I said, “I could never like him again, Claire.”
Claire suddenly froze. The frustration slowly
melted away.
“What did you just say?”
“I admit, Liam was great before.”
“From the time I was a kid, he always had my
back, he hated seeing me cry, and he hated
seeing me unhappy.”
“Other than my parents, he was the best person
in the world to me.”
“So it was natural for me to fall in love with
him.”
“But the day he saw me crying, and still forced
me to apologize to you, that’s when I stopped
liking him.”
<
12:44
CORE
100
Claire looked a little lost. She looked at me, her
eyes starting to tear up.
“Just because of that?”
I nodded, “Just because of that.”
“If the person I love is okay with me crying, if
they’re okay with me suffering, then that person isn’t worth liking at all.”
Before Claire left that day,
She asked me again, “No matter what Liam
does, you’ll never like him again?”
I answered, “Yes.”
Even if he died for me, I wouldn’t like him.
anymore.
11
<
The night before I was supposed to leave,
I was just about to board the plane, when I got
a message from Liam.
[I’ll pick you up later.]
I didn’t answer.
The “typing…” notification appeared, but it
never led anywhere.
Just as I was about to put my phone away,
Liam called. His voice sounded a little light and
cheerful.
“Amelia, I’ll pick you up soon. There might be
some traffic.”
I didn’t respond. He was definitely on the road.
The sounds of car horns filtered in through the
phone. At that moment, I heard them
100
<
announcing the boarding of my flight.
His breathing hitched over the line.
After a brief pause, he asked quietly, “Amelia,
are you at the airport?”
“Yeah.”
“Why are you at the airport? Are you going somewhere? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Did you forget that tomorrow is my-”
“Uncle,” I cut him off, and he went silent.
I continued, “I’m going to go down the path
that my parents walked, and I don’t know when
I’ll be back.”
“Thank you for everything over the years,
Uncle.”
<
12:44
10
After being reborn, I considered getting reveng
on Liam, making him feel the pain of having his
fingers broken.
I also thought about dragging everyone who
hurt me down to hell with me.
But my life is so long, why should I be trapped
in all the hate?
Liam used to treat me like his whole world, that
was true. I’ll just consider us even.
So now, I don’t hate him anymore, and I don’t
love him either.
“Why?”
“Why so suddenly?”
After a long silence, he finally asked.
I didn’t reply. He continued:
<
“Amelia, if it’s because of Claire, I can explain, I
can make her leave.”
“But you can’t leave.”
His voice was panicky, and the car horns.
sounded harsh over the line.
“Amelia, can you wait for me? Wait for me, I’ll
be right there.”
“No, it’s too late.”
I chuckled and hung up the phone.
After I shut off my phone, the dark cloud
hanging over me finally lifted.
Finally.
Everything had come to an end.
12
<
Liam stared at the phone, tried to call again
and again, but all he got was the cold robotic
voice.
I’d turned my phone off.
For the first time ever, he was completely
aware.
I really didn’t want him anymore.
When he realized that,
He slammed his fist into the steering wheel and loosened his tie.
His chest was tight, he couldn’t breathe, and panting didn’t help.
He was about to call his assistant to track down my flight when Claire’s phone rang.
Her voice was a crying mess, begging him not
<
12:45
He had been trying to sort things out.
100
A life–saving favor doesn’t mean that you have to marry the person.
He could give Claire plenty of money, ensure
that she never had to worry, and give her anything she wanted.
Except his heart.
He never realized how much space I had
occupied in his heart.
Now that I was gone, he understood that his
entire heart belonged to me.
The girl who used to cry, laugh and mess
around with him.
He had always warned me not to confuse love
with anything else.
<
12:45
100
But he had been in love with me for ten years,
and still couldn’t figure out the difference
between love and affection.
Now, he desperately wanted to find me.
To tell me that he loved me, he loved me so
much.
That he was wrong, that he wouldn’t make the
same mistake again. Never again.
13
After finding my flight information,
