Burning Love

If a soul could have a heart, then mine must have shattered into a million pieces. Aiden Blake let Ivy stay in our new house. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Aiden didn’t lay a finger on Ivy–he chose to sleep on the sofa instead. But he let Ivy sleep in the master bedroom, in the bed meant for the woman of the house. Aiden and I have been together for five years talking about marriage, and here I am, losing to a naive little girl. I can’t decide whether to blame myself for being blind or blame Aiden for being fickle. But aside from being my boyfriend, he’s a firefighter! When I’m in danger and desperately seeking help, shouldn‘ t I be rescued first?

Aiden, lying on the sofa, stared blankly at the text message that had for so long. The note was just my name.

gone unanswered

in

Bella, our dog, lay in the corner, sick and uninterested in the dog food piled up front of her. Aiden kept typing and deleting messages in the chat box, but in the end, he didn’t send a single word. Whatever he wrote–whether an apology or a regret–it doesn’t matter. There’s no going back. We can’t go back.

In the middle of the night, Aiden woke up from a nightmare, drenched in cold sweat. He rushed into the master bedroom like a man possessed. Ivy, startled awake, sat up in bed with a gleam of excitement. “Aiden, are you here to stay with me? I’ve been waiting for you all night!”

But Aiden seemed deaf to her words. He frantically rummaged through my dressing table, pulling out the jewelry box buried in the back. He emptied it, comparing each bracelet against his wrist. “No, this isn’t it. Where did it go?”

The cosmetics on the table were knocked over, and the jewelry scattered everywhere. When Aiden was done with the dresser, he turned his attention to the wardrobe.

Ivy cried out, rushing over to hug Aiden‘ s slim waist. “Please, don‘ t scare me like this! What’s going on?”

Aiden’s eyes regained some clarity as he took in the mess around him. He was at a loss. “It’s nothing, Elena. I just had a nightmare… I dreamed about you.”

Both of them froze when those words slipped out. Aiden gently freed himself from Ivy‘ s embrace and adjusted her intentionally loose nightgown, softly saying, “I‘ m sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep; I’ll stay in the living room.”

Before Ivy could say another word, Aiden‘ s slamming of the door cut her off. He sank onto the sofa, burying his head in his hands. Finally, he picked up his phone and typed out a long message to me.

I was wrong. I crossed the line, and I’ll cut ties with Ivy.*

*Have you gone back to your hometown? If not, I can pick you up from my mom‘ s place.*

He paused, glancing at the lit master bedroom, before continuing to type.

21:42

1/2

*Forget it. Since you don‘ t want to live in the new house, we can rent somewhere else. It might be good to change the environment.*

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. See? He knew he shouldn’t have brought Ivy home, but he did it anyway.

unread messages

any Aiden clutched his phone, tossing and turning, checking for every few minutes. Just as dawn began to break, Aiden, who had barely fallen asleep, was jolted awake by a loud; piercing ringtone. He answered without even looking at the screen.

“Elena, please forgive me. I’m coming to find you!” Aiden grabbed his car keys, not even bothering to change out of his pajamas, and rushed to the door.

But it wasn’t me. It was my mom.

“Aiden, it’s me, Elena‘ s mom. I just wanted to ask if Elena is okay. Since yesterday afternoon, I’ve had this awful feeling. She’s not answering her phone… Just tell me if she’s safe.”

The clinking sound of keys hitting the floor echoed in the room. Aiden‘ s face drained of color, his body trembling. “Didn’t Elena go back to your hometown?”

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