Fading Slowly but Surely

"Your application for the exchange program has been approved, Isla. You're the only one in the university to get the spot. Congratulations!" Richard Langham said.

Isla Stokerton felt relieved hearing the good news from him. "Thank you, Mr. Langham. I'll make sure to live up to your expectations!"

Richard had always been confident in the students he mentored. With a cheerful smile, he asked, "When are you planning to depart?"

Isla replied, "I've already applied for the visa. I'll be able to leave once it's processed in a month."

Richard was pleased to know that she had already arranged for everything. He continued, "You'll be away for three years. What about Emmett then? You've been pursuing him for so long—you've even confessed to him 99 times. Shouldn't the two of you get together soon?"

Isla was momentarily stunned to hear gossip about her from a professor she respected.

It seemed like gossip traveled fast. She wasn't aware that her story had already made it this far. But then again, it was pretty hard to ignore someone who had confessed 99 times.

Isla smiled bitterly as she recalled the secret she stumbled upon several days ago. She let out a soft sigh and replied firmly, "I'm not going to confess anymore. It's exhausting to keep on pursuing him like that."

Richard was surprised to hear the news. However, he did not push further seeing that she didn't want to talk about it.

The reminder alarm went off just as Isla ended the call. She opened it and realized that it was something she'd set months ago, with only a couple of words—"Emmett's birthday."

Upon recalling the bar address she received yesterday, Isla lowered her gaze, got changed, and went down to hail a cab.

…

The birthday party was already ongoing by the time she arrived at the location. Familiar voices sounded from the private room.

Someone said, "How could Isla be late? Could she be preparing for a surprise now? She's confessed 99 times already, and it's about to be the 100th. Don't you think it's time to say yes, Emmett?"

Another replied, "That's right, and you clearly liked her too. You might really lose her for good if you reject her again!"

Isla's hand on the door paused when she heard the guys' teasing, yet she remained calm.

She had known for a while that Emmett Cosworth liked her.

A week ago, Emmett had a basketball game. Isla watched the entire thing, then rushed over afterward to offer him some water.

However, he wore a cold expression as always. He barely spared her a glance as he turned around and walked away.

Even though Isla was used to his indifference, she still felt upset about it. Just as she was about to leave, she noticed his phone on the bench.

She picked it up, intending to catch up with Emmett, but her finger accidentally hit the power button, lighting the screen. Glancing down, she immediately saw his lock screen wallpaper. It was a photo of a woman.

There was nothing particularly strange about it, but what shocked Isla was that the woman in the photo was her.

The high ponytail tied with a floral hair tie, the charms hanging on her bag, the knee-length plaid dress, and the mole on the inner side of her wrist. It was her—down to the little details.

Looking at this photo, which was taken without her knowing, Isla was both surprised and confused.

Emmett had always ignored her, so why would he use her photo as his wallpaper?

Just as the screen was about to dim, Isla pressed the power button again and was immediately brought to the password screen.

She tried keying in her own birthday as the password on a whim. To her surprise, the screen unlocked the home page after she pressed the confirmation button.

Isla's mind went blank before she clicked on the photo album. Countless thumbnail images appeared in the next instant. A quick glance was all it took for her to realize that there were thousands of photos of her face.

She was completely shocked. It was one thing for Emmett to have her photo as his wallpaper, but he'd actually saved thousands of her photos in his gallery.

At the very bottom was a photo from the day they first met two years ago—one of her dancing solos during the freshman performances. The photo was titled "The first day I fell for her at first sight."

Shocked, Isla couldn't understand why Emmett wouldn't accept her feelings all this while when he had fallen for her the first day they met.

She only learned the true intentions behind his actions after talking to several people.

Emmett had liked her, but at the same time, he enjoyed being pursued by a woman. As such, he had delayed accepting her confession until now.

When Isla found out the person she liked felt the same way, she wasn't happy at all. Instead, she felt a mix of anger and helplessness.

For the past two years, she had given up all her pride just to be with Emmett, enduring endless mocking from their classmates.

Isla brought him breakfast every day and always showed up with an umbrella at the first signs of rain. She had poured her heart into it all.

Having received nothing in return, she had cried alone in the countless nights, only to pull herself together the next day to continue pursuing Emmett.

Isla had almost come close to giving up the hard-to-get exchange program opportunity, all just to stay by his side.

The conversation in the room continued, and Emmett was heard saying, "She likes me, so she's not going anywhere. I'll say yes to her the next time she confesses."

Isla couldn't help but chuckle at his calm and confident tone.

There wouldn't be a "next time" anymore, as she had already given up on the 100th confession.

Now, Isla wanted nothing more than to leave and completely disappear from his life altogether.