Stepping Away From Dead Love

“As long as you don’t cause trouble, you’ll always be my one and only husband, and our children will always be Sienna Lyon’s sole heirs.”

Her words sent a sharp, stinging pain shooting through my stomach when I was just starting to feel better.

I looked at her face, which was still as radiant as ever. Yet I could not see even a trace of the girl from my memories who once loved me with all her heart.

Sienna had changed. Or perhaps I had never truly known her from the very beginning.

After speaking, she set down the apple and turned to leave.

By the end of the afternoon, the doctor declared me fit to be discharged.

Sienna intended to take me home. However, just as we stepped out, a nurse informed us that Matt had woken up.

Her hand paused around my clothes. She rubbed her forehead and looked at me with a hint of apology.

“Callum, Matt has no family here. He needs someone to stay with him for now. You should go home on your own today.”

I nodded calmly, letting go of the last shred of hope in my heart.

Sienna seemed quite pleased with my reaction.

“Good boy. I’ll make it up to you later.”

I stared at the peeled apple. After an afternoon, its skin had already oxidized and turned yellow.

No matter how expensive the variety, it ultimately could not withstand the passage of time.

It was just like Sienna’s love for me.

It was once so fiery and warm. Yet after all these years, it had turned into bland, tasteless tap water.

On my way home, I picked up the cake I had ordered three days earlier.

The words “Happy 10th Anniversary” written in strawberry jam on the cake topper were clearly visible.

It was a ten-year promise between Sienna and me.

We had spent every single anniversary together. Then, Matt came along.

For the first time, Sienna missed my birthday, Valentine’s Day, and Couples’ Day.

This was the fourth time this year that Sienna has missed our special day.

Unlike the previous three times, I did not wait until dawn while dialing her number over and over again, only to find she had turned her phone off.

Back then, I was so frantic with worry that I called everyone I could think of to ask about Sienna’s whereabouts.

I simply blew out the candles calmly and devoured the cake.

My phone pinged, and a friend request popped up.

I instinctively tapped “Accept.” The very next moment, a message arrived.

[Mr. Sutton, Ms. Lyon’s phone is dead. I’m letting you know that Ms. Lyon said she’ll be staying at the hospital with me tonight. You shouldn’t wait up.]

Accompanying the message was a photo of Sienna’s sleeping profile.

In the corner of the photo, their intertwined fingers were visible.

[Mr. Sutton, I made Ms. Lyon look so good in this photo. You don’t mind if I use it as my profile picture, do you?]

Before I could reply, his profile picture changed to that photo of Sienna.

His social media feed was updated as well.

[Thank you, Ms. Lyon, for staying by my side. You’re the best CEO in the whole world.]

In the comments section, people tacitly flooded the post with “heart” reactions.

Matt replied to each one, pretending to be shy.

[Ms. Lyon just didn’t want to leave me alone in the hospital. Everyone, please stop teasing me. I’m afraid Mr. Sutton might get the wrong idea if he finds out.]

His true intentions were plain to see. It was not that he was afraid I would misunderstand. He was terrified I would not find out.

I had no heart to pay him any mind. I stood up and tossed the remaining unfinished cake into the trash can.

I opened my phone and dialed the number I once thought I would never dial.

Early the next morning, I went to the hospital.

I arrived early, so it was not very crowded.

While I was checking in, Sienna was supporting Matt as they walked past me.

She might have been too preoccupied with Matt because she did not notice me at all.

Matt did see me, though. He just gave me a smug smile and tightened his arm around Sienna’s shoulder.

They had looked this way yesterday morning as well.

Back then, witnessing that moment felt like a knife cutting through my heart.

At this moment, my heart no longer stirred.

Seeing that I had come alone, the doctor frowned and gently advised me, “Mr. Sutton, the process of cancer chemotherapy is very painful. We recommend that a family member accompany you. It’s best if you get through this difficult time together.”