If I Knew I Loved You

I began tidying up the room and noticed Caleb's birthday present sitting in a corner. Since I hadn't given it to him, I tossed it into a rubbish bin.

Every year, I always prepared a birthday present for Caleb. But every time, he would find an excuse and hide at a church.

Caleb claimed that since he had devoted himself to religion, he would renounce all earthly desires and no longer celebrate his birthday.

However, a picture of Caleb and Julie would always surface on Instagram at exactly midnight. He never hid his hostility toward me and always seemed ready to provoke me. His cruelty had become a part of my life.

But now, I was finally free. After shipping my luggage, I headed to the office to process my resignation.

Mary Smith, my ex-colleague in the HR Department, thought I had chosen to resign because I couldn't stand the pressure. She kindly told me that the church located on the west side of the city would be quite effective in improving my luck.

Mary and I had worked together for many years, and I often helped her. She couldn't bear to see me looking so disheartened, so she insisted on taking me up the mountain to ward off any bad luck.

I was unable to refuse Mary, so I joined her and climbed 3,000 steps up the mountain. Once we were at the peak, I saw Caleb and Julie sitting next to each other under a thousand-year-old ancient tree. Their eyes were filled with devotion for each other.

Lots of people were at the church, and I could hear their voices all around me. But of all people, I heard Caleb whispering his vow to Julie.

"I, Caleb Reed, swear on all my wealth that I'll only ever love Julie in this lifetime. If I break my promise, I'll lose all my wealth and die—"

Julie hurriedly covered his mouth and said softly, "Caleb, I trust you."

She slowly rolled the rosary beads off Caleb's wrist. He hooked his pinky against her palm as if he were quietly giving her permission to do so.

Finally, the rosary beads fell into the grass, no longer to be seen.

Since Julie had personally removed the rosary beads from Caleb's wrist, he no longer needed to hold himself back. Both of them embraced before sharing a passionate kiss.

I stood where I was and stared at them. The leaves fluttered in the wind, causing Caleb to look up and meet my gaze.

I smiled at him before looking down at the love charm I had gotten from this church. I took it off and stomped all over it in front of him.

Caleb clenched his fists, and his breaths became hitched.

I turned away and walked down the steps.

Caleb watched me leave. He subconsciously took a step toward me, but Julie looked up at him and asked, "What happened, Caleb? Your heart's racing."

Julie was about to look back when Caleb covered her eyes. "Nothing much. I just saw someone unimportant."

I had secretly loved Caleb for ten years and was even married to him for five years. All he could say about me was that I was unimportant.

What was different from the past was that I wasn't sad anymore. I didn't even cry.

Soon, I never had to see him again. There was no need for me to argue and ask whether he loved me.

…

The next day was the Reed family's monthly dinner. Belinda expressed hope that I could dine with her one last time before saying goodbye.

I gave in to her request. After all, Belinda had treated me well for the past five years.