Chapter 4

It felt like my heart had sunk into an icy pit.

This time, I didn't need the comments to tell me that Kelvin was going to take the heirloom bracelet to go find the woman he loved.

He didn't want to break up with me because he still needed me to help him get together with Tamara.

Whatever. There was only one semester left until graduation, and graduation season was breakup season anyway.

I used to think that Kelvin and I would be the exception, but now, it seemed that no matter how sweet the journey had been, the ending would still inevitably be the same.

The moving company arrived right on schedule.

My parents had always been reluctant to see me get married anyway, and my older brother, Marcus Ward, had also warned me against shaping my future around a man. When they heard that I was breaking up and moving out, they immediately booked the most expensive moving service available and rented a studio apartment for me near campus.

In less than an hour, every single belonging of mine had been neatly packed up. I stood there, dumbfounded by their neck-breaking pace.

Looking around the now-empty apartment that had once held so many memories, I suddenly felt a pang of reluctance.

The moving company's manager thought I was checking their work.

"Don't worry, ma'am," he said with a smile. "We often get clients who are moving out after a breakup. We're professionals. We won't leave a single item of yours behind, and we won't touch anything that belongs to the other party.

"Rest assured. After today, there won't be a single loose end tying you two together. He won't have any reason to bother you ever again."

I nodded blankly.

Right then, Zander Patkins, an upperclassman of mine, sent me the finalized details for a two-month study-abroad exchange program.

It was something I'd really wanted to do before, but after dating Kelvin, I'd somehow lost sight of my own ambitions.

[Stephanie is definitely going to reject it. There's no way she could possibly bear to leave such a handsome, talented boyfriend behind to go abroad. That would be like asking her to jump off a cliff!]

[It's better if she doesn't go. I'm excited to see how tragic her ending will be!]

A heavy, suffocating weight settled in my chest, making it hard to breathe.

…

"This is a very rare opportunity. If you don't go this time, there won't be a next time. Make sure you think it through carefully," Zander said.

He slid the application form in front of me while serving me some food with the other hand.

Just then, a crowd suddenly gathered nearby, and standing right in the center were none other than Kelvin and Tamara. They were wrapped in a tight embrace while the surrounding crowd cheered and hollered.

Kelvin's best friend, Rob Jones, watched them with a big, satisfied grin, his excitement practically overflowing.

"I've always said it—Tammy and Kelvin are the true soulmates! That Stephanie was just a rebound."

As he spoke, he happened to turn around, and his gaze landed on me. His expression froze right then.

Behind him, Tamara—still locked in a sweet embrace with Kelvin—shot a subtle smile in my direction. And when she smugly arched an eyebrow, I knew that she had seen me. It was a deliberate provocation.

"Isn't that your…" Zander started, before trailing off hesitantly.

Unable to take it anymore, I grabbed his hand and fled the scene. Once we were a safe distance away, I pulled out a pen and decisively signed my name on the exchange program application.

Then, when I returned to my new apartment, I blocked all the channels Kelvin could use to contact me.

…

Over the next two days, I threw myself into preparing for the exchange program, and that filled the empty space left behind by Kelvin's absence.

By the time he managed to contact me again, I was already at the airport.

He had called from Rob's phone. Guessing that it was him on the other end, I answered anyway.

"Where are you?" he demanded. "I'm coming to find you."

Hearing his voice again made the ache in my chest rise straight to my throat. The suffocating feeling was unbearable. If I let it fester, I was afraid I'd lose my composure right in front of everyone, so I did everything I could to shove it down.

"Kelvin Underwood, I saw you two hugging the other day. I know you've always had feelings for Tamara. I won't stand in your way, and I won't go around badmouthing you either. Don't worry. Goodbye forever."

With that, I hung up.

The stifling weight in my heart finally lifted. A new journey was already waiting ahead of me.

…

Kelvin looked around at the empty apartment and stared at the phone that could no longer get through to me. He sank to the floor in defeat, his voice breaking as he muttered, "Why?"

What did I mean when I said I saw them hugging the other day? What did I mean by "goodbye forever"?

I could be emotional sometimes, but I wasn't someone who made reckless decisions in matters like these.

Something must have happened.

Kelvin unlocked his phone and pulled up the apartment's security camera footage.