Chapter 11
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But it’s okay.
I comforted myself. It’s just human nature; time is a great healer. Eventually, it would blur and erase all the memories.
At home, I packed my things. After the cleaning lady had swept away every trace of my presence, I waited silently for the moment of departure.
When midnight struck, I tore out the final page. In the blank space, I wrote a message:
[Vincent, I won’t marry you. I wish you and Zoe happiness.]
Suddenly, I remembered something my professor had said. After all, I had loved him once and I still felt the need to say goodbye to Vincent.
The phone rang for a long time before I picked it up, only to hear Zoe’s voice on
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the other end. “Is something wrong? It’s so late.”
I curled my fingers around the phone, asking, “Where is Vincent?”
“Vincent?” She giggled. “He was so tired. He s in the shower right now.”
“Oh.”
I thought I’d feel pain, but when I pressed my hand to my chest, there didn’t seem to be any beating ups and downs.
Zoe‘ s petite voice continued in my ear. “If you don’t need anything else, I’m hanging up. We still have the second half of the night to go.”
Then, a picture arrived on my phone–one of Vincent and her sleeping together the night before.
I hung up and stared at the empty house. Professor, you see, I wanted to say goodbye, but this is the result.
Then, I realized that not everyone gets to
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say goodbye however they want. So, let’s leave it at no more meetings.
I deleted my fingerprint from the password. lock, picked up my suitcase and drove off into the distance in the night.
kk
The following day, at eight o‘ clock in the morning, Vincent called me.
Vincent and some people had worked all night to set up the proposal ceremony on the hillside. He thought back to the rushed proposal a year ago. Even though I didn’t care much for the ceremony, he wanted to give me the best surprise he could. What others had, I should have too. More. importantly, he had felt something off about me recently.
Vincent felt an anxiousness in his heart as if I was slipping away, like a kite flying farther and farther away from him and he
couldn’t catch it. He wanted to take the opportunity to talk about the wedding
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dress, to tell me he’d had a new design made just for me. He imagined us standing against the mountain breeze and sunlight, apologizing to each other and clearing the air. They’d prepare for our wedding together. I would be his most beautiful.
bride.
But the call went unanswered. He thought maybe I was still asleep. After all, I often worked late in the lab and came home.
tired. But I was always so disciplined. I wouldn’t sleep this late.
A small wave of anxiety hit him.
He tried reassuring himself, thinking maybe I just didn’t hear the phone. I was probably busy making breakfast.
After a short while, Vincent called again. The phone still didn’t connect, so he started to panic and urged the driver to speed up.
Someone in the group chat asked if he wanted to scatter petals along the road
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leading up the mountain. He glanced at the sun rising outside the window, thinking,
‘Claire should be basking in the sunlight right now. Just another normal day.”
‘She must not have heard the phone; she wasn’t intentionally avoiding his call, right?‘
*If she knew the surprise I had planned for her today, she’d be so moved, maybe even crying. She always had a soft spot for
me.‘
So, he replied in the group chat with a simple “okay.”
‘We would surely step into a brighter future together on the road filled with blooming flowers.”
Vincent stood at the door, took a deep breath and finally entered. But his little bunny slippers were missing.
His heart skipped a beat. He quickly reassured himself. ‘Claire must be
waiting for me in the room, wearing her
