How could she be so blind? So incredibly stupid? She felt like an idiot. She'd been so certain that this time she had it right, that this time she had picked the best man for the job and that she would soon have it all. The ring, the white picket fence... all the makings of a happily ever after. Instead she had this. An ache in her heart, and an empty apartment.

Here she was, rifling through the closet looking for an overnight bag, praying that Luke would work late so she could be packed and out the door before he came home. She didn't know if she could do this if he were there, watching with guilty, sad eyes.

She'd loved him. She was sure of that. She even believed he had loved her. But clearly love wasn't enough. He hadn't just cheated on her. She might have been able to forgive him if that had been all. If anyone understood a stupid sexual decision, it was Andy. But worse than the sex he'd had with Jo in a hotel were the lies he'd piled on top of that original sin. From the day Jo had arrived at fifteen, Andy felt like every word out of Luke's mouth was a lie.

She found a duffel bag at the bottom of the closet behind a pile of shoes. She reached for it, her engagement ring catching on a shoe lace, temporarily tangling her hand. "Fuck!" Andy wrenched her hand back , throwing the shoe against the wall with a satisfying bang. She glowered at the sparkling diamond on her finger. Another lie.

It slid off her finger easily. She clenched it tightly into her hand, the sharp pain of the raised stone digging into her palm was oddly comforting as she reached for the lock box where she'd found it. Suddenly the fact that she had found the ring on her own and the proposal had followed seemed incredibly important. Had he even meant to propose? She fought off a wave of self loathing.

Was she that desperate for a normal life? So desperate to have a real family that she'd read romance into panic. Had he even bought the ring for her?

Andy slammed the lock box shut and returned to the closet, yanking the bag out and tossing it on the bed. She couldn't take everything, not tonight, there wasn't time. But she quickly threw together a few changes of clothes and her toiletries. It would be enough to get her through the week. she would return for the rest of her things later.

She zipped up the bag and took a look around the room. Her heart wrenched painfully in her chest. Less than a month, that's how long the fantasy had lasted. Once again she was on her own. Was it always going to be this way?

The bag felt unnaturally heavy in her hand, as if her entire world was in it, rather than a couple shirts and a pair of jeans. She took a deep breath and walked out of the room without looking back.

"Andy?" Luke's voice came from downstairs, so familiar it was like a knife in her gut.

She didn't answer as she descended the stairs, she wasn't sure she could speak past the tightness in her throat. At the bottom of the stairs she came to a halt.

Luke was just standing there, his shoulders slumped. He turned to look at her, guilt all over his face. "Please don't do this."

She clenched the hand holding the duffle bag more tightly, the strap cut into her skin, the biting pain helping her stay focused. She stared at him for what felt like an eternity. She had nothing left to say.

"Andy," He closed his eyes, his entire body tensing as if he could infuse enough sincerity into his speech to erase what he'd done. "I screwed up. I made a huge mistake and I'm so sorry."

It was too much. She couldn't take his apologies. he'd been trying to make up for his betrayal for days. Flowers, spa days.. elopements. She dropped her eyes, focusing on the front of his shirt, she couldn't bear the guilt in his eyes. "I know." Tears gathered behind her eyes and she blinked several times trying to force them back, "Because I got all your flowers and you dinners, and your spa packages..."

She swallowed. You will not cry. She ordered her traitorous body. "I can only imagine what else I was about to get," She returned her eyes to his face, righteous anger taking over for sadness. She shook her head. It took her several tries but her mouth eventually formed itself in to the real question. The one that had been searing her brain all day. "Why did you still want to get married?"

He couldn't meet her eyes. Even as he said I love you, his gaze barely flickered across hers.

'I love you,' she wondered if those words would ever hold the same meaning for her again. She shook her head, as if denying their power could protect her heart from the sharp pain they caused. "Oh," she said at last, her voice barely a whisper.

The tears she'd successfully blinked away were back, crowding against her lashes, threatening to spill down her cheeks at any moment. She stared at him, silently begging him to say something that would make it all okay. Even though she knew they were long past that now.

Luke was silent.

"The ring is in the lock box," She said at last. Her farewell. "Where I found it." She turned and walked out of the apartment.

He did not come after her.

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