Chapter 3
I looked at the person in front of me, watching as he overlapped and separated from a shadow deep in my memory.
Blake had always been like a sun since childhood. A child raised in love, radiant and magnetic, the center of attention wherever he went.
But when I was ten, my family fell apart–Dad cheated, constant fighting filled our house, and when I’d hide in my room crying, young Blake would sneak through my window to hold me and say, “Don’t cry, Emily. You still have me.”
He clumsily wiped away my tears with his hands and made a pinky promise. “Blake will marry Emily when we grow up, and I’ll never cheat, never betray you! Cross my heart.”
Later, the Parker family business grew bigger and they moved into a grand mansion.
In our old apartment complex, Mom transformed into someone else–work–obsessed, exhausted, only brightening at my perfect test
scores.
I retreated into books and silence while Blake embraced loud music, sports, and adventures, drawing constant admiration and love letters from middle school onward.
But he would always put his arm around my shoulder and declare. “See her? My Emily, we’ve been promised to each other since we were kids!”
When college acceptance letters came out, I got into a top university as planned, and Blake was accepted to Juilliard School in the same city.
On move–in day, he dragged two suitcases ahead of me, talking non–stop, “Emily, look! Our schools are just across the street from each other! Four years of dating, then marriage right after graduation!”
He painted our future with the sincere, burning gaze of youth.
When did it start to go wrong?
Probably when “that really interesting bassist in our band” started appearing more and more frequently in his conversations.
Photos on his phone I’d never seen before–him and Madison goofing around during practice breaks.
Or when he started complaining that “you’re always buried in studying, you don’t understand band stuff anyway,” with that barely perceptible distance in his voice.
Or maybe even earlier.
When he shone brilliantly on stage, receiving countless screams and applause, while I could only look up at him from a quiet corner below.
Our worlds had long since quietly drifted apart.
Now he stood across from me, his eyes full of irritation and impatience.
In this moment, I suddenly felt it was all so pointless.
“Yes. Let’s break up,” I said it.
Blake froze, probably never imagining that the girl who had quietly followed him, giving him everything he asked for, would actually nod and say ‘break up.
And at that moment, Madison suddenly burst into tears. “Why are you guys doing this! How can you break up because of me? Blake and Iare completely innocent!”
She frantically tugged at Blake’s sleeve. “You need to explain everything to her! It’s all my fault, okay? I’ll apologize! Please, stop fighting! Don’t break up because of me! I can’t handle that responsibility!”
Blake snapped back to reality, staring at me intently, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Fine. You said it.”
Chapter 3
I smiled. “Yes. I said it.‘
I turned around and pushed open the heavy door.
This time, I didn’t look back.
Chapter 3
