Chapter 4

Astrid's POV

I was sitting off to the side when a text popped up on my phone, reminding me to check in for my flight the following morning.

Jacob came over and glanced down at my screen.

"What are you looking at?" he asked.

I immediately locked my phone. "Nothing."

Then, I looked at Leah, who was laughing happily, and held out my hand. "Your precious Leah is happy now. Can I have my pendant back?"

Jacob's brows drew together almost imperceptibly at my choice of words, but his expression relaxed a moment later.

He handed the emerald pendant back to me.

Just as I reached for it, Leah slammed into me, knocking the pendant out of my reach.

It hit the ground with a sharp crack and shattered.

My eyes widened in horror. I stared at the broken pieces scattered across the floor before slowly crouching down to pick them up.

Leah immediately bit her lip and apologized, "I'm so sorry, Astrid! I didn't see you there."

The other three rushed to defend her, as though they were afraid I might hurt her.

"It's not your fault. Astrid should've held on to it."

Just then, Caleb brought out a bunch of helium balloons to cheer Leah up.

"Come on. Forget about that. It's almost New Year's! I got these so we can each write down a wish and release a balloon at midnight."

Leah's eyes widened with excitement. "Then, I'm going to wish for all five of us to stay together forever!"

The three men smiled at her affectionately.

Meanwhile, I remained crouched on the floor, quietly gathering the broken pieces of my pendant.

I didn't even care when the sharp edges cut my fingers. All I could feel was a crushing ache in my chest.

Caleb started handing out the balloons, but when he got to me, he suddenly stopped.

I looked at his empty hands and immediately realized that they'd forgotten about me again.

He scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, it's not like releasing a balloon is actually going to make your wish come true. You don't believe in that stuff anyway, so I'm sure you won't mind sitting this one out."

"Yeah, she's fine with it," Jacob answered for me.

With that, the four of them sprawled out on the lawn, laughing and teasing each other as they tried to sneak a peek at what everyone else was writing.

I might as well have been miles away from them.

After all, there was no place for me in their fairy tale.

I looked up and suddenly spotted a shooting star streaking across the night sky.

I immediately closed my eyes and made a wish for all four of them to disappear from my life for good.

Surely a shooting star had a better chance of granting my wish than a balloon.

By the time I opened my eyes, the four of them had finished writing their wishes.

Caleb had written, "May Leah be happy, healthy, and safe forever."

Lucas had written, "I hope I can protect Leah for the rest of my life."

As for Jacob, he made no mention of me in his wish, either.

"I hope she'll always be by my side and live a happy, carefree life forever."

I looked away. I supposed all three of their wishes would come true.

The four of them gathered together and released their balloons into the sky in unison.

By then, I was both physically and emotionally exhausted, and all I wanted was to leave as soon as possible.

But just as I was about to go, rain came pouring down.

Jacob immediately took off his jacket and held it over Leah's head. Together with Caleb and Lucas, he hurried her into a nearby cabin.

I followed them inside, completely drenched from head to toe, yet none of them paid me any attention.

Jacob watched the rain grow heavier, his expression turning grim.

"We can't stay here. If this keeps up, the cabin could flood, and there's a mountain right behind us," he said. "We could have a mudslide. We need to get out of here now. I'll get the car. You two look after Leah."

He dashed into the rain, and less than three minutes later, a car horn sounded.

Caleb and Lucas exchanged a glance before hurrying Leah out to the car without so much as looking back at me.

I was just about to follow them when I heard Jacob call out, "Everyone's here! Buckle up!"

With that, the car sped off, its tires spraying muddy water all over my face.

I froze, staring blankly at the taillights disappearing into the distance before letting out a bitter laugh.

Fortunately, I'd asked my family's driver to come along when I left home that evening. I'd originally arranged that so I could leave the party early.

After leaving the lodge, I went home, packed my belongings, and headed straight to the airport.

As the plane took off, I finally left Jacob and the others behind for good.

…

Third-Person POV

The following morning, news that a mudslide had completely buried the lodge quickly began trending online.

Then, a voice message from Jacob popped up in the group chat.

He sounded frantic as he demanded, "Where's Astrid? Where the hell is she?"