Before I knew it, her eyes had reddened, brimming with a mix of pain and profound confusion. I was surprised. Even when her own mother passed away, I hadn’t seen such a raw, vulnerable expression on her face.
“Caleb, how could you break our vows? How could you be so cruel to me?” Her voice was filled with a clear accusation, a tone that implied I was the one who had wronged her.
I sighed softly, then spoke, my voice low and steady. “Chloe, are you blaming me? Because you were the one who first betrayed our relationship.”
Chloe stiffened. Her lips trembled, and after a long moment, she whispered a denial. “Caleb, I didn’t… Dylan and I…”
A sarcastic smile touched my lips, and I cut her off. “Betrayal isn’t just about sleeping with someone. I have a strict sense of emot- ional purity. For me, once a heart has strayed, even a little, that person is no longer worth holding onto.”
Chloe was utterly speechless. The other classmates, who had never seen the ‘Goddess Chloe‘ look so shattered, were openly sho- cked.
“Wait, I thought the rumor was Chloe fell for Dylan and dumped Caleb? Now it seems… not so much!”
“If Chloe really loved Caleb all this time, then why did she publicly defend Dylan and turn on Caleb like that?”
“Some people are just… worthless! They don’t appreciate what they have until it’s gone, then they’re full of regrets!”
I ignored their hushed murmurs, the gossip swirling around us. I glanced down at Chloe, still slumped on the floor, and said dispass- ionately, “Ms. Hamilton, with so many old classmates watching, you might want to consider your image. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving. My daughter is waiting for me at school, and she’ll start crying if I’m late.”
With that, I walked around Chloe, heading for the door. But just as my hand touched the handle, she quickly scrambled up and gra- bbed my wrist again.
I turned back, my gaze and tone both laced with impatience. “Ms. Hamilton, is there something else?”
Perhaps my gaze was too cold, too detached, because Chloe’s palm trembled, and she let go of my wrist as if burned. But the look in her eyes was one of profound sorrow and desperate longing.
My heart remained unmoved. I felt nothing but utter boredom. I turned and walked out the door. Chloe, however, wasn’t giving up She followed me, step for step. I paid her no mind.
As I exited the hotel, my eyes landed on two figures in the distance–one tall, one small–and my previously somber mood instantly lifted. Among the classmates who had followed us out, someone suddenly gasped, “Isn’t that Eleanor Beaumont? I thought she was still living abroad!”
“It can’t be sudden. I heard yesterday that the Beaumont family plans to shift their business focus back to the States. I guess it’s
true!”
