Ring (Patreon)

She was too lost in her own thoughts to pay attention as he fiddled with her fingers, but when she felt an unfamiliar band hit the base of her finger, she looked down. And everything in her stilled.

A one carat princess cut diamond on a simple gold band sparkled, as shiny today as it was seven years ago when she spotted it in the jewelry display case. Her vision blurred as she was bombarded by memories. She felt an echo of the elation she experienced the day he slipped it on her finger and the disillusioned despair she felt as she placed it in the envelope with the divorce papers.

“Why did you keep it?” she whispered.

“As a reminder.”

She looked up. “Of what?”

He clasped her face between his hands. He stared at her, not saying a thing. Something unfurled between them. Something fragile, delicate, and excruciatingly painful. A tear slipped down her cheek. She tried to shake her head, but he stopped that motion and rested his forehead against hers.

“Stay with me.”

“I can’t. You’ll destroy me.”

“I can’t destroy you without destroying myself.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means we start here.”

**This is an unpublished draft of Mia's work. Please do not share or distribute.