Chapter 11
At the hotel, Jonah tossed and turned all night, trapped in a loop of nightmares.
In the dream, Kayla was lost. He searched everywhere but couldn’t find her.
After snapping out of his despair, Jonah jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat. But even though he was no longer dreaming, the nightmare wasn’t over. He sat up in bed and lit a cigarette.
Pale morning light filtered through the gap in the curtains, blending with the drifting cigarette smoke. The whole room felt heavy, bleak, and suffocating. He leaned back against the headboard while his mind raced, trying to understand how everything had gone so wrong. Where did it all begin?
Eight years ago, Sally took Lily and moved overseas. He’d grown up with Lily, and her leaving had crushed him. He’d even begged her to stay.
But Lily was completely enamored with life in Ostia. Everything outside seemed exciting to her.
That time in his life was rough. He spiraled for a while, until Kayla showed up. She was a transfer student.
She had a great personality and looked beautiful. She always spoke with warmth and kindness.
The more time they spent together, the more a quiet, unspoken tension grew between them.
But it was senior year, and everyone was buried in college prep. Even if their eyes said more, neither one dared break the unspoken rule between them. Then came the SATS. Jonah had ranked first in the city.
Before filling out his college applications, he made a trip to Kayla’s hometown.
It was pouring that day. He stood soaking wet outside her building, eyes locked on her with an intense, unwavering gaze.
“Kayla, could you do long–distance?” Jonah asked.
She had assumed their little spark would fizzle out the moment she finished high school in Jolsa. She never expected him to come looking for her. So, when she saw Jonah standing there, drenched in the rain, all her hesitation vanished.
“I can,” she said, breathless. “I would do it.”
“Then be my girlfriend, Kayla. I love you.”
He pulled her into his arms right then, and in his heart, he vowed to protect her forever and never let her suffer not even a little. Jonah then got into Jolsa University’s prestigious seven–year track. Kayla was also accepted into her dream architecture school. The two of them were worlds apart–one up north, the other down south, with nearly 1,200 miles between them.
Over their four years in college, they racked up a thick stack of plane and train tickets from all the trips they took to visit each other. Kayla moved straight to Jolsa to be with Jonah the day they graduated.
Everyone thought the two of them would grow old together, turning their young love into the kind of fairytale romance people envy. And now? Just like that, they were over.
Jonah gripped his throbbing head, still searching for an answer he couldn’t find.
Where had he gone wrong? Why did Kayla let go so easily?
Meanwhile, Kayla slept in without an alarm. When she finally got up, she found the pot of soup Phillip had made. She took a sip of the rich, fragrant, and still warm soup.
Martha walked out of the kitchen and brought her breakfast over, setting it in front of her.
“You should drink the soup first.”
“Okay,” Kayla replied.
Kayla ate with real focus. She hadn’t had much of an appetite lately with everything going on, but now that she was home, it felt like her appetite had come back too.
After Kayla finished eating, Martha finally spoke up, careful and hesitant.
“Kayla, what really happened between you and Jonah? Are you really set on divorcing him?”
She knew just how much Kayla had gone through for that relationship–how much she’d loved Jonah. He was someone she had once cherished with all her heart. How could she just let him go like it meant nothing?
Kayla had finished eating by then. She set down her cutlery and looked at Martha with quiet resolve.
She said, “I used to believe our love was pure. But I’ve come to realize that I was never the only one in his heart. Maybe he still loves me—but that love isn’t pure, and I don’t want it anymore.”
