Library
Search
Home / The Whale Came, But You Didn't / Chapter 1

Share

The Whale Came, But You Didn't
The Whale Came, But You Didn't
Author: Snowlit Wings

Chapter 1

Author: Snowlit Wings
"Well, you and Riley already saw that, so you've already been there.

"Jace, do you even remember that we're here for our anniversary?"

My boyfriend, Jace Cole, frowned.

"When you said you wanted to come to California, I already told you.

"Riley and I have been here a bunch of times before, and I'm not really interested anymore. You were the one who insisted on coming.

"What are you even upset about now?"

I didn't say anything else.

By the tenth time the Pacific waves crashed against the shore, Jace finally gave in.

"If you really have to go, then let's go."

I was the one driving.

Jace sat in the passenger seat, hardly ever getting out of the car, propping his arm up and acting completely uninterested in everything.

After driving a bit further, we parked at the elephant seal beach.

Unlike Jace and me, other visitors didn’t look gloomy or as if they had been dragged along against their will.

A couple standing next to us gasped over how cute the baby seals were and asked me to take a picture of them together.

Jace kept his hands in his pockets and spoke offhandedly, "Let's walk a bit further up, there's a slope.

“Riley found it before and said that's the best spot for photos."

It really was gorgeous, with an endless view of the ocean and the beach.

I had already seen the photo of Jace and Riley Laurent, his ex of eight years, taken right here, with a single scarf wrapped around Riley's neck and then wound around Jace's as well.

That photo was tucked away in the innermost pocket of his everyday cardholder, and when I happened to see it, Jace claimed it had been in there for so long that he'd simply forgotten to take it out.

I didn't dwell on it, then heard Jace ask if I wanted him to take a picture of me.

He looked down and adjusted the camera settings.

"Riley taught me how to adjust the exposure settings; she said it makes the pictures turn out super clear."

Even though the person with that name wasn't actually here, it felt like she was everywhere.

The "sure" that was just about to roll off my tongue stopped, and I swallowed it back down.

"Never mind, let's head back."

Jace paused, lifting his gaze with a flash of irritation in his eyes.

"What's wrong with you again?

"You're the one who wanted to come, and now you're suddenly the one who wants to turn back?

"Make up your mind. I'm not going to be bored enough to tag along with you a second time."

I gave a quiet nod.

"I know. I won't make you tag along with me anymore."

Continue to read this book for free
Scan code to download App
Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Latest chapter

  • The Whale Came, But You Didn't   Chapter 9

    Jace came to see me again, and he told me that he had seen the post I made."I really can't remember you from high school." To him, that period had just been an insignificant interlude in his youth."I just wish I had gotten to know you sooner."I remained completely calm. "I never felt any sort of way about you not remembering me. After all, it was me who liked you, and it had nothing to do with you."Jace let out a sigh, offering a silent, self-deprecating smile. "Yeah, it's because I've fallen in love with you now that I feel this regret."He laid all of his inner thoughts completely bare. "When we first got together, it was just like you said. Maybe I only liked you a little. It wasn’t much, but when I saw how cute you looked at me, your eyes shining, I thought there was no harm in giving us a chance. “The longer we were together, the more I came to love you. As I had only approached it with a trial mindset at the start, I failed to handle the leftover baggage from my pr

  • The Whale Came, But You Didn't   Chapter 8

    I had a lot of things weighing on my mind. For instance I wrote: [He had his assistant pick out my Valentine's Day gift. Honestly, it really bothers me. Even if he didn't get me anything, it would be better than letting someone else choose and turning a gift meant to express mutual feelings into a chore.][When he was with his ex-girlfriend, every single gift was handpicked by him personally.][I asked him about it, and he told me not to hassle him or make him feel like being with me was exhausting.][Is it really true that I'm asking for too much?Jace's heart skipped a beat. He remembered this particular day.I had gotten off work early and gone to wait for him at a reserved restaurant.However, he was tied up at an international conference and couldn't leave, so I waited at the restaurant for four hours until it closed, and he finally rushed over.I didn't make a fuss, telling him I understood how hard he worked and that we could just go back and cook a meal together instea

  • The Whale Came, But You Didn't   Chapter 7

    I pressed my lips together, a wry smile tugging at the corners of my mouth as I realized I’d said too much. It felt as though I had finally unloaded all my pent-up grievances in one breathless rush.Jace's gaze fixed on me, heavy and profound. Yet seeing my defensive stance, he softened his tone."I didn't think about any of this."Jace wore a rare expression of genuine remorse."It's my fault for handling things poorly."He explained to me that he and Riley had studied together and frequently traveled to California together.Back then, their relationship was still strong, so many of their shared memories seemed to happen right there, making that place special to them for a time.Even Jace's tenth proposal had taken place in California. Yet Riley had turned him down once again.In a fit of pique, Jace had called off the relationship, declaring that he would move back to New York permanently and never see her again.Yielding to spite, Riley agreed, and the two of them brought

  • The Whale Came, But You Didn't   Chapter 6

    I paused for a moment, figuring out how I should respond, then replied a beat too late, "Oh, congratulations?"Jace's face darkened, tinged with a sharp, brooding hostility."You're going to be disappointed," he said, "I didn't take her up on it."On that final night in Los Angeles, they had been sitting together.Jace kept absentmindedly turning his phone screen on, waiting for it to go dark before turning it on again, prompting a friend to tease him about it."We haven't seen each other in ages, and Jace isn't even bothering to catch up with us."You seem distracted. Who are you waiting for a text from?"Riley answered for him, her voice giving away no particular emotion."Who else would he be thinking of? His girlfriend, probably."Jace chuckled softly without denying it."Yeah. She got sick a few days ago, so I'm still a bit worried."Riley set down her wine glass. After a long silence, she asked softly, "Jace, are you serious about this?"Without looking at him, she fi

  • The Whale Came, But You Didn't   Chapter 5

    Jace had no idea that I had already left.Our conversation had stopped at the two text messages he sent me.One was: [Are you feeling better?]The other was: [What's wrong? Are you mad?]I didn't reply to either of them.He figured he would just talk things over with me when he got back.Now, he looked over those two messages several times and stopped trying to reach out.After all, when someone left without even letting you know, sending more texts or making phone calls was just a waste of time.Jace’s assistant, Alex Hayes, called him back."Mr. Cole, Miss Carter has already returned to New York."Jace let out a quiet "hmm" as if he had already guessed the answer.He instructed Alex to book the earliest available flight back home, tilted his head back, and rested his hand over his eyes to push down the rising wave of frustration.After returning to New York, I hired a moving company.The movers were very professional. In just half a day, they had everything I wanted to t

  • The Whale Came, But You Didn't   Chapter 4

    I ate dinner alone and checked into the hotel.I woke up from a deep sleep due to a sharp, wrenching pain in my stomach, and groggily tried to nudge the person next to me."Jace, my stomach hurts."My hand met empty space, and the side of the mattress was completely cold; he still hadn't come back.I curled my body tightly into a ball.I called Jace's phone, and after ringing for a long time, it went straight to voicemail with no one picking up.My mind, hazy with pain, finally cleared up a little.Jace called me back shortly after."What's wrong?"I didn't have much strength left. "Jace, I don't feel well."He paused for a second."Riley got drunk, and when she drinks too much, she gets a bit difficult to handle."I can't get away right now. I'll have someone from the hotel go check on your room."The line went dead.The next time I saw Jace was at the hospital, and it was already a new day.The doctor said it was acute gastroenteritis with severe dehydration, and I wou

More Chapters

You May Also Like

Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status