But from a certain day on, he no longer needed Selene to do those things for him.
He started to pull away, rejecting every affectionate gesture Selene made toward him.
He saw the shadow of disappointment flicker across Selene’s face, but he ignored it, pretending not to notice.
The woman he once dismissed so carelessly—he would never have her again.
The love he had thrown away with his own hands, Selene simply turned and gave to someone else.
He watched as Adrian leaned down, flashing Selene a brilliant smile, and yet, all Harrison could feel was the emptiness spreading inside his chest—a black hole that nothing could fill.
He forced himself to look away, repeating to himself over and over:
It’s just a lapel pin.
Selene had given him more than one lapel pin before.
He wasn’t jealous of Adrian at all.
After all, he’d already received plenty of lapel pins, ties, even watches from Selene over the years.
But the truth was, he couldn’t even remember where he’d put any of those things.
He couldn’t recall what they looked like, the patterns or colors—he realized, with a jolt, that he’d never really cared.
Selene had given him those gifts with so much hope, but he’d barely glanced at them. He’d just told his wife to put them away somewhere, anywhere.
He remembered once opening one of Selene’s gifts, only to make some dismissive comment about it.
He’d never worn the accessories she gave him—not once.
And now, all Harrison wanted was to rush home, dig out every last thing Selene had ever given him, and wear them all at once—just to show Adrian.
Adrian caught his eye, a sly, fox-like smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “What do you think?”
He was showing off.
“Selene’s taste is impeccable!”
He ran his hand tenderly over the lapel pin Selene had just fastened to his jacket, as if it were some rare treasure.
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