Chapter 3

News of my death quickly spread among my friends and former classmates.

My former faculty advisor, Professor Elena Gibson, sent Liana a message saying that she'd sorted out some of my old belongings in the faculty office.

Among those belongings were notebooks, pens, a few photos, and some other bits and bobs.

She asked if Liana would like to keep them as mementos.

Liana stared at the phone screen, her fingers hovering over the on-screen keyboard. She didn't reply for a long time.

I floated beside her, expecting her to reject the offer.

After all, she didn't even think my ashes were worth keeping, so what were these useless items to her in comparison?

Unexpectedly, after a stretch of silence, she finally replied, "Okay."

When the weekend arrived, she drove over to our old university.

The campus still looked the same, almost as if it'd been frozen in time, from the cobblestone path winding under the shade of the oak tree to the students rushing to and fro in front of the library.

Liana, wearing high heels as usual, headed toward the administration block impassively.

But I noticed she was walking slightly slower than usual, looking around as though she was searching for something.

When Professor Gibson saw her, she sighed and handed over a small cardboard box.

"These are all Adrian's old belongings. He… always treasured them."

Liana said nothing. She simply rummaged through the box.

There were a few notebooks with her name written across the title page. There were also a few photos as well as other miscellaneous items.

"Adrian fancied you for a long time, ever since your university days. When I heard that you two got married later on, I was so happy for him. His wish finally came true."

She sighed and added, "Fate can be cruel sometimes."

Liana's grip tightened when she heard Professor Gibson's words, crumpling a corner of a photograph. A strange flicker of emotion crossed her eyes, as if something had gotten to her.

Eventually, she just hummed noncommittally before picking up the box and turning to leave.

I thought she'd leave campus grounds immediately, but that wasn't the case.

Instead, she headed down to the lake—the very place where I'd worked up the courage to confess to her.

That night, I'd confessed my feelings, stumbling over my words for what felt like forever. She remained silent for a long while, so long that I almost thought that I'd blown my chance.

But in the end, she smiled and asked, "Why are you so dense? If you like me, just say so."

Now, I couldn't tell what she was thinking as she stood by the lakeside, staring out at the calm waters.

We'd once walked laps around the sports field, hand in hand. She used to swing my arm to and fro, smiling carefreely.

Had she truly been happy back then?

Or… had it been an act from the very beginning?

I followed after her with downcast eyes, watching as her pace slowed until she finally arrived at the cafeteria we used to frequent.

She ordered the pizza that used to be her favorite item on the menu, but she only took two bites before pausing.

She lowered her head, her fingers trembling minutely around the pizza, then swallowed as if something was stuck in her throat.

I floated before her and smiled self-deprecatingly. "What's wrong? Are you thinking of Hector? Are you thinking about how nice it'd be if he were sitting here instead?"

Tears suddenly began streaming down her face, and she could barely suppress her sobs.

In the end, she shot up from her seat, picked up the box, and swiftly walked outside.

Her steps grew increasingly hurried until she was practically jogging back to the car.

After closing the car door, she took a deep breath and buried her face against the steering wheel. Her shoulders shook slightly.

I was stunned.

Was she… crying? Could those tears be for me?

In the next second, I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

How could she possibly be crying for me?

She resented me so much that she didn't even want to keep my ashes. So how could reminiscing about our time together possibly upset her?

It was likely that the sight of those familiar surroundings had stirred up her memories of Hector.

After all, she had never loved me.