His Runaway Wife [UNEDITED]

5. "I wasn't happy."

When Damian and I began dating, we would always go to a little diner close to where I used to live. It was a family diner and had glass windows all around it. We used to sit on the table in the corner. I liked to look outside and watch the cars drive by and people walking. I've always loved windows and the open air. So when Damian began to make his way to the car, I stopped.

He turned to look at me in wonder.

"Is it okay if we walk?" I asked as I looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful day. Besides, I didn't want to be inside a car with Damian so close to me. It seemed like I couldn't think straight when I was with him.

"Sure. I think there's a coffee shop just around the corner."

"Okay." I said as we began to walk down the sidewalk.

Neither of us said anything as we walked to the coffee shop. We ordered our drinks and then took a seat on a table right next to the window.

"Your hair is different." Damian said after a moment of sitting in silence and I fight back a smile because that's exactly what Aaron had said yesterday.

My hand goes up to my bangs as if on instinct and I brush them to the side with my fingers. "Yeah, figured I needed a change."

"Well, you look beautiful."

I cleared my throat as I reached for my coffee. "Thank you." I said then took a sip of the coffee, hoping my face wasn't as red as it felt hot. "I, um, heard about your father." I said as I set the cup down. "I'm so sorry, Damian, I know how close you were to him."

He nodded slowly. "Thank you."

He didn't say anything else so I knew he didn't want to talk about it which meant that he was still hurting. Well of course he was still hurting. There was no greater pain than losing a loved one, especially a parent.

"My mom died." I say quietly. "That day that I left...she died."

Damian's eyes widened and I could see the shock on his handsome face. He reached across the table and placed his hand on top of mine. "I'm so sorry, Rebecca. I had no idea."

I half smiled as I moved my hand and placed it on my lap. "I know. Thank you. It was a stroke. It's been three years and I still miss her like the first day."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked softly.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I wanted to. I did. I just-" I stopped and shook my head then looked at Damian. "I wasn't happy, Damian...I wasn't happy." I looked down at the table. "So when that happened, I took it as an exit. I just got in my car and drove and while I drove, I knew that I wasn't going to go back."

I cleaned the tear that had escaped from my eye quickly. I didn't know why I was crying. I guess it was harder to talk about than I thought. Back in Nevada, no one knew I was married. No one knew about my life in California so I never had to talk about it. I didn't have a friend I felt comfortable talking to. It was always just me and Alexa and she knew that I didn't like talking about Damian and my life in California so she stopped asking after she understood. It wasn't that I hated Damian or Aaron. I just didn't like to talk about it because I knew I was a coward for running away. What kind of wife runs away from her husband? From a husband like Damian? He never hit me or mistreated me in any way. Sure there were fights but he always went my way. I don't know what happened. Just one day, I realized that I didn't want to do it anymore. I didn't want to be a wife in a lonely house that wasn't even mine.

I wished I could say all of those things to Damian but there was a knot in my throat threatening to make me cry and that was the last thing I needed.

Damian ran a hand through his short hair as he thought about what I had just confessed to him.