The Last April I Stayed

Every year on April Fools' Day, my boyfriend would team up with his childhood best friend to pull the same prank on me. He would pretend to propose.Last year, the two of them laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world, even though my fingers were almost crushed in the process. Later, he apologized and swore that this year would be different. This year, the proposal would be real.As such, when he called me again, sounding urgent and telling me to come to the place where we had our very first date, I believed him.I curled my hair, got my nails done, and spent extra time perfecting my makeup. I picked out a brand new outfit, and even drafted the announcement post I was going to share once everything became official.However, the second I stepped through the door, smiling and full of excitement, a thick slab of cake cream slammed straight into my face. Laughter burst out from among the crowd and a girl's voice rang out, bright and smug."I told you Whitney would show up, N

She stumbled toward me, barely steady on her feet, and raised her hand to slap me."What do you think you're doing?" she snapped. "Who gave you the nerve to treat Nolan like that?"If you want to break up, then break up. There are plenty of better girls out there. You… who do you think you are?"My cheek burned. The pain was sharp and immediate.My eyes stung as I lifted my hand to slap her back. However, before I could, Nolan grabbed my wrist and shoved me away. My lower back slammed into the doorknob, and pain shot through my whole body.He pulled Silvia behind him, shielding her. There was irritation in his eyes. "She's drunk. Why are you arguing with someone who's wasted?"Just go outside and cool off," he added. "We'll talk about it tomorrow."I stared at him in disbelief. The way he spoke so calmly made it feel like I was nothing to him, just someone unimportant.However, he did not look at me again. Instead, he lowered his voice and started comforting Silvia, who was sti

Ten minutes passed in the hospital room, and still no reply. Nolan felt a flicker of unease. A faint memory surfaced, the soft sound of fabric brushing against the stairwell door earlier. He had almost gone to check, but Silvia had stopped him.The thought that followed was unsettling, but he pushed it down almost immediately.No. That could not be it.Whitney had always been straightforward. If she had heard anything, she would have confronted him on the spot."Hey, what are you thinking about?" Silvia looped an arm around his neck. "Why isn't she here yet? If she doesn't show up soon, I'm not apologizing."The contact made Nolan feel strangely irritated, like his thoughts had been interrupted. He gently but firmly pulled her arm away."Stop messing around. If she sees this, she'll be upset."Silvia let out an icy laugh. "Please. You're the only one who spoils her. We're all friends here, but she's the one who always makes a big deal out of everything. She’s so dramatic all t

Silvia let out a quiet, annoyed scoff. "Is it really that serious? You're being a little too…"Nolan suddenly snapped.The moment he thought of the look of disappointment in Whitney's eyes, his chest tightened with a sharp, aching pain. He had never been that afraid of losing someone."Yes, it is," he said, his voice rising. "I'm telling you right now, from this moment on, you are not allowed to prank her anymore, and you are not allowed to say anything bad about her."She's the woman I'm going to marry. If you really see me as a friend, then you'd better start treating her with some respect."With that, Nolan shook off Silvia's hand and left in a hurry.Whenever Whitney had nowhere to go after an argument, she would stay late at the office. Nolan drove straight there.Without an access card, he ignored the security guard trying to stop him and ran up more than ten flights of stairs.By the time he burst into the office, he was out of breath. He grabbed the nearest person whose

The next day, he caught a cold from standing outside all night. He wrapped himself in his coat, shivering, as if hoping I would feel guilty enough to stay with him for a while. "Whitney… are you leaving?"I pushed my suitcase forward and kept walking, not even looking at him.He kept talking anyway, as if I had not already made everything clear."I thought about it all night. I know you're upset because I always let Silvia get away with hurting you, but it won't happen again. I crossed the line. That's on me."I'll keep my distance from her and draw a boundary. Just give me one more chance. I'm not asking you to forgive me. I just need you not to—"There was a sudden thud.His words were cut off mid-sentence.Behind me, I heard him suck in a sharp breath, followed by a security guard's concerned voice."Hey, are you okay?"In the reflection of a passing car, I saw that he had fallen.I turned back and looked at him. There was a scrape along the left side of his face, and hi