He Gave Everyone a Key but Me Chapter 12
The deed in Logan’s hand became soaked.
The edges curled under the rain.
As though every ounce of strength had left him, his shoulders sagged.
“Why…”
The word escaped as a whisper.
His eyes were full of shattered disbelief.
“For five years, you were always by my side.”
“You loved me so much.”
“So why did you suddenly change?”
He still couldn’t get it.
In his mind, my departure had come like a storm without warning.
What he never realized was that I had been standing in that storm for five years.
“Logan.”
“Do you really think I changed overnight?”
Even I thought my voice sounded cruel in its calmness.
“The first time, I was in the ER on an IV drip, and you left me alone at the hospital so you could help Tinsley deal with her car.”
“The second time, on my birthday, you bought me a Black Forest cake that I hated because Tinsley liked it.”
“The third time, you handed the key to your new place to your friends while leaving me behind in that old apartment.”
With every sentence, his face turned paler.
“Every time you had to choose between me and your pride, your career, or even an assistant who meant nothing…”
“You always put me last.”
“You were certain I wouldn’t leave.”
“You were certain I’d understand.”
“So you spent my love like it was endless.”
I looked at him and delivered the final verdict.
“When you always put me last, what made you think I’d keep putting you first?”
Something inside Logan finally broke.
His knees gave out and he collapsed directly onto the rain-soaked steps.
“I was wrong…”
Covering his face with both hands, he sobbed.
Rainwater and tears streamed through his fingers.
“Claire, I was really wrong.”
“Please.”
“Please give me one more chance.”
“I swear I’ll put you first from now on.”
He cried like a child who had lost the one thing he loved most.
Suddenly, bright headlights cut through the rain.
A black umbrella opened.
Kevin stepped out of the car and walked toward us.
He stopped beside me and tilted the umbrella overhead.
“Are you cold?”
He didn’t spare a single glance for the man kneeling on the ground.
His attention stayed entirely on me.
“A little.”
I rubbed my arms.
Without hesitation, Kevin slipped off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
It carried his familiar scent of fir and cedar.
“Let’s go home.”
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and guided me toward the car.
“Claire!”
Logan’s desperate scream echoed behind us.
He tried to get up and follow, but after kneeling so long, his legs gave way.
He fell hard into a puddle, mud splashing across his expensive suit.
I never turned around.
I opened the car door and got inside.
The vehicle pulled away slowly and disappeared into the rainy night.
In the rearview mirror, Logan’s figure grew smaller and smaller until the rain swallowed him completely.
A month later, Logan returned to the new house.
The key he should have given me long ago was clenched tightly in his hand.
He inserted it into the lock.
The door opened.
The house was empty.
Not a single thing inside belonged to me.
Only pale moonlight stretched across the floor.
He walked into the living room and stared at the brand-new sofa.
For the first time, the place felt unbearably large.
He pulled out his phone.
Out of habit, he dialed the number he knew by heart.
A mechanical voice answered.
“Sorry. The number you have dialed is no longer in service.”
The words echoed through the silent house.
Slowly, Logan crouched down, burying his face in his arms.
A broken sob escaped him.
And at that very moment, I was sitting on a flight bound for Iceland.
Kevin sat beside me, carefully pulling a blanket over my shoulders.
“Get some sleep.”
“I’ll wake you when we land.”
He laced his fingers through mine. Our hands fit together perfectly.
The diamond ring on my ring finger caught the cabin light, scattering warm flashes of gold and silver.
I closed my eyes, a quiet smile touching my lips.
My new life had finally begun.