Chapter 10
I didn’t expect to receive another message from Linda.[]
After I replied to her that year, she went quiet.[]
I forgot to delete her.[]
Unexpectedly, after all these years, she messaged me again: [Sonia, Evren went to find you, didn’t he?][]
I didn’t reply.
Linda sent another message:[]
[Sonia, I know he doesn’t love me, he’ll never love me, but I still shamelessly stayed by his side for many years.]]]
[I really envy you, being able to leave so gracefully.]]]
[Back then, as soon as the project ended, Evren took the earliest flight back to find you. Everyone joked about absence making the heart grow fonder. I admit, I had despicable thoughts. I saw your message saying you wanted to break up with him, so I followed him back to school.]]]
[Do you know? I don’t think Evren will ever be as disheveled as he was the moment he discovered you were gone.]]
[He frantically searched for you.]]]
[But couldn’t find you. When he went to your college and learned you’d already decided to leave, he was devastated, mumbling “impossible” repeatedly. From that moment, I understood why you left. He was too certain you wouldn’t leave. Evren had received so much of your love, and your love was so solid and dependable that it made him feel secure. He never thought he could lose it.]]]
[He learned you’d specifically gone out to throw something away before leaving. Can you imagine? Evren, that germaphobic Evren, actually searched through garbage mountains with his bare hands for what you’d thrown away. He dug through it until dawn and finally found what you’d discarded.]]
[He held that ring to his chest, crying and laughing.]]]
[In that moment, I knew I could never replace your position in Evren’s heart. Later, he strung your ring into a necklace and wore it close to his heart, while continuously wearing his own ring on his finger.]
[Sonia, he really loves you. I love him and it’s painful. I know you feel the same. Don’t continue suffering, okay?]]]
[Don’t let him continue suffering either.]
