Chapter 9
At that moment, there were only four days left until the college entrance exam.
Time flies by in the blink of an eye.
So much so that when I sat in the college entrance exam once again, everything still felt as surreal as a dream.
This moment, I had simulated countless times in my mind.
Because I had prepared well, I completed all the exams smoothly and with ease.
As I walked out of the exam hall, the sky was tinged with the fading glow of dusk, with clouds trailing long, flowing tendrils.
It all seemed to signify the boundless future I hoped for.
‘Anna.”
turned around to find Cody standing not far behind me, his eyes fixed intently on me.
lis gaze was distant and unfamiliar, almost reminding me of the Cody from my previous life.
I’m sorry.” After a long silence, his hoarse voice finally spoke.
There’s nothing to apologize for. We won’t have any more interactions from now on,” I replied lightly, feeling a sense of peace.
What I should apologize for is abandoning you and Sam, abandoning the peaceful life I had to martyr myself for Lena,” he said.
Hearing those words, my heart became unsettled.
As he continued, Cody’s voice trembled, his eyes reddening, “I only realized after I died that she was just someone who had gotten used to living vithout rules, someone who had accumulated a lot of debts outside.
he couldn’t pay them off and couldn’t escape, so before she died, she decided to take one final revenge on us, completely disrupting our lives.”
I always thought I loved her-loved her for not being bound by rules, loved her for running away from the world with me.
ut in reality, that was nothing more than a trivial rebellious thought from my youth, and yet I foolishly clung to it for ten years.”
It wasn’t until I looked back at it from an adult perspective that I realized how pathetic, how shameful I was back then-”
But what does it matter to talk about it now?” I turned away expressionlessly.
Those things are too painful to recall, and I don’t want to look back on them. For me now, the only thing worth looking forward to is the unknown.”
As for you, I hope you never appear in my life again.”
fter coldly dropping those words, I didn’t look at his expression again. I turned and walked away.
few days later, the results of the college entrance exam were released.
With an excellent score, I became the top scorer in the city and was accepted into Harbord University without any doubt.
n an instant, my name spread like wildfire in the school.
Beneath this facade of prosperity, there were still many disappointed people.
Cody had neglected his studies for too long, and with his poor performance, his scores were only enough for a regular second-tier university.
After discussions between the school and his mother, it was decided that he would retake the year.
As for Lena, just before she was about to enter senior year, the incident occurred. The school, fearing that keeping her around would lead to further problems, expelled her due to her frequent truancy.
She was unwilling to accept this and repeatedly threatened Cody with suicide.
But Cody had long seen through her manipulative tactics and never tried to stop her.
Seeing that her threats no longer worked, Lena lost her momentum and was rarely seen causing trouble again.
Before I left, many juniors and sophomores wanted to borrow my notes, so I decided to pack up all the books from my three years of high school.
On the bookshelf, there was an old, yellowed extracurricular book. I wiped the dust off the cover.
A gust of wind suddenly flipped the pages, revealing a note tucked between them.
The handwriting was youthful and bold, “Hey, let’s apply to the same university in the future.”
Before I could lose myself in the memory, my mom suddenly shouted from outside, “Anna, come out! The TV station is here to interview you!”
I straightened my white shirt, quickly shoved the note into the trash can, and gracefully opened the door to step out.
The past-let it be completely behind me.
My life was about to turn to the next chapter.
Lucia Morh is a passionate storyteller who brings emotions to life through her words. When she’s not writing, she finds peace nurturing her garden.