” 

“…What?” 

“The day I broke up with you, she was the first 

person you went to. You didn’t chase me to the 

airport. You didn’t call me over and over, begging 

me to stay. You went to her.” 

“I went to see Owen. Lily just happened to-” 

“Just happened.” I let out a short laugh. “It’s 

always ‘just happened.‘ She’s always ‘just 

happened‘ to be there, and I’m always ‘just 

happened‘ to be gone.” 

“Can you stop bringing up the past-” 

“Then answer one question.” 

“What?” 

“In five years, how many times have you ever 

actually turned her down?” 

Only the sound of wind on the line. 

He didn’t answer. 

“Not once, right? Because you like it. You like her 

attention, her dependence, the way she keeps you guessing. You think you haven’t done anything 

wrong, but you’ve done everything wrong.” 

“Ava-” 

“I’m done.” 

I hung up. 

I turned. My coworker was standing in the hallway, 

holding a coffee. 

“You okay?” 

I took it, took a sip, and nodded. 

When I left work, I looked down from the third–floor 

window. 

He was gone. 

The paper bag was still there, sitting crookedly on 

the edge of the flower bed outside the entrance. 

I passed it on my way out and glanced at it. 

Inside was a bottle of wine. 

Small, roughly sealed, with a note taped crookedly 

to the lid. 

Homemade wine. Fresh batch. Yours. 

I looked at it for three seconds. 

I didn’t take it. 

The wind picked up, and I pulled my coat tighter as I headed toward the subway. 

The bag stayed on the flower bed overnight. The 

next morning, the cleaning crew threw it away with 

the trash. 

No one ever knew it had been there.