Chapter 3

Adelina asked, "Are you sure about this? Are you really ready to let go? Your love back then was like fireworks. Can you really just walk away from all that?"

All these years, they were the ones who knew every twist and turn between Dayana and Spencer. The whole table went dead silent, everyone just staring down at their plates, not daring to say a word.

"Oh come on, it's not like we're saying goodbye forever. Why so gloomy? With how easy it is to travel these days, who knows? Maybe we'll run into each other again soon," Dayana said, trying to lighten the mood.

But even with her best efforts, the meal felt like chewing on cardboard.

Dayana's phone chimed with a weather alert. Heavy rain was coming in half an hour. Without thinking, she forwarded it to Spencer, only catching herself when he replied.

After paying the bill, they saw it was already drizzling outside. Just as they were about to leave, Dayana's phone rang.

Natasha's voice came through, all sweet and needy. "Spencer, can you come pick me up? It's raining and I didn't bring an umbrella."

It took her a moment to realize she'd dialed the wrong number.

"Oh, oops, I called the wrong person. Sorry, Dayana, I mixed up your number with Spencer's. You're not mad at me, are you?" Natasha said, her voice dripping with fake innocence.

Dayana hung up, not even bothering to listen to Natasha's nonsense. She turned around and, to her surprise, locked eyes with Natasha downstairs. Natasha looked up, holding her phone just a little higher, making sure Dayana saw it, clearly putting on a show.

Dayana couldn't help but wonder if Spencer would actually show up, and just how special Natasha really was to him.

About ten minutes later, Spencer stepped out of his car in his designer shoes, holding a sleek business umbrella. He was so focused he didn't even notice the raindrops soaking his shoes.

"Natasha, sorry I'm late. Traffic was a nightmare. Did you wait long? Why didn't you call me to join you for dinner? You must've been bored eating alone," Spencer said, his voice full of concern.

Dayana had been eating alone for over a year, and he'd never once asked if she was lonely.

She stopped her friends from heading downstairs.

Back when they were still in love, Spencer hated rainy days. He couldn't stand the damp, earthy smell. Whenever it rained, she'd always act cute and beg to stay in. But today, she realized she could walk away too.

Natasha slipped on the coat Spencer brought for her. "I'm just glad you came. I was worried you'd think it was too much trouble. Look at you, sweating from hurrying over. Am I really that special to you?"

The restaurant was so quiet that even though they kept their voices low, Dayana and her crew caught every word, loud and clear.

"Homewrecker! Absolutely shameless. Ugh," one of Dayana's friends spat under her breath.

Natasha took off her scarf and wrapped it around Spencer's neck, the fabric still warm from her body. Spencer buried his face in it, grinning. "Mmm, smells good."

Dayana watched Spencer quietly, her face giving nothing away, but inside, a sharp pain twisted in her chest.

Spencer used to be a total germaphobe. He couldn't even tolerate her things near him, always pushing her stuff and even her clothes as far away as possible.

But now, he could accept someone else's things without a second thought. Guess he's finally learned to make exceptions for someone else. How touching.

Natasha cuddled up in Spencer's arms, and the two of them kept flirting for ages before finally heading out of the restaurant. As they left, Natasha turned back and arched her brow at Dayana, all smug and showing off.

"Dayana, they're way out of line! Why did you stop us? We should've gone down there and taught them a lesson," one of her friends grumbled.

"Has Spencer's taste really gone down the drain? That girl can't even hold a candle to you, and she actually dares to show off in front of you? He used to date someone stunning, and now he's downgraded to a clown?" another friend scoffed.

Her friends were all fired up for her, but Dayana just kept repeating, "Forget it."

Dayana stumbled home, completely worn out. She sank into the couch, feeling drained, and dozed off for a bit before finally dragging herself up for a shower.

Passing by the bathroom counter, Dayana found herself drawn to a photo sitting there. If she remembered right, it was from her and Spencer's one-year anniversary.

He'd been so happy that day, pulling her along to snap photos together and putting them up in every corner of the house.

"I want to see us in love every single day," he'd said.

Dayana held the photo for a long time, then went around the house, gathering every last one and spreading them out on the carpet.

There were even a bunch of love letters she'd written to Spencer back in their school days, and of course, the biggest one, their wedding photo, right in front of her.

She ran her fingers over each piece, taking her time to soak in every memory, then started ripping them apart. Letting go wasn't just talk. It was happening for real.

These things were nothing but a painful eyesore now, and keeping them around would only stir up more drama.

She tossed all the torn-up pieces into the toilet and flushed them away. The wedding photo was tough to tear apart. She had to struggle with it for a while before finally getting it open.

When Spencer and Kate came home, what they saw was every drawer pulled out, completely empty.

"What are you doing? Why did you tear up our wedding photo?" Spencer blurted out.

"What happened to all the photos from when I was growing up? Why are they all gone?" Kate asked, sounding confused and hurt.

Spencer and Kate spoke up at the same time, their voices overlapping in the quiet room.