Chapter 2

The classroom was empty after school, so every voice sounded louder than usual.

"Chester, I really do love Edward." Nevaeh stood there, holding Edward's hand. The two of them leaned close together, their bond firm and unshakable.

I snapped back to the present and looked at their still-youthful faces. For a moment, everything felt unreal.

My throat tightened, and I said nothing. I just bent down to pick up my backpack from the floor.

My hands were shaking. I tried to pull the zipper closed, but it kept slipping.

Nevaeh watched me, her tone as icy and sharp as ever. "If you want to cry, then cry. I'm not changing my mind."

Edward, who was usually so proud, had his head lowered. His voice sounded almost humble.

"I'm sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn't have shown up in Nevaeh's life. If you want to hit me or yell at me, I'll take it."

I did not even look at him. My eyes stayed on Nevaeh.

She immediately reached out and pulled Edward back up when he started to kneel.

"This isn't his fault," she said. "I just didn't understand my own feelings before."

Then, she looked at me and said the words that still cut just as deep, even after living through all of this once already.

"I only ever saw you as a brother."

Even with a second chance at life, I still could not accept that.

Every morning on the way to school, she used to bring me my favorite blueberry muffins, still warm in the bag.

On rainy days, when my favorite shoes got dirty, she would crouch down, not caring about how she looked, and wipe them clean for me.

All those years, whenever people teased that we were destined to get married, she never once denied it.

However, in the end, I was just a brother to her.

I nodded and forced a smile.

"All right. We'll cancel the engagement. You two can be together. I'll talk to my parents."

She froze for a second, clearly not expecting me to give in so easily.

"You don't have to worry," she added, her tone softening a little. "I'll still treat you the same as before."

She reached out, but I stepped back slightly.

"I'm not feeling well today. I'm heading home."

I practically ran out of the school building. Only after I jumped into the car that had come to pick me up did my racing heart finally settle.

My phone rang in my pocket. It was my sister, Tracy Smith.

"Chester! Have you thought about what I told you last time?"

Her bright, eager voice poured through the speaker. "With your grades, staying here to study that boring finance stuff would be such a waste! Come to Hollandia and study media. You can keep me company, too! Okay?"

I held the phone as my mind drifted to an old box of my mom's books. Inside were neatly arranged records from her days as a reporter, stories of the risks she took and the things she uncovered.

When I was little, I loved flipping through those pages. Back then, I thought my mom was the bravest person in the world. Because of her, I fell in love with that career and decided I wanted to study media, too.

However, Nevaeh wanted to attend Brookshire University for finance, so I changed my path just to stay by her side.

"Tracy," I cut her off mid-sentence. My voice was still a little hoarse, but it was steady. "I've decided. I'm coming to Hollandia."

There was instant silence on the other end. A few seconds passed before she spoke again, disbelief clear in her voice. "Really? Are you sure? What about Nevaeh? Can you really let her go?"

Nevaeh…

I looked down at the empty water bottle in my hand, and suddenly, a memory from that morning hit me.

My throat had been dry, but the water dispenser at school was broken, so I could not get any water.

I saw Nevaeh carefully hand her own cup to Edward, her voice soft.

"Drink slowly. It's really cold."

At the time, I had been too focused on fixing my mistakes in a problem set to think much of it.

However, that memory overlapped with other memories with Nevaeh, who would always notice I was thirsty before I did and get up right away to fetch water for me.

The care that once belonged only to me had been given to someone else, unchanged, as if it had never been mine at all.

I spoke into the phone, my voice quiet but firm. "She likes someone else. I'm not going to force my way in between them."

After I said that, I hung up and shoved the empty bottle deep into my backpack.

When I got home, I told my parents about my plan to study abroad.

They were overjoyed and immediately started making arrangements.

Then they told me that with my grades, I could leave as soon as I graduated high school.

Three months…

There were only three months left until graduation. I let out a breath I did not realize I had been holding.

Just three months.

After that, Nevaeh and I would have nothing to do with each other anymore.