That Killed Us 22

Chapter22 

When the class reunion ended, rain was pouring down outside. 

Chase Rylan didn’t bother with an umbrella. Cold water soaked through his clothes as he wandered aimlessly down the street, Lydia’s words and the tenderness in her eyes when she looked at Noah Sterling replaying in his head like a broken record. 

Back at his empty estate, he collapsed onto the couch and drifted quickly into a restless sleep. 

In his dream, he was back in high school, right after the fire. 

Sienna Quinn had pressed Grandma’s Locket into his hands. “Thank you for saving this. Here’s five hundred thousand–it’s my way of repaying you.” 

He had shoved the bank card back at her, voice flat. “Then we’re even. From now on, you and I are done.” 

The whole class had watched as Sienna’s face went pale. She had bolted from the room in humiliation, and after that day, he had never 

spoken to her again. 

Instead, he spent his days with Lydia–sitting beside her in class, saving her a spot in the library, making sure she had hot cocoa and hand warmers during her cycle. 

When college began, he had carried her luggage through the gates of Northbridge University. When they graduated, he had dropped to one knee and proposed. 

In his dream, they had married, moving into a house with a garden overflowing with blooming gardenias. Every summer, the fragrance filled the air. Lydia had become a respected attorney; he ran the family business. At night, they curled up on the couch watching movies, ordinary yet blissful. 

“Someday, let’s have two kids,” he had told her, holding her close, smiling like a man who had everything. “One who looks like you, 

one like me.” 

Her laugh had been soft against his chest. “Okay.” 

But then Chase jolted awake. 

The villa was silent. The couch was empty. Lydia was gone. 

His chest ached as if hollowed out. He stumbled to his study, yanked open a dusty box, and found the remnants of what they once had- her old love letters, photo booth strips, the broken pieces of the homemade star projector he had built. 

He picked up a photo. Lydia in a white dress, smiling, leaning into him, her eyes filled with trust. 

But that girl would never belong to him again. 

The next morning, he parked near Hartwell & Pierce LLP, waiting across the street. 

From behind a tree, he watched Lydia step out of the building in her suit. Noah Sterling was already there, umbrella in one hand, thermos in the other. 

a 

“It’s colder today. I made some beef stew,” Noah said, handing it over. He tugged Lydia’s coat snug around her shoulders, the motion effortless, intimate. 

She laughed, eyes sparkling. “How did you know I was craving stew?” 

“Lucky guess.” He reached out, ruffled her hair. “Come on, let’s eat. I’ll pick you up after work too.” 

The two of them walked off together, their silhouettes warm beneath the morning sun, as if they belonged to a painting. 

From his car, Chase’s grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles turned white, 

He knew. She was gone–truly, irrevocably gone. He no longer even had the right to stand at her side. 

From then on, he buried himself in work. When friends and family introduced him to women, he declined without hesitation. 

Chapter22 

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He kept Lydia’s old bedroom in the estate exactly as it had been, as if she might walk back in at any moment. 

Years slipped by. 

Then, one day, a former classmate let it slip–Lydia was getting married. 

The groom was Noah Sterling. The ceremony would be at St. Brigid Chapel. 

On the wedding day, Chase stood in the shade of a tree outside the church. 

The doors opened. Lydia appeared on her father’s arm, radiant in white, walking step by step toward Noah. 

Noah, in a sharp suit, watched her approach with unwavering devotion, as though she was the most precious thing in the world. 

“I do.” 

Applause thundered as they exchanged rings and sealed their vows with a kiss. 

Outside, Chase stood frozen. Silent tears slid down his face. 

Once, he had held her heart. Once, she had dreamed a future with him. But because of his own arrogance and selfishness, he had driven her away–straight into the arms of someone who would never let her go. 

Now Lydia had found happiness. And all that remained for Chase was endless regret, and the long, lonely road ahead. 

Chapter22