All Chapters of Like Love Faded In The Wind: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

After that day, he got a vasectomy.But a vasectomy isn't sterilization. It's not a guarantee. Just like promises—always shifting, never fixed.Looking back, I got pregnant six years ago. His child with Zia was also six now. The timing was a little too perfect.Come to think of it, after Zia gave birth, he even asked me to take care of her.I stared blankly at Zeke. Even in his forties, with only a few faint lines at the corners of his eyes, he was still as handsome as he'd been twenty years ago.But he was no longer the guy whose world had once revolved around me."You say you can't bear for a child to grow up without a father," I said. "Then are you really okay with me living without a husband? You're all I have."He shut his eyes, as if wrestling with something deep inside."All these years, I respected your wishes. I didn't force you to have children. Can't you try to understand me too? We can bring Zia and Dylan here. We could live together.""I haven't fallen that far!"

"Dylan's about to start elementary school? Don't you own a place in that school district? It's one of the best schools in the area. You like living over there anyway—wouldn't it be perfect for helping take care of him?"I stared at Zeke's mouth opening and closing, my entire body trembling in disbelief.That apartment had been left to me by my mother, who passed away far too soon. It was a cramped little place where he and I had weathered the hardest years of our lives together. The home we once dreamed we'd return to in old age. And now, he wanted that same home to house the child of the woman who had shattered my heart—and he wanted me to take care of their son?I could barely breathe. The ache in my stomach was nothing compared to the pain radiating from my chest."Not a chance. That place is mine. Even if I gave it away, I'd never let the child of a mistress live there—"I didn't even get to finish. Zeke cut me off sharply. "Do you even hear yourself? How can you say something

I handed in my resignation to the university.Truth was, years ago, my worsening eye condition had already made it difficult to keep up with intense research. I only stayed on to help Zeke because he was busy chasing accolades. After his affair came to light, he began—subtly or not—sabotaging my work. Funding dried up. My research had nowhere to go.I transferred my unfinished project, along with my students, to a trusted colleague.She looked stunned. "This is the work of your life. You've already made progress. You're just giving it to me?"I smiled and nodded.She hesitated. "The direction overlaps quite a bit with Zeke's work, too. Are you sure you're not passing it to him?"I sighed and shook my head. "He's not someone I'd entrust things to."Once, he gave my research away to Zia. Who's to say he wouldn't do the same with my students' results?My colleague didn't argue further. She quietly helped me pack.We weren't moving my things back to my old apartment. Just to the

Everything here looked just the same.It even felt like Carrie's presence still lingered faintly in the air.This was where it had all begun—where the two of them had holed up together and quietly built a life from scratch. Even if she was gone now, he believed she'd come back eventually. He didn't think she could really cut ties with him, not entirely. Not with all the memories tied to this place.She'd regret it.And when that time came, all he had to do was wait here for her.But at night, when the house grew cold and the bed felt impossibly big, Zeke often woke in a sweat from nightmares. He kept seeing her, suitcase in hand, walking away. Leaving the old house. Leaving him.Each time, panic twisted in his chest. He'd lash out—punch the wall, curse under his breath.Then one night, he made a call to a friend at the hospital. "Next time Zia comes in for a checkup," he said, "tell her I don't want the child."It had started seven years ago—his parents had shown up, persuasive

The truth is, Zeke and I both knew—some things don't change gradually. They collapse all at once, becoming something unrecognizable.Six years ago, Zeke's family suddenly began investing in an infant care company under his name.Was it because I was pregnant back then?No. It was because Zia was.He'd told me he didn't want me to suffer through pregnancy. Meanwhile, he was secretly raising a beloved child with someone else. It's astonishing how someone can live by such a double standard.I couldn't take his entanglement any longer. I decided to sell the flower shop and move to another city with Kristen.When Zeke saw the movers clearing out everything from the shop, he broke down without warning. Cried like he knew this was it—that he was about to lose me again.And maybe this time, it would be for good.Tears streaming down his face, he suddenly asked, "Carrie, did I hurt you that badly? Please, give me a chance to make it right. I'll open a new flower shop for you, fill it wi