Ashes of Our Affection

Being taken in by the Hartness family was probably the luckiest thing that had ever happened to me.

Even though I was originally brought home to keep Cole safe from his destined calamity, Melissa and her husband, Stan Hartness, had truly raised me as their own daughter.

Once I left the Hartness residence, they would be the only people I would truly miss.

After a moment's hesitation, I decided to come clean to Melissa and tell her I wanted to break off the engagement. Her eyes widened as she stared at me, as if trying to find some hint that I was just joking.

But my attitude was sincere and firm. I also told her I'd decided to go abroad in a week to further my studies in design.

Once she realized I was serious, her expression softened with heartache. She reached out and gently patted my head.

"Both you and Cole are my children; I love you both the same. I'll talk to Stan about calling off the engagement. Izzy, let me apologize to you on Cole's behalf. He really went too far this time."

I shook my head. "Mom, even if this hadn't happened, we would've eventually split up over something else anyway. Cole and I are just not meant to be."

Melissa sighed. "If that's how you feel, then so be it. Get some rest, okay?"

…

The next morning, after breakfast, everyone went off to do their own thing. In no time at all, the only people left at the dining table were Cole and me.

The atmosphere was a little awkward. I lowered my gaze slightly, pretending to be calm as I slowly finished my breakfast. I could feel his stare on me, hot and intense, as if he wanted to see right through me.

When I finally finished eating and was about to head upstairs, Cole finally snapped. He slammed his cutlery down onto the table. They smacked against the plate with a crisp sound.

I paused, sighed, and looked up at him with a puzzled expression.

He sneered. "What kind of stung are you pulling this time, Isabel? Are you getting Mom and Dad to pressure me now?"

I had no idea what Stan and Melissa had said to him to make him misunderstand me like this.

I thought about it for a moment, wondering if I should explain things to him clearly. After all, even if we were parting ways, it would be better to do it on decent terms. We would still see each other in the future whenever I came back to visit Stan and Melissa.

Just as I was about to explain, a sharp ringtone cut through the air.

Cole picked up the phone and furrowed his brow slightly, his expression growing more and more anxious. He grabbed his jacket and hurried toward the door.

When he reached the entryway, he suddenly stopped and glanced back, noticing that I was still standing alone by the dining table.

His hand paused on the doorknob. Seeing how calm and distant I looked, he subconsciously offered an explanation. "Something's going on with Rach. I'll talk to you when I get back."

I smiled faintly at him, nodded, and said mildly, "Go ahead."

Cole clearly hadn't expected me to be so unconcerned and to let him rush off without so much as batting an eye. For some reason, that seemed to irritate him.

"I'm warning you. Don't go running your mouth to my parents. I'm not changing my mind!" he snapped.

I watched as his slightly frantic figure disappeared through the door, thinking that I wasn't changing my mind, either.

…

By evening, I'd pretty much finished sorting my things. I had the maids start packing them up. Some would be going abroad with me, and some were to be thrown away.

The discarded pile consisted entirely of matching items I'd bought after getting together with Cole.

One of the maids, Laura Brown, glanced at the pile headed for the trash. "Ms. Cavendish, are you really sure you want to throw all of this away?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It's all stuff I don't want anymore."

"What do you not want?" Cole's voice came from the doorway.

I answered evenly, "Just some old things. There's no point keeping them here."

"Makes sense. Out with the old, in with the new. When we get engaged, we'll be buying plenty of new things any—"

He abruptly stopped, and I turned to look at him.

His expression had darkened, as if he'd just realized he'd said something he shouldn't have. He shot me a sideways look, then headed upstairs without another word.