Chapter 10
After three years together, Xavier had never imagined he’d one day receive a breakup message from Loretta.
When they first started dating, he hadn’t given much thought to how long things would last. A few days, a few months, maybe a few years–he figured it would all be over before too long.
There was someone he couldn’t let go of, a person lodged deep in his heart. Loretta had always been just a safe harbor, a place to rest temporarily until the storm passed.”
So he’d never really put his heart into the relationship.
He remembered the hope shining in her eyes whenever she spoke about marriage, the tears threatening to fall when she felt wronged and vulnerable…
Xavier had seen it all, but he’d never truly cared.}
He’d convinced himself he could stay cold and detached, treat her as a stand–in for the one he really wanted, just to get through these difficult years.
But when the woman he’d been yearning for returned, he realized he wasn’t nearly as heartless as he’d thought.
Loretta–the one he should have broken up with long ago–remained by his side, quietly becoming the one thing standing between him and rekindling his old flame with Fidelia.
Éveryone around him said the only way to end a tangled mess was to cut it off quickly and cleanly.
But Xavier kept wavering–torn between the past he couldn’t let go of and the present he couldn’t bring himself to end. He couldn’t make a choice, and so he dragged things out, hoping time would make the decision for him.
That is, until he saw those three messages with his own eyes.}
It was as if his soul had been ripped from his body. Xavier’s mind went blank, heavy and dazed, as though he were trapped in a dream. He couldn’t tell if this was some lingering hallucination brought on by exhaustion, or the cold, undeniable truth he’d been avoiding. If it was just a dream, why did it feel so real??
But if it was reality, then how could Loretta possibly be the one to break things off??
She’d chased after him for years, promising she’d love him forever. How could she just let go so easily??
Xavier couldn’t make sense of it.?
He rubbed his eyes hard and slapped his cheeks, trying to snap himself awake.
But when he looked down again, those words were still right there on his screen.}
Only now did he begin to realize–the hallucination he’d hoped for was probably reality after all.
In a flash, Xavier sat bolt upright in his hospital bed.
His hands shook as he tapped furiously at his phone.
“Loretta, can we talk?“%
There are things I need to explain.“}
“Where are you? At home, or with Genevieve?“%
Message after desperate message flew out, but they may as well have been tossed into a void. No reply came.
Xavier’s patience slowly wore thin.
He couldn’t sit still any longer. Tearing out the IV from his hand, he bolted out of the hospital, sped to his car, and raced home.& The apartment, always quiet, now felt eerily empty.%
He searched every corner, every room, but there was no sign of her.%
Instead, he found empty display cases, bare closets, deserted rooms.
Every trace of Loretta was gone.%
It was as if she’d finally made up her mind–to erase herself from his world completely.
The realization hit Xavier like a blow, his panicked heart twisting itself into knots.
He racked his brain, desperate to recall anything that might have foretold this.
The resignation letter, the calendar marked in red, her distant manner, the forgotten birthday, the discarded belongings…
One by one, each memory seemed to confirm what he’d refused to see: Loretta had been preparing to leave.%
And he hadn’t noticed a thing.”
When the flood of memories finally subsided, only one image remained in Xavier’s mind–her eyes.}
So, was that last glimpse in the hospital room just hours ago a dream, or real?}
She’d come to see him, maybe to have an honest conversation, maybe to finally say goodbye face–to–face.
But instead, she’d walked in on him pouring his heart out to Fidelia.
All the words Loretta had meant to say were swallowed before she could speak.}
In the end, everything she felt was reduced to three cold, emotionless sentences on a screen.
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