Início / Halfway Down Highway One, I Stopped Loving Him / Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 9

Todos os capítulos de Halfway Down Highway One, I Stopped Loving Him: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 9

9 Capítulos

Chapter 1

"You and Zoe have been everywhere and seen everything."Nolan, do you even remember this is supposed to be our anniversary trip?"He frowned, like I'd made some ridiculous demand."I told you when you said you wanted to come to California."Zoe and I came here a bunch of times. I'm not really into it anymore. You're the one who insisted."So what's the problem now?"I didn't say anything else. I just watched the waves rise and crash like wild animals.When the tenth wave broke against the shore, Nolan gave in.He rubbed his nose and sighed. "If you insist on going, then we'll go."Every time I got angry enough to give up, he'd offer me a little hope again. A meek "I'm sorry." A few heated kisses and hugs. A resigned "Whatever you want"... Just enough to make me believe we were still in love.But the way he acted made it clear how little he wanted to be there.Nolan sat in the passenger seat and barely left the car. He propped his head on one hand, bored by everything.After driving for

Chapter 2

What started as a trip for two turned into a group road trip.Somehow, Nolan and Zoe ended up walking ahead of everyone else, talking quietly.Without asking me, they decided everyone would drive the rest of Highway One together.As they talked, their arms brushed now and then, and every so often they smiled at each other.I fell behind, and Nolan never once looked back.Zoe was already in the passenger seat, and the car was about to pull away before he finally noticed I was missing.He rolled down the window."What took you so long?"Sit in the back. Zoe gets carsick, so she's taking the front."He said it casually, without even looking at me, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.Everyone else acted like it was perfectly normal."Sure." I scoffed. "Let Zoe have it."The car filled with the scent of Zoe's perfume, a blend of fir and amber. It was Nolan's favorite scent, too.I rolled down the rear passenger window and let the sea breeze carry the perfume away.Zoe looked

Chapter 3

Nolan frowned and looked at me coldly."Ella Harper, apologize."I didn't answer. Zoe tugged at his sleeve, looking both sympathetic and hurt."Nolan, don't be so harsh."It's my fault. I shouldn't have brought up the past."Zoe's graciousness only made me look petty, as if I were the one who couldn't let anything go.But I lifted my chin. I wasn't backing down."It's not my fault. I'm not apologizing."An awkward silence settled over the table.Nolan looked at me in disappointment, as if I'd committed some unforgivable crime.After a moment, he unclipped a wizard charm from his bag.On our first day here, Nolan had taken me to a vintage shop. I'd browsed for half an hour before finding a matching pair of charms. This was one of them.He'd smiled so tenderly then. "Don't these two look just like us? One for each of us."Now he handed his to Zoe."Didn't you just say it was cute and you wanted it?"Here. Consider it an apology."He hadn't hesitated when he undid the clasp, as if the cha

Chapter 4

I took a cab back to the hotel alone. The salty ocean wind made my head spin.The whole ride, Aliya's texts were my only comfort."Don't accept that proposal!""Nolan's such a bastard!""I found a flight for tomorrow! I've already booked it for you."I ran my finger over the screen and smiled a little.At least I still had Aliya.That night, I slept fitfully at the hotel.A violent pain in my stomach jolted me awake. My insides churned, and the pain came in waves.I reached out beside me."Nolan, my stomach hurts."But my hand found nothing. His side of the bed was cold. He hadn't come back all night.I curled into a ball, sweat beading on my forehead.All I could manage was to dial his number.I called Nolan several times, but every call rang until he declined it.My mind, fogged by pain, finally seemed to clear a little.At last, he called back.In the background, I could faintly hear people talking and laughing, along with the soft clink of glasses."What is it?" His voice was low,

