Chapter 5
Two hours later, I landed in the southern city.
It was the place where both Peter and I had grown up-our hometown.
After graduation, I’d wanted to return, find a simple job, and live a quiet life.
But he’d gotten into a PhD program, and with his parents’ hopes riding on him, the whole family moved away.
He said the hometown wasn’t good for us.
That if you stayed here too long, you’d lose your edge, get soft, lazy, and complacent.
I believed him.
Gave up on my dream of opening a little guesthouse, and found a job near his university instead.
Day after day, life wore down my edges.
I started to feel like nothing more than an extension of him.
Besides him, I had no real social life, no close friends.
After work, it was all cooking, groceries, and chores.
Only now did I realize-I never even liked that kind of life.
I’d just been compromising for him. Over and over.
As I exited the airport, I saw a pickup sign with my name on it from a distance.
My childhood friend Serena Chase was waving like crazy, her smile as bright as ever.
“Audrey! What brings you back all of a sudden, and not even during the holidays?”
“Where’s Peter? Why didn’t he come with you?”
The moment she mentioned his name, a sharp sting pierced my chest.
“We broke up.”
Serena froze, her face filled with disbelief.
“You two? No way. Back in school, you were inseparable-he swore he’d only marry you, and you swore you’d
only marry him.”
Yeah.
We were that couple in school-the perfect match, always together, like shadows.
Chapter 5
50.00%
We made it through four years of college and then three more years of long-distance during his master’s.
I gave up everything to move to his city, just to be with him and build a future together.
But some things… no matter how much you want them, they just don’t go your way.
Seeing how down I was, Serena patted my shoulder. “Alright, no more gloomy faces-let’s go drink!”
She took me to a bar she frequented with her friends.
We ordered a dozen beers, and after a few rounds, I finally loosened up.
I told her everything that had happened between Peter and me.
Every detail.
She listened quietly, handing me tissues while I cried.
My eyes were so swollen I could barely open them.
I gave a bitter little laugh.
“Kind of ridiculous, isn’t it? I decided to leave him… all because of a single song.”
“Just one song, and I walked away.”
Serena shook her head.
“It’s not about a song. His heart changed. And no one should have to tolerate that kind of emotional
betrayal.”
“You did the right thing, Audrey.”
I wiped my tears. For the first time in a long while, the pressure in my chest started to ease.
And then my phone suddenly buzzed.
I picked up. It was the police station.
That’s when I found out-because Peter couldn’t reach me, he had actually filed a missing person report.
