Love That Never Fades
Chapter 1
I drove five hours with my daughter to
surprise him.
He looked shocked, not happy.
I’d been cheated on.
Later, I asked him, “Were you heartbroken I
drove five hours, or scared your new girlfriend
would see us?”
Jeff cheated.
The moment he saw me and Lily, the shock in
his eyes, not happiness, told me everything.
His coworkers awkwardly tried to greet me,
then quickly scurried away.
Jeff finally snapped out of it, took Lily from
me, and awkwardly hugged me. “Wow, what a
surprise!” he said.
I didn’t respond, just followed him numbly to
his car.
Lily was excited to see her dad, hugging him.
and sharing kindergarten stories.
Seeing their near–identical faces, my heart
ached.
To hide my emotions from Lily, I pretended to
look outside.
They chattered away, while I stayed silent.
Jeff asked where we wanted to eat; I didn’t
answer.
.
Finally at Jeff’s place, I let Lily watch TV while
I went to his room with Jeff.
“Give me your phone.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked, reaching for me. I
pushed him away.
I stared until he gave in, handing over his
phone.
The passcode hadn’t changed; it was our
anniversary.
How ironic.
く
How ironic.
I opened his WeChat and, using my gut
feeling, found a chat with someone named
Summer.
She was his coworker. Their last message
was forty minutes ago.
Summer: “Working late. Can you pick me up
and grab us some late–night snacks? Craving
those pork buns from South Street!”
Jeff: “You little glutton!”
They chatted daily. On the days he claimed to
be too busy to even eat, he was chatting with
Summer.
They worked together, in the same office.
Jeff and I dated for three and a half years,
married for six, with a five–year–old daughter,
Lily.
Two years ago, for his career, he moved.
He promised to bring us both later.
I wait, patiently chuunny the Suggies u
single motherhood.
But the texts showed that the night Lily and I
had the flu, he was celebrating Summer’s
birthday.
When I broke my leg and Lily had a parent-
teacher conference, he claimed he couldn’t
make it, but he was on a day trip with
Summer.
And Valentine’s Day? He sent me $520,
Summer got $1314.
Was he promising Summer forever?
What about me?
Before seeing those texts, I never doubted
Jeff.
I thought his ambition was for our family. I
believed in his loyalty.
But no woman escapes her husband’s phone
unscathed.
Each message was a knife twisting in my
<
The pain was overwhelming. I felt suffocated.
Jeff steadied me, his voice low with guilt.
“Honey, I’m sorry, but I swear, we never
crossed a line.”
“Your line… is sleeping together?”
“No.”
“So you think you did nothing wrong?”
His answer didn’t matter.
I returned his phone, went to Lily, and said,
“Let’s go home, honey.”
Lily looked confused. “Mommy, why so soon?
You said we’d stay with Daddy all weekend.”
“Mommy has to go back, sweetie. We’ll see
Daddy again soon.”
As I carried her out, she seemed to sense
something was wrong.
Jeff followed, trying to stop me. “You just
drove five hours. Let’s stay the weekend.”
“No.”
く
wouldn’t interrupt.
“Come back Monday to finish things up.”
I didn’t say “divorce” in front of Lily, but Jeff
understood.
He wouldn’t let me go. “You just drove five
hours, you’ll be exhausted driving back!”
Did he care about my exhaustion? When he
saw us, was he worried about my drive, or
Summer seeing us?
Suddenly, the door opened.
It was Summer. She unlocked the door with
her fingerprint.
