LOGINI thought about it and shook my head.“I don’t hate him anymore. But not hating someone doesn’t mean forgiving them. Some people are not worth remembering.”“Do you still miss him?”“Why would I miss him? I have my studio, my friends, and my grandmother’s jewelry. I’m busy.”Zara laughed. “You are starting to sound more and more like me.”I smiled too.Yes. I was becoming more like myself.It was the version of me that did not depend on anyone, did not try to please anyone, and did not lower myself for anyone.News from Somera still reached me from time to time.I heard that Cameron had stayed single. There was a photo of me in his office.I heard that Moon had gone to Austoria and was not doing well. She often posted unhinged messages online, cursing the Sinclair family, me, and the whole world.I heard that my parents got divorced. My mother lived alone in the old house and kept repeating, “When will Mindy come back?”I heard all of this while I was eating breakfast.Zar
The secretary came in with some documents. He saw Cameron staring into space and called out to him several times before Cameron finally came back to himself.“Mr. Grant?”“Leave it there.”He never contacted me again.It was not because he did not want to, but because he knew he would never get a response.…Three months later, my “Rebirth” collection was finished.I used the broken crystal from my grandmother’s bracelet as the inspiration for an entire jewelry collection. It included a necklace, a pair of earrings, and a bracelet.The cracks were filled with gold thread. They looked like scars after a wound had healed.I said, “Scars are not ugly. They prove that you survived.”The collection caused a sensation at the school design exhibition.My tutor recommended me for the All-United Kindom Emerging Jewelry Designer Competition.I did not have high expectations. I simply submitted my work.A month later, I received an email.I had made it to the finals.Zara was even
My mother was crying so hard that she could barely catch her breath.“I just found out. I was wrong… Can you come back? I’ll make it up to you…”I leaned against my bed and looked out at the moonlight.“Mrs. Sinclair, I don’t need compensation.”“Mindy—”“Do you have anything else to say? If not, I’ll hang up.”“Wait!” Her voice turned urgent. “Your father knows he was wrong too. He’s going to kick Moon out. Please come back. This family is yours—”“That family was never mine.”I hung up.I blocked the number without hesitation.Some things could never be forgiven.Some places could never be returned to.Later, I learned what had happened in Somera during those days.Moon had finally reached her limit.While Cameron was in Rondon, she secretly accessed his computer and found photos of me he had taken from the past five years.There were photos of me in a rented apartment, at school, and by the seaside. In them, I was smiling, sleeping, and cooking.She took those photos
“Start over?” I could not help but laugh.Rain drowned out my laughter. My expression must have looked especially ironic in the rainy twilight.“Cameron, how can we start over? What’s left of us? You said you gave those five years to me out of pity. You said it yourself. Have you forgotten?”His face turned pale.“You also said Moon was more suitable for you. You said you were a perfect match. She grew up in the Sinclair family for twenty years. Me? I was just something you kept on the side.”“I didn’t—” he tried to explain.“You did,” I said, cutting him off. “You hit me in front of everyone. That slap sounded louder than my grandmother’s bracelet breaking. Don’t you remember?”He had nothing left to say.I stepped back and lifted my umbrella slightly so I could see his face clearly.“Leave. Don’t come here again.”“Mindy—”“I said, don’t come here again.”I turned around, swiped my card, and pushed the door open.The door closed behind me.He did not follow.I heard hi
Rondon time was seven hours behind Somera.When I landed, it was 2 p.m. local time.No one came to pick me up, and no one knew where I was.I stayed in a hotel near the airport for one night. The next day, I went to register at the college. After that, I rented a small apartment near campus.The apartment was not big, but it faced south.There was sunlight.I took out the broken crystal pieces my grandmother had left me and placed them one by one on the windowsill.Sunlight fell on them. The cracks were clearly visible, and they reminded me of my broken heart.However, I would not cry anymore.The day I left the hospital, I had already decided that I would not shed another tear for Cameron ever again.After I settled down, I registered a new phone number and new social media accounts.The old ones, along with the SIM card, were left in the airport trash bin.I did not tell anyone my new contact information—not the Sinclair family, not Cameron, and not those so-called relati
“Give it back,” I walked over and said with a quiver in my voice.Moon jumped in shock and let go.The bracelet hit the marble floor.It cracked and broke into several pieces.The whole hall went silent.Moon’s tears instantly fell. “Mindy… I didn’t mean it…”The guests whispered to each other. They looked at me like I had lost my mind.Cameron walked over. He looked at the broken pieces on the floor and said in a perfunctory tone, “It’s just a bracelet. Is it really worth this?”I crouched down and picked up the shattered pieces one by one.The fragments cut my fingers. Blood dripped onto the crystal shards, but I did not feel any pain.“This was left to me by my grandmother,” I said. My voice shook.“Her last words before she died were for me to keep it safe.”Cameron’s expression changed.No one understood its meaning better than he did. He had been with me when I sent my grandmother off.However, Moon only cried harder. She threw herself into his arms.He paused, the







