جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 8

After parting ways with my best friend, I headed straight to the restaurant.The moment I walked in, I spotted Joe Watson and Carol Chaney at a table in the corner by the window, deep in conversation.He leaned toward her as he spoke. "I already got tickets to next week's Impressionist exhibition. They'll be showing an original painting by Jacques Valcourt, just like you wanted."Carol caught me watching and smiled before lightly poking Joe's arm with her fork.He followed her gaze, and the smile vanished from his face. His brow creased as he stood and strode toward me.He demanded, "Did you follow me here? I told you I was busy. Why would you come all this way just to make a scene? Carol and I are discussing something important, so go home before you embarrass yourself."We'll celebrate our anniversary another time. Just get something to eat on your own tonight."Before I could respond, Joe turned and went back to their table."Carol, the crème caramel is their specialty. You

I felt like nothing more than a maid, always at Joe and Carol's beck and call.Looking at the mess they had left behind, I felt a dull ache in my chest. My throat tightened, and even breathing became difficult.Just then, my phone buzzed. The hospital group chat had posted an announcement that applications were open for an international medical relief mission.My pulse quickened as I read it. Maybe this was exactly the opportunity I needed to leave this place, get away from Joe, and finally move on.I took a deep breath, steadied myself, and applied on my phone. Then I got ready and went to the hospital to turn in the required paperwork.When I was finished there, I checked my messages. Our chat still showed my last message, which read, "Let me know when you're done. We need to talk."Joe still hadn't replied.I was about to call him when a notification from a short-form video app popped up.It was a video Joe had filmed of Carol explaining the artistic significance of a painti

The overnight flight was quiet. As I drifted off, the last thing my best friend, Sienna Langley, had said to me that day played through my mind."It's not about one dinner. It's about all the times he's done this to you. Tessa, you can't keep putting up with it."That evening, I'd taken a picture of the sunset. But instead of sending it to Joe with a message he'd only find annoying, I'd saved it to my camera roll.Someday, I would find someone who wanted to hear me ramble and watch sunsets with me.By the time we landed in Mavora, the capital of Karsana, it was 4:00 am local time.I could barely keep my eyes open, so I climbed into the medical team's van and headed straight to camp. The moment I lay down on the hard cot, I was out.When I woke, sunlight was streaming into the tent, and it was almost noon.I plugged in my phone. As soon as it came back online, it started vibrating nonstop as notifications poured in.The screen kept lighting up, and the missed-call count quickly

Sienna hung up on Joe.After the way she had torn into him, Joe didn't even have it in him to get angry. All he wanted was to find me, look me in the eye, and tell me how much he regretted everything.He finally understood how wrong he had been.…By my second year in Karsana, I had become a senior member of the medical team.One afternoon, someone unexpected showed up at camp.Joe was waiting outside my tent. He was gaunt and unshaven, with hollow eyes and a deep tan. He looked nothing like the confident, ambitious architect I remembered.I wasn't surprised that he had found me. Sienna had already told me it had taken him a full year to figure out where I was.My teammates immediately sensed that something was wrong and gathered around, watching him warily.I waved them back to let them know I was fine."We can't talk here. There's a café nearby. We should go there and talk."The afternoon sun beat down on Karsana, its glare almost blinding.I ordered ice water instead of