Chapter 10
Peter cupped his face, tears streaming down uncontrollably.
This was the first time he had cried so hysterically.
Peter’s mother stood beside him, stunned and torn between pity and helplessness.
“Peter! Aren’t you ashamed enough already? Can’t you have any pride?”
“Audrey… please don’t leave me. Without you, I really will die…”
His voice was reduced to utter desperation, barely above a whisper.
Despite everything, there was a strange kind of pity in my eyes.
“Peter, just go. No one in this world can’t live without someone else.”
“Our fate ends here. Don’t come looking for me again. Let’s just be strangers.”
“Don’t you get it? She’s already dumped you! Stop embarrassing yourself! Come home with us now!” Peter’s parents pulled him up from both sides.
I turned and walked back inside.
I didn’t notice when he left, but by the time I stepped out again, they had vanished without a trace.
In the days that followed, Peter never contacted me again.
Summer break ended, and Finn was about to start school.
On Finn’s last day working for me-which also happened to be my birthday-I invited him and Serena Chase
out for Crab Boil.
The three of us laughed and chatted, and somehow the conversation drifted back to relationships.
“Sis, please give me a chance,” Finn’s eyes sparkled like a big dog waiting for a pat.
I rubbed my temples. “I’m doing fine on my own. I’m not ready to jump into a new relationship yet.”
“So… can I pursue you?”
“I wouldn’t agree to that.”
“So, can I pursue you?”
“Serena, can you control your brother?”
Serena, now tipsy, grabbed my hand and placed it right on Finn’s waist.
“Girl, isn’t a sweet, innocent guy better? Feel those abs-hard as a washboard!”
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“Just go with it already!”
I rolled my eyes and pulled my hand back.
“Sis…”
“Enough!” I shushed Finn.
“Chase if you want, but I’m not saying yes.”
Finn grinned immediately, flashing two big dimples.
Adorably cheeky.
That night, we sat in the yard drinking and talking, the moon bright above and my heart feeling open.
I thought, this must be the life I’ve been longing for.
Around midnight, my phone rang-an unknown number.
It was Luna, the very person who had sparked the breakup between Peter and me.
“What do you want calling me?”
“Miss Hughes… I promise I won’t bother Senior Williams anymore. Please, give him another chance.”
I could tell she was crying through the phone.
“Senior Williams really loves you. Since you broke up, he’s been miserable-sleepless nights, like a walking corpse. I truly feel sorry for him.”
“So I stepped back. I wanted to make things right for you two. As long as he’s happy, I’ll do whatever it takes.”
I sighed, helpless. “Luna, you need to understand-this isn’t about you stepping aside or making things right.”
“It’s because I don’t want this relationship anymore. I don’t want Peter. I don’t love him.”
“If you like him, you’re free to pursue him, to be with him.”
“But don’t bother me again. What happens between you two is your business.”
“Don’t call me again.”
I hung up.
From that day on, my phone was completely quiet.
Later, when I went back to New York to pick up my resignation papers, I ran into a mutual friend of Peter and
I learned that Peter had dropped out of school.
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Because of our breakup, he developed serious psychological issues.
He drifted through each day without focus, no interest in his studies.
Luna stayed loyal, accompanying him through treatment and caring for him.
But Peter refused to accept her feelings.
He said he was still waiting for me-to come back to him.
I couldn’t help but feel speechless inside.
Belated devotion is worthless. What’s the point of all this now?
When we sang Born to Run at the KTV, he wasn’t this sentimental.
Now he’s just torturing himself, trying to find peace.
I turned away, autumn winds swirling dead leaves past my feet.
Rotten things belong in the trash.
Goodbye forever, Peter Williams.
