I Saw the Name in My Fiance’s Heart So I Walked Away Chapter 08
After Riley left, my days quieted down again.
I figured Derek would finally accept that there was no, rewinding us. But a week later, as I passed the back
entrance of my neighborhood, I spotted the orange stray who was always rooting through the trash cans.
Next to him was a brand–new cat bed.A water bowl and a dish of food sat beside it, a sticky note tucked under
the water.
[Stray cats really are heartbreaking. I meant that- every time I said it.]
I stood there a moment, then tossed the sticky note into the trash.
A few days later, the saleswoman at the boutique on
Old Main Street called out to me.
“Miss Hayes, someone bought this for you. Said it would suit you perfectly.”
She held out the bag. Inside was the white knit dress I’d once sent Derek a photo of.
That day, he’d written back: [Pretty]. Then nothing else.
I pushed the bag back toward her. “Please return it. I won’t be accepting anything else from him either.”
She looked flustered. “But he already paid.”
“Then refund it to the original card.”
I walked back toward my neighborhood, thumb hovering over Derek’s number. I just wanted to make one thing clear–he needed to stop.
My thumb was about to press the call button when I caught movement in the corner of my eye.
Derek stood under the streetlamp, exhaustion and regret etched deep into his face.
When he saw me, he lifted a thermos. “Maya, I’ve thought about this for a long time. We can’t just end like this.”
“I made broth. Chicken. No shrimp–I checked. I’ve got your whole list saved. Every allergy, every restriction.
It’s all in my notes now.”
I looked at him and noticed the label over his heart had shifted again. [My most important person]
He kept talking, voice low. “The stray cat. The dress.
The broth. All those things you told me–I didn’t listen.
Now I want to fix them one by one.”
I stayed silent a moment, then asked, “Derek, do you think this is a checklist?”
He froze.
I glanced at the thermos and shook my head. “I didn’t share my day with you so you’d have a list of tasks to complete. I shared it because I wanted you to see what I saw. I wanted you to know my days.”
He gripped the thermos tight, his voice breaking. “Maya, I know I messed up.”
I said it gently. “Then stop coming here. I’m doing really well right now.”
He stood rooted, lips moving soundlessly before he managed one word, “I’m sorry.”
As I walked past him, I saw the words over his heart slowly fade until they vanished.
The last bit of intimacy between us had finally been burned through. Whatever label he kept for me from now on–it had nothing to do with me anymore.