Chapter 1 · A Decade To Goodbye

My boyfriend of ten years had just postponed our wedding for the ninth time, all because of a once-in-a-century aurora.

He said, "Life is about freedom. We should live for freedom."

In that moment, it hit me. No matter how much love I poured into building a cozy home, I could never make a man who craved wild freedom stay.

He longed for the wild, open road, while all I wanted was a place to call home.

I didn't argue but just accepted it in silence.

I made up my mind to end things with him while he was off chasing the aurora in Amberbridge.

*****

I had just taken the wedding dress out of its box and hung it up.

"Lorelei, I just booked two tickets to Amberbridge. The once-in-a-century aurora is happening in seven days. We have to postpone the wedding. I can't miss this chance to shoot it," Baxter said.

My hand froze in mid-air as I was straightening the dress.

"Baxter, this is the ninth time you've postponed our wedding since you proposed five years ago," I said. "I don't want to put it off again this year."

"But this time is different. Do you realize what an aurora like this means? It might only happen once in ten years, or even once in a lifetime," he replied.

"I'm thirty, Baxter. I want a real home," I cut him off.

He was quiet for a few seconds, sounding impatient. "Lorelei, you weren't like this before.

"Remember when we watched the first snow in the Alps and waited for sunrise in the Sahara? Back then, you said freedom was the heart of our love," he said.

I did say that.

When I was twenty-five, I made a lot of promises... even said I'd wait for you forever.

Every single time over the past ten years, I was the one who compromised. But not this time. I'm done.

After a long silence, I finally spoke, "Fans already know we're supposed to get married in seven days. What am I supposed to tell them now?"

Baxter stood up, sounding totally unfazed. "Just shoot a video, tell them the wedding's delayed, but our love isn't. I'll go get my stuff ready."

As I watched him walk away, it all just felt pointless now.

I sat down on the couch and opened our couple's account.

The latest video was still the makeup trial from three days ago.

[I've been following you guys since college, and I finally get to see you get married!]

[Please be happy, so I can keep believing in love.]

The comments were nonstop.

All our fans online wanted us to get married, but he just didn't want to.

I glanced over at my dream wedding dress.

I grabbed my phone, shot a quick vlog about the dress, and uploaded it to our account.

Then I started scrolling through our old videos.

That viral proposal video from five years ago was filmed in the highlands, 15,419 feet above sea level. Baxter was down on one knee in front of fluttering prayer flags, with a meteor shower blazing across the night sky behind him.

The live comments kept streaming across the screen.

[This is the most romantic proposal I've ever seen.]

[You two have to be happy forever!]

But only I remembered that after the video was done, I collapsed from altitude sickness and had to spend two days in the hospital.

After that, he finally slowed down for a while.

I really thought we were finally settling down.

But then he blew through the money we'd saved for three years to buy a house, just to get new camera gear.

And he canceled our wedding again, all to chase a total solar eclipse in the Southern Hemisphere.

Every single time, he'd say, "Lorelei, life is the wild, not some railroad track."

Every video was like a cut to my heart.

Suddenly, the door slammed open.

"Lorelei, what was that vlog about? You know we're leaving for Amberbridge in seven days. Are you seriously trying to use our fans to pressure me into getting married?" Baxter snapped.

I looked at his face, twisted with anger, and suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over me.

It felt like we'd never really been heading in the same direction.

The last ten years, I'd just been forcing myself to go along for his ride.

I looked at him calmly. "I'm just sharing my life, just showing what it's like to be Lorelei at thirty."

He paused, not expecting me to keep it together and not break down.

He came over to hug me, but I gently moved aside, slipping out of his reach.

"Alright, alright," he coaxed.

Chapter 1

My boyfriend of ten years had just postponed our wedding for the ninth time, all because of a once-in-a-century aurora.

He said, "Life is about freedom. We should live for freedom."

In that moment, it hit me. No matter how much love I poured into building a cozy home, I could never make a man who craved wild freedom stay.

He longed for the wild, open road, while all I wanted was a place to call home.

I didn't argue but just accepted it in silence.

I made up my mind to end things with him while he was off chasing the aurora in Amberbridge.

*****

I had just taken the wedding dress out of its box and hung it up.

"Lorelei, I just booked two tickets to Amberbridge. The once-in-a-century aurora is happening in seven days. We have to postpone the wedding. I can't miss this chance to shoot it," Baxter said.

My hand froze in mid-air as I was straightening the dress.

"Baxter, this is the ninth time you've postponed our wedding since you proposed five years ago," I said. "I don't want to put it off again this year."

"But this time is different. Do you realize what an aurora like this means? It might only happen once in ten years, or even once in a lifetime," he replied.

"I'm thirty, Baxter. I want a real home," I cut him off.

He was quiet for a few seconds, sounding impatient. "Lorelei, you weren't like this before.

"Remember when we watched the first snow in the Alps and waited for sunrise in the Sahara? Back then, you said freedom was the heart of our love," he said.

I did say that.

When I was twenty-five, I made a lot of promises... even said I'd wait for you forever.

Every single time over the past ten years, I was the one who compromised. But not this time. I'm done.

After a long silence, I finally spoke, "Fans already know we're supposed to get married in seven days. What am I supposed to tell them now?"

Baxter stood up, sounding totally unfazed. "Just shoot a video, tell them the wedding's delayed, but our love isn't. I'll go get my stuff ready."

As I watched him walk away, it all just felt pointless now.

I sat down on the couch and opened our couple's account.

The latest video was still the makeup trial from three days ago.

[I've been following you guys since college, and I finally get to see you get married!]

[Please be happy, so I can keep believing in love.]

The comments were nonstop.

All our fans online wanted us to get married, but he just didn't want to.

I glanced over at my dream wedding dress.

I grabbed my phone, shot a quick vlog about the dress, and uploaded it to our account.

Then I started scrolling through our old videos.

The live comments kept streaming across the screen.

[This is the most romantic proposal I've ever seen.]

[You two have to be happy forever!]

But only I remembered that after the video was done, I collapsed from altitude sickness and had to spend two days in the hospital.

After that, he finally slowed down for a while.

I really thought we were finally settling down.

But then he blew through the money we'd saved for three years to buy a house, just to get new camera gear.

And he canceled our wedding again, all to chase a total solar eclipse in the Southern Hemisphere.

Every single time, he'd say, "Lorelei, life is the wild, not some railroad track."

Every video was like a cut to my heart.

Suddenly, the door slammed open.

"Lorelei, what was that vlog about? You know we're leaving for Amberbridge in seven days. Are you seriously trying to use our fans to pressure me into getting married?" Baxter snapped.

I looked at his face, twisted with anger, and suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over me.

It felt like we'd never really been heading in the same direction.

The last ten years, I'd just been forcing myself to go along for his ride.

I looked at him calmly. "I'm just sharing my life, just showing what it's like to be Lorelei at thirty."

He paused, not expecting me to keep it together and not break down.

He came over to hug me, but I gently moved aside, slipping out of his reach.

"Alright, alright," he coaxed.