Chapter 19: Departure and Denial–2
“Ethan? What’s up?” Sophie answered, sounding surprised.
“Have you heard from Olivia?” I asked without preamble.
“Olivia?” Sophie’s surprise seemed genuine. “No, she hasn’t contacted me. I don’t know where
she went.”
“Can you try messaging her?” I pressed.
“Sure, hold on.”
There was a pause, then Sophie’s voice returned, sounding confused. “That’s strange. The
message failed to send. Let me try again.”
Another pause.
“Ethan, I think she’s blocked me too. But why would she do that? We didn’t have a fight or
anything.”
“Any news?” I asked, my voice tight with urgency.
“She blocked me too,” Sophie confirmed with a sigh.
A heavy silence settled between us. I was about to say something else when Cassandra’s voice cut through the tension.
“Ethan, so you and Olivia broke up?” she asked, her tone light with barely concealed glee.
I froze at her words. Broke up? The phrase echoed in my mind, bringing with it the memory of that night my harsh words, “I never want to see you again,” thrown at Olivia in anger.
But those were just words, weren’t they? Just an angry outburst, not a true end. I had never truly considered that she would leave for good. Her blocking me felt like a tantrum, a waiting game where I would eventually soothe her anger.
But now, with her room emptied and contacts severed, was she really just sulking, or was it truly over?
Cassandra’s gentle voice interrupted my tumultuous thoughts as she affectionately pressed
against my arm.
“Since you’ve ended things, let’s each move on peacefully, shall we? Why don’t we go for a trip
to the northern territories and relax?”
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As realization dawned, my initial panic transformed into anger. Very well, I thought bitterly.
Olivia’s gotten bold, daring to leave me? Let’s see how long she can last without my protection
ten days, half a month?
–
I resolved coldly to ignore her, convinced that she would soon come crawling back. To prove it,
I smiled provocatively at Cassandra.
“Sure, where do you want to go? You decide.”
Her eyes sparkled with delight. “Really? I want to visit the Silver Lake Territory. This time of
year, the moonlight on the water is stunning.”
A flicker of memory crossed my mind – Olivia once mentioning her desire to visit Silver Lake
during the Full Moon Festival. I had dismissed it back then as overcrowded and pointless.
Now, when Cassandra brought it up, I almost instinctively wanted to refuse but changed my
mind abruptly a subtle act of rebellion against the ghost of Olivia’s wishes.
“Alright, let’s go to Silver Lake,” I agreed.
Yet despite the new travel plans, the restless frustration inside me persisted. After sitting with
Cassandra watching TV for a while, I excused myself brusquely.
“You just recovered from your injuries, rest well at home. I need to go out.”
Cassandra, perceptive and eager not to push me, merely smiled sweetly. “Okay, I’ll wait here for you.”
Once outside, I called Jason Mitchell. “Jason, come out for drinks. Bring Lucas and the
others.”
Soon I arrived at our usual upscale club in Harbor City, pushing open the private room’s door where my friends had gathered. Lucas greeted me first, his expression curious.
“Ethan, you came alone? Cassandra didn’t come with you?”
I shot him a questioning look. “Why should she?”
Lucas, caught off guard, stammered incoherently. Before he could recover, I dropped a
bombshell.
“My girlfriend is Olivia. Why aren’t you asking about her?”
Lucas was dumbstruck, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
“What? Ever since Cassandra returned, haven’t you always brought her along? And didn’t you
say Olivia is boring, no fun at all?”
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My face tightened with an unexplainable complexity. I found no words to refute this cruel
truth.
Jason, sensing the tension, hurriedly diverted the topic. “Ethan, you haven’t been around these days. Busy with what?”
I flopped onto the sofa, lighting a cigarette. “Cassandra was hurt and hospitalized. I was with
her.”
Jason’s expression twisted awkwardly. “But… you just said Olivia is your girlfriend, yet you’ve
been spending all your time at the hospital with Cassandra. Didn’t Olivia get upset?”
My face darkened at his words. Upset? It was far worse. She’s breaking up with me! The
thought stabbed me with a mix of indignation and denial.
“She’s making a fuss, threatening to break up,” I spat through gritted teeth.
Lucas scoffed, leaning back in his chair with a smirk. “Would she really break up with you?
You’re probably the best man she could ever hope to be with. I bet she’ll come back within ten
days.”
Another friend chimed in, raising his glass. “She loves you so much, three years now, we all see it. She can’t live without you. I’ll bet eight days.”
A third echoed from across the table, “She’s just sulking, waiting for you to call her. I give it
half a month, tops, before she begs to get back together.”
Hearing their confident predictions, my furrowed brow finally relaxed into a smug,
contemptuous sneer.
“Call her? Impossible.”
Just then, Jason’s quiet voice pierced the air with unexpected weight.
“But… what if she doesn’t come back? What if she’s found someone else?”
That question stunned me into speechlessness. I had never truly considered that possibility.
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