Chapter 4

The alarm went off at 8 AM, its screech breaking the morning silence. My alarm had a note: [Getting married today.]

I blinked away the dryness in my eyes, only then realizing that today was the day Daniel and I were supposed to get our marriage license.

After what Daniel did yesterday, my heart was already beyond repair. If I were leaving, I had to do it with no hesitation.

I grabbed my phone, ready to tell Daniel it was over.

But as soon as I unlocked it, my Twitter feed from last night refreshed automatically.

Anna tweeted. [Watching his sleeping face, I feel completely at peace. It has been ten years. I really miss these days.]

The photo showed a face that I knew all too well.

In the photo, Daniel's lips curved into a slight smile, as if he were lost in a sweet dream.

I lowered my eyes, deleted Anna from WhatsApp, and dialed Daniel's number.

His voice was still rough from sleep, but he sounded extremely annoyed. "Yeah, I know today's city hall thing. Can you give it a rest? Do you think I'm gonna run out on you or something?

"Anna's still not feeling well. I'll go when she's better, alright? Stop bothering me. Don't call me again."

Before I could say anything, he hung up.

I kept my expression blank as I opened our chat window.

I sent Daniel one last message. [Daniel, go ahead and concern yourself with other women. You're free now. We're done.]

Daniel never replied to me, not even after my plane landed.

I deleted and blocked him everywhere without hesitation.

The pain and heartache from those nights felt like they were finally behind me. Now, all I carried with me was the uneasy anticipation of building a new life in a new city.

Still, whenever I closed my eyes, all those memories of my life with Daniel came rushing back.

I'd loved him for six years. Thinking of him had become as simple and essential as eating or drinking.

During the nearly seven-hour drive, I forced myself to read, eat, or watch the kid, whose eyes were wide with curiosity in the seat next to me.

I was willing to do anything that might keep my thoughts occupied.

*****

When my feet finally touched the ground in Bayinton, I strolled out of the airport, ready to grab my phone and call a cab.

After a whole night without charging, I'd lost track of when my phone had shut itself off.

I flagged down a taxi, told the driver my hotel, and settled in for the ride.

The moment I collapsed onto the hotel bed, a real sense of stability settled in. I truly felt I was about to start a new chapter.

Everything around me was unfamiliar, but, oddly enough, I didn't dislike it.

After plugging in my phone, I was greeted by a wall of missed calls on the screen.

I reached out to my assistant first. "Lily, I just got to Bayinton. My battery ran out, and my phone shut off. Sorry if I got you all worried."

Lily Shaw chuckled. "Emily, now I get why you left so fast. Trying to dodge someone, huh? Daniel practically blew up my phone looking for you."

"Yeah, we broke up," I said, my voice flat.

Lily didn't push or pry. She just wished me luck, hoping I'd thrive in this new city.

After I hung up, my phone buzzed again. This time, it was our friend Victor Clark. "Finally, you picked up! What's going on between you and Daniel? We've got friends and family all crowded outside city hall waiting for you two, but the main stars are missing. Seriously, what happened?

"We've been calling Daniel, too, but he's not answering. Honestly, we thought you both just vanished off the face of the earth."

I gripped my phone tighter, fighting a lump in my throat. "We're not getting married. It's over between us," I said, my voice hoarse.

The line went silent.

I didn't wait for him to respond before I ended the call.

The ache in my chest kept intensifying.

Honestly, I'd thought if I hit him with a breakup text and disappeared, Daniel might actually regret losing me.

It turned out I was just fooling myself.

I guessed he really never cared. Maybe all he ever cared about was Anna.

I put my phone to the side, telling myself that a good night's sleep would help me recharge for whatever tomorrow might bring.

But right as I was finally slipping into sleep, my phone started ringing nonstop, like the universe wasn't ready to let me rest yet.

It was a number I'd never seen before.