Chapter 9
Having missed this opportunity, I can only look for another one.
After I was done performing, Randy stopped me backstage.
He looked me up and down in disbelief.
“It really was you I saw here that day.”
“Is it because I’m unimportant to you that you don’t even recognize me?”
“I…”
A rare trace of guilt crossed his face.
He stepped closer and grasped my hand. “I have already cut ties with Audrey. I’ll be loyal to you from now on. Could you perhaps give me another chance?”
Seeing that I wasn’t moved in the slightest, he pulled out the pair of tiny figurines from his bag.
“I got the package you sent me.
“I glued the two of them together, so they’ll never be apart again, just like us. You always wished we could stay together forever, didn’t you? Well, I’m back now. Please don’t leave me.”
Looking at his hopeful gaze, I snatched the figurines from him.
Their hands were glued together, and their grins were forced and unpleasant.
As I looked at them, I realized how unmatched they were.
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I loosened my grip, and the ceramic figures shattered on the floor, pieces flying in all directions. The glued joint broke cleanly, and their fragments refused to lie together.
Randy dropped to his knees. His eyes pooled with tears as he gathered the pieces, trying to piece them back together.
His hands were already bleeding profusely.
Through gritted teeth, he let out a pained growl.
“No. Please don’t break and stay together. I need to get them whole again, so you’ll return.”
I turned my gaze away, calm and detached. “Let the past go.”
With that, I walked away and left behind all the painful memories.
Behind me, Randy sat in ruins, his face ashen and his eyes hollow, like the darkest night with no light.
It was at that moment he finally realized the woman who once loved him no longer wanted him.
My 22nd birthday arrived shortly thereafter.
When my performance ended, Vincent wheeled out a cake and walked toward me with eyes full of resolve and love.
The audience spontaneously began to sing the birthday song.
There was a gleam in everyone’s eyes, and that light was what I have always been pursuing.
It was enough to cast a light on even the darkest corners of my heart.
“Happy birthday, Debra. May you be happy always.”
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Even amid the crowd’s singing, his voice
rang
clear in my ears.
I knew this was the best time.
I pulled out a key from my pocket and asked, “Vincent, I’d like to give you a home. Will you come home with me?”
