Chapter 1
I was planning to give my boyfriend a vintage digital camera for Valentine's Day, but he dumped me out of nowhere.
While I was going through the camera, I stumbled upon a photo of me at seventeen with the school heartthrob.
I was completely stumped, wondering how that photo even got there.
Just then, my phone blew up with frantic messages from the seller.
[Miss, I screwed up. This camera can't be sold.]
[It's my uncle's most treasured camera, and it has a photo of the girl he's always loved.]
[It's my uncle's most treasured camera, and it has a photo of the girl he's always loved.] [If he finds out I sold it, he'll skin me alive.]
*****
On Valentine's Day, my boyfriend, Ryan Carter, never showed up. My texts disappeared into the void, and my calls went unanswered.
The waiter looked at the empty seat across from me with growing sympathy.
Finally, someone softly said, "Miss, we're closing now."
I finally left the restaurant and dialed Ryan one last time. This time, he answered.
"Who the hell are you? You've been blowing up my boyfriend's phone all night," a girl snapped, her voice full of anger.
I froze, glancing down at the screen to double-check. It was definitely Ryan's number. "W-Who is this?" I asked, confused.
There was some shuffling on the other end, and then I heard Ryan himself, sounding totally annoyed.
He spat, "Yvette, seriously, are you ever going to get the hint? I'm not answering your calls. What do you think that means?"
A bitter taste filled my mouth. "What do you mean?"
"It means we're done. I'm breaking up with you," Ryan said, his voice full of contempt.
"I only got together with you because you were easy to handle, never made a fuss, and I didn't have to put any effort into keeping you happy.
"Now that the novelty's worn off, I'm moving on to someone worth my time. I can't keep wasting my life with you and dragging my reputation down."
My mind just went numb, totally blank.
The girl snatched the phone back, her voice dripping with smugness. "Hear that, has-been? Better figure out where you stand and quit blowing up his phone."
Suddenly, the call was cut off with a harsh beep.
I tried calling again, but all I got was a busy signal. I lowered my phone and let out a long sigh.
Young couples walked past me, clutching roses and beaming with joy.
My chest felt heavy, but it wasn't the kind of pain that shattered my heart.
I always knew this day would come, just never thought it would go down like this, on Valentine's Day, and in such an embarrassing way.
Ryan and I came from completely different worlds.
About a year ago, he got tired of his usual scene and suddenly got interested in someone like me, the quiet, and no-drama type. He went all out, making a big show of chasing after me.
I couldn't help but fall for him, but deep down, I knew that his love was always fleeting.
Sure enough, the guy who was laughing with me just a few days ago, planning our Valentine's Day, broke up with me today. I just felt bad about the gift I'd spent so much time picking out for him.
Ryan had everything a guy could want, but he was totally crazy about vintage cameras.
The CCD I got him was super rare. Only five thousand were ever released worldwide, and on the secondhand market, it was basically priceless.
I'd been hunting for this thing for over half a year. It finally showed up this afternoon, and I was so hyped that I didn't even look at the camera itself. I just wrapped it up and hurried out to meet Ryan.
Now, all that thought I put into it just turned into a joke.
I gave a wry smile, pulled the camera out of the box, and hit the power button.
The camera whirred to life, and after a moment, the screen jumped straight to the photo gallery.
I froze for a second.
The last owner forgot to clear the memory card. An old photo of two people popped up immediately.
In the picture, a girl looked a bit nervous, hands resting neatly on her knees, sitting up straight. A boy was sprawled back in his chair, a faint smirk on his lips.
The sunlight slanted across their desks.
I blinked hard, completely floored.
That was me at seventeen, with Xavier Sterling, the guy I used to sit next to in class.
I brushed my finger across the camera screen.
I didn't know when this photo was taken. I seriously had zero memory of it. I wondered if the seller could be an old classmate of mine.
I flipped through the rest, but that was the only photo.
After hesitating for a couple of minutes, I opened up the chat with the seller.
Just as I was about to type something, a flood of messages came pouring in from the other side.
[Miss, I'm so sorry. Did you get the camera yet? Is there any way you could send it back to me?]
[Miss, I screwed up. This camera can't be sold.]
[It's my uncle's most treasured camera, and it has a photo of the girl he's always loved.]
[If he finds out I sold it, he'll skin me alive.]
I stared at all those panicked, almost tearful messages. I typed: [Your uncle?]
The seller replied: [Yeah, he just got back from overseas and asked me to help sort out his luggage. I thought it was just some old camera, and I really needed the money, so...]
[But then it hit me. He's totally obsessed with this camera. He keeps it locked up in a special cabinet, and nobody is allowed to even touch it. If it goes missing, he'll have my head.]