22
2013
A young, lovesick Nicolai stood before Chloe with a bouquet of flowers, rehearsing his lines.
“No,” she’d said. “If you like me because of a stray cat, then I refuse. I won’t be playing the piano anymore.”
Nicolai was rejected. He recounted the story to his assistant, your now–Clara, thinking a young woman would understand how to
win a girl’s heart.
Chloe kept rejecting him, but she never told him he had the wrong person. She never told him she already had a boyfriend. She just
watched him fall deeper and deeper into his mistake.
“Until the day you came downstairs and told me she had a boyfriend. I was devastated. But then you tilted your umbrella towards
me, wearing that white dress, and you smiled. For a moment, the two images overlapped.”
“And my heart, shamefully, skipped a beat.”
“It wasn’t normal. My gut told me something was wrong. I went back to the music building to confirm. And I saw you. It was you.”
“I was so happy. It was you. The person I liked was you all along.”
He looked down. “This love story is a bit flawed. It was a failure, wasn’t it? I was afraid to bring it up. It’s not exactly something to be
proud of.”
“But that roommate of yours… she’s really something else. You probably didn’t notice, but she was imitating you. Your clothes, your
style, everything.”
“And she must have guessed I had the wrong person. She did it on purpose, always making me confess my feelings right under
your dorm window.”
“Every time I thought about you watching from upstairs, I couldn’t admit that that fool was me. So I never mentioned it.”
“When you agreed to be with me, I was so happy I thought I would go insane.”
“We got married.”
“Serena.” He sighed. “But I realized you’re always so clear–headed. So clear–headed you could walk away from me at any moment.”
“You love to travel, you love freedom.”
“Just like I love being at the office, love expanding my business empire bit by bit.”
“I thought we could be like this forever.”
“But you… you actually said you wanted a divorce.”
“I don’t agree. Serena, listen to me clearly. I do not agree.”
“Ugh…”
His heartfelt confession was cut short by my nausea. I didn’t dare look at his expression. I really was going to be sick. I held it back
as long as I could, but finally, I couldn’t anymore and ran to the bathroom.
