A Lifetime Contract

Chapter 2

February 14, 2010

“Seanny, when are you going to say you love me too? Every Valentine’s Day since we were freshmen in this university, I would confess my love to you but you still ignore me,” Candice said as she tried to keep up with Sean’s pace while wearing her expensive Christian Loubotuin high heeled boots.

“Ms. Swanepoel, maybe I’ll stop ignoring you when you learn to stop bugging me. Understood?” and he left her and pretended that he was in a hurry. But this girl is the most persistent out of all the persistents. Sean was already in the car and when she knocked on his wind shield.

“What now?”

“Happy valentine’s day, Sean! Please accept this chocolate cake. I baked it myself. I’m not that good yet at baking but it was better than last year.”

“Alright. Just get out of my way. I really need to go,” he lied. What she doesn’t know is that when Sean reaches home, he’ll just dump the cake in the trash bin where her previous baked cakes have gone too.

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February 14, 2012

Sean was awakened by the sound of his alarm. His arm that used to lie on her waist was now lying on the empty space where she used to be. In his panic, he immediately stood up realizing Candice’s not by his side anymore. He looked at Candice’s room and found 2 envelopes and a small red box on her bed.

He took the smaller envelope and read it.

Dear Sean,

 

Smile! I’m not here anymore. You’re not a bit sad about it, right?

 

I would just like to say things that I don’t have the courage to tell you in person. I’m sorry for making this year the longest year of your life though I’m thankful that you put up with me this whole time and never left. I’m sorry for living in this house that wasn’t meant for me in the first place but I’m grateful you never asked me to leave. I’m sorry for stealing time from you when you could have spent it with your lovely Sarah. I’m sorry for loving you so much that I had to stick with the entire year hoping that somehow you’d look at me the way I look at you.

 

I’ll be selfish if I say that I don’t want that year to end because it was seriously a happy year for me. From the moment you kissed me during our wedding until the moment you put your arm around me last night, they were precious. It made me think whether 1 year of waiting for you is enough? I could wait longer but everything has come to an end.

 

A deal is a deal. You have done your part and now, it’s my turn to do my part.

 

Love,

 

Candice Swanepoel X

Sean opened the bigger envelope. It was their divorce paper and at the bottom of it, was her sign. She placed a sticky note and wrote: You’re officially a free man, Sean. Be happy from now on.

Sean placed the red box on his lap and read the card attached to it:  Happy Valentine’s Day, Seanny! I poured all my love for you in this masterpiece. Even though it’s not as good as the one you can buy in pastry shops, I guess this is the best cake I ever made for you.

Sean opened the box and saw a small heart-shaped chocolate cake. He took a spoon and sliced it into two. The cake was indeed good. It must have been good if he tasted all the cakes she gave before and complimented her with how much she has improved each year. But he couldn’t turn back the time. The sweetness of the cake made his heart feel bitter and his eyes can’t stop shedding tears with each bite. When he finished the first half of the cake, he closed the box and hugged it “Happy Anniversary, Candy.”

So she’s really gone… without a sound, without a trace. It was as if she never existed. The house is surely empty without her things but her memories lingered in all the corners of the house. This is the first time Sean experienced a silence that was deafening.