- 8.
く
Hearing my resolute words, the color drained
from Ethan’s face.
“Lori, I know I hurt you, but I can’t live
without you. Those memories, the time we
spent together, can you really forget them?”
His eyes were full of despair, tears welling up. “Ethan, I thought we could go on forever, but
Lana’s appearance showed me the cracks in
our relationship.”
“Those days you ignored me, your suspicions
and accusations, were like knives piercing my
heart.”
“Can you just erase that with an ‘I’m sorry‘?”
Ethan knelt down.
“Lori, I was wrong. I was so wrong.
“I shouldn’t have believed Lana, shouldn’t
have treated you that way.
“Now I know, you’re the one who truly loved
me, who gave everything for me.”
“Please give me another chance to make
<
amends.”
Seeing him like this, complex emotions
surged within me.
The old love lingered, but the pain was vivid.
The pain made me resolute.
I took out a necklace.
A beautiful violet crystal, covered in countless
cracks.
“Ethan, if a crystal breaks, even if you repair
it, is it still the same crystal?”
“For so many years, I gave you almost
everything.”
“But what did I get? Betrayal and hurt.”
“Ethan, I don’t want you anymore.
“If you truly regret it, disappear from my life.”
Ethan reached out, wanting to touch the
cracked necklace, but stopped mid–air, afraid
of breaking it again..
His lips trembled, no sound coming out. Tears streamed down his face.
L
After a long time, he finally choked out,
“Lori, I know my mistakes are unforgivable.
This necklace…but please, don’t sentence me to death. Give me a chance to atone.”
“Too late.”
“Ethan, it’s too late. Some wounds can never
heal.”
“These six months, I’ve healed alone, and I
don’t want to go back.”
“I like my life now, and myself. So please,
don’t appear in my life again.”
Ethan trembled.
“I understand.”
He stood up silently and disappeared into the
Parisian night.
Ethan never appeared again.
I finally found the life I was meant to live.
Besides the beach cottage, I had many more.
A cabin in the Norwegian wilderness, a villa in
a lavender field in Provence.
These cottages formed a symphony of my
life.
A song of my rebirth.
The broken relationship, with time and self-
care, slowly healed, blossoming into even
more brilliance.