Chapter 5

Nolan's POV:We stopped often along the way. When we reached LA, we met up with old friends.Every night of the trip was a party.Clinking glasses, music blaring in the bars, people laughing...But I couldn't stop thinking about Ella, the woman I'd left behind.About how she'd said she wanted to break up in a fit of anger. About how this was supposed to be our anniversary trip, just the two of us.I clenched my fists, my face darkening.I sat off to one side, tapping my phone awake, watching the screen go dark, then waking it again.Why hadn't she texted me back yet?My friends started teasing me."We haven't seen you in forever, and Mr. Busy can't even be bothered to talk to us.""You're a million miles away. Waiting to hear from someone?"Zoe sat beside me. She smiled and answered for me, "Who else? His girlfriend, I bet."I didn't bother with the teasing. I just smiled and didn't deny it."Yeah."She got sick a few days ago. I'm still a little worried."Zoe set her glass down. After

Chapter 6

Nolan's POV:By the time I got back, it was the tenth day of the trip.I was giddy the whole way. When Ella saw me, she'd probably throw herself at me and kiss me hard.But when I pushed the door open, I froze.The room was empty.Only the engagement ring remained, tossed carelessly on the nightstand. Everything looked just as it had the night Ella was rushed to the hospital.I stood there, stunned. All I could see was the calm look in Ella's eyes before I left."Let's break up."At the time, I'd thought she was just saying it because she was mad.We'd been together for two years, and Ella had always loved me so much. How could she suddenly want to end it?I scrolled frantically through my phone.But our last conversation still ended with the same two texts I'd sent.One said, "Feeling better?"The other said, "What's wrong? Still really mad?"Ella hadn't answered either one.I called the front desk at once.The hotel staff said the reservation was still active because I'd extended it,

Chapter 7

Nolan's POV:I hadn't been able to reach Ella for three months.Over the past two weeks, I'd sent her countless texts. She hadn't answered a single one.Only then did I realize how little I knew about her.I knew her best friend was Aliya, who ran a theater studio somewhere in the South. But I didn't have Aliya's number, and I didn't know the name of the studio.I even reported her missing, but the officer said it was just a couple breaking up, not a missing-person case.So I hired a few private investigators to search the entire country for her. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.Then one day, a friend sent me a link to a post."This kind of sounds like you."I frowned and clicked the link. The post was two years old.The woman who wrote it said she'd gotten together with the guy she'd had a crush on since high school, but he'd dated his first love for years.She must have been struggling. She posted updates in the morning, afternoon, and sometimes in the middle of the ni

Chapter 8

Ella's POV:The studio began holding staged readings every Wednesday, and a tall, lean man kept showing up to watch.His name was Lucas Callahan, and he was a partner at a security firm that served the Port of Savannah.The first time, he just stood by the door.The second time, he brought a pot of thyme as a gift for everyone at the studio.The third time, he brought coffee for everyone.Then he stood in front of me with an unsweetened flat white, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips."I remember you saying you liked this."When I took it, my fingers brushed his, and I quickly pulled my hand back.I lay awake a long time that night. The thyme on my windowsill swayed in the breeze.Nolan only ever remembered what Zoe liked.Lucas had only handed me coffee, yet he'd remembered that I took it without sugar.On his most recent visit, he came in with a bouquet of white gardenias."I passed a flower shop and thought this color would suit you."He sounded calm, but his ears had gone red.

Chapter 9

Ella's POV:Footsteps sounded outside.Lucas and Aliya came in with their arms full of scripts and props, so overloaded that they could barely stand upright.I crouched to steady the props. "Slow down. Be careful."Lucas reached over and wiped a smudge of paint from my cheek. The gesture was effortless but intimate enough to leave no room for Nolan between us.Nolan stood off to the side with nothing to say.He stayed in the studio for a long time. He watched as Lucas and I discussed the script, Aliya handed me a pen, and I laughed. Then, when I wasn't looking, he slipped away.But he came back the next day, and the next, and the next... Each time, he brought a different gift: a mug he'd made himself, a crystal bracelet engraved with my name, and a fragment from a Shakespeare script he'd bought at auction.Every time, he said the same thing. "I picked this out for you myself."I returned whatever I could. Anything I couldn't return went into the studio's donation box.Even Nolan's assi

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