Chapter 3

Then, Eric appeared.

He chased them away, reached his hand out to me, his eyes clear and firm. "Don't be afraid. I've got your back from now on."

In that moment, he was my only salvation.

Later, I mustered all my courage, cautiously approached him, clumsily tried to be good to him.

He accepted my feelings. In an empty classroom after school, he gently kissed my forehead.

"Emily, once we're both in college, let's get married after graduation," he said.

For that promise, I studied like crazy, followed his footsteps, and got into this university. In my freshman year, he chose to enlist for two years.

I endured the longing and worry, wrote him letter after letter, encouraging him and telling him I'd wait.

We had truly warmed and relied on each other.

But after he came back as a training instructor and met Sophie, everything changed.

At first, I just felt uncomfortable. I'd argue, question why he was so patient with that girl, why he let her get so close.

He always dismissed me. "You're overthinking it," "She's just outgoing," "She's just one of the guys," "I only love you, don't you know that?"

But his "buddy" made him postpone our dates again and again.

Made him remember all her preferences but forget our anniversary.

Made him choose her side without hesitation when I was suffering from an allergy, forcing me to apologize.

I went from fierce arguments to weary disappointment, to now, reading this text, feeling only a barren numbness.

Not even anger remained.

He was no longer the Eric who pulled me from despair.

He was the one pushing me into a deeper abyss.

The screen went dark, reflecting my calm, unmoved face.

I had to leave him.

Completely. Forever.

For the next few days, I treated Eric like air.

My messages went unanswered, his calls never connected. During training, my eyes never lingered on him for a second.

This utter indifference clearly got to him more than anything.

The cold war lasted until the evening before training ended.

Eric finally cornered me by the training field, his face etched with days of accumulated frustration.

"Emily, enough with this silent treatment. I'm heading back to base tomorrow. Wait for me, two months, I'll be back after my discharge paperwork," he said.

I didn't speak, just looked at him coldly.

He grew uncomfortable under my gaze. "Look, I know I've been a bit distracted lately, but it's not... Sophie's just like that. To me, she's basically a dude."

"We're broken up, Mr. Johnson. Your personal life is none of my business."

He paused, his eyes full of that 'here we go again' disdain. "Over one ice cream, some dog hair, you're breaking up? Five years, and you just throw it away?

"Stop with the nonsense, it's pathetic. When I get back, I'll make it up to you for our anniversary, take you to that restaurant you've been wanting to try, okay?"

He tried to erase everything with these casual promises, as if all my disappointment and pain were just a tantrum he could easily smooth over.

Just then, a bright voice cut in. "Eric."

Sophie jogged over, holding a beautifully wrapped gift bag.

"What's up? Let's go, William said we're hitting the internet cafe for some shooting game," she said.

Eric glanced at me. "Not going today. You guys have fun."

Sophie acted like she just noticed me, her tone teasing. "Emily can come too. You can just watch some shows on your phone."

Eric smiled faintly. "Next time. For sure."

"Fine. Oh, here, I made these chocolates. Try them," Sophie replied.

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you can make chocolates?"

Sophie wasn't offended, playfully punching his arm. "Shut up. I have many skills. It's to thank you for the extra help during training, otherwise you wouldn't deserve my creations."

I smirked. "'Extra help'? Interesting choice of words. Sounds like Mr. Johnson gave you quite a few private tutorials."

Sophie's smile froze. "Ugh, why are you so difficult? I'm just giving a thank-you gift, and you have to read into it? What's your problem? So boring."

Eric sighed, looking pained and exasperated. "Emily, must you be so sharp? She's just expressing thanks. William got some too, it's not just for me."

I'd seen William's bag. It was plain wrapping.

The one Eric held was a pink bag with little hearts on it.

Seeing my silence, his tone softened again, laced with condescending planning. "My discharge lines up with our anniversary. I'll make it up to you then, okay?"

"Anniversary?" Sophie chimed in, "Seriously? Your discharge day is my birthday. I'm planning a party, you coming?"

Eric frowned, clearly not expecting the coincidence. He opened his mouth, seemed to want to refuse.

Sophie made a sound of disgust. "Never mind, forget I asked. I wouldn't dare invite you now, wouldn't want someone accusing me of stealing her boyfriend again."

With that, she turned and left.