Chapter 5
I was happy when I was abroad.
I didn’t think about Antonio all the time and I didn’t do anything stupid such as unblocking his number.
Leila was the only source of news about Antonio.
She’d complain about Antonio to me from time to time.
According to Leila, Antonio and Norah went traveling with their friends.
And they seemed to have a lot of fun.
Antonio wasn’t active on social media. But he had frequently posted about Norah.
In every photo, they were joined at the hip, though they hadn’t. officially admitted that they were an item.
People could see it from how close they were.
Our mutual reached out to me, asking if I was in a fight with Antonio.
If not, why was Antonio going out with Norah?
All these years, I was Antonio’s closest friend.
acted like I wasn’t affected at all
Yet, sometimes, I’d feel like I couldn’t breathe.
I’d loved this man for years. And my love had ended in tragedy.
I couldn’t just get over it so soon.
Still, I had to accept defeat and move on.
I couldn’t help but think about the outrageous things Antonio had done to me.
I pinched myself secretly.
“Grace, stop feeling sad over that jerk.”
I warned myself over and over again.
Move on. Leave it in the past.
After this summer vacation, I’d go to college.
All these bad memories would fade with time.
But I didn’t expect that Antonio would return to my life so soon.
When I had truly forgotten about Antonio, he contacted me with a new number.
“Humph. So, you refuse to reach out to me until I apologize?
“Grace, I have to remind you that the summer vacation is almost over. Come back. I won’t have time for our trip soon.”
I clenched my phone and said nothing. Strangely, my silence made Antonio tone down his arrogance.
He even started pleading.
“Alright. Just come home. I got you a present.”
I took a deep breath and said.
“Antonio, I don’t want your present. And I don’t want to go on a trip with you anymore.
“I…”
Antonio cut me off before I could finish.
His tone was icy. He always sounded that way when he was
angry.
“Grace, I gave you a chance.
“Stop being stubborn.
“Fine. Come back or not. I don’t give a fuck. It’s not like I look forward to our trip.”
He hung up, not giving me a chance to retort.
I listened to the dialing tone and didn’t feel anything for his cruel words.
