For you? Josh, that was your choice. Don’t try
to blame me because you’re not happy with the
outcome!”
That was the final straw. They broke up. Sarah
seamlessly moved on to the rich guy. And that
was the end of their legendary, “prom queen
and the nerd” love story.
I flipped through a magazine, feigning
disinterest. “Oh really?”
Chloe was quiet for a moment, then sighed.
“Honestly, as someone who’s known him for six
years, I’m just… disappointed. And sad for him.
Why didn’t he just take the test seriously and
decide later? Why burn all his bridges like that?
I wonder if he regrets it now. The love he
sacrificed so much for… lasted four years.”
I smiled, my voice calm. “It was his choice.
Whether he regrets it or not, no one else can
bear the consequences for him.”
But in the previous life, under the weight of his
constant resentment and disgust, I did regret it.
Because of school and work, we lived in the
same city. We were both in academia, so our
paths inevitably crossed. Back home, for our
parents‘ sake, we maintained a superficial
civility. But every encounter was laced with his
bitterness.
I think his hatred peaked when he discovered
my crush. I’d always kept a diary. Since Josh
was the person I spent the most time with, he
featured heavily in its pages. It was filled with
mundane details: Hiking trips where he carried
<
me home when I sprained my ankle; mornings I
overslept and he got detention with me; times I
forgot my book and he shared his. We went to
the library together, competed in academic
events together, consoled each other over bad
grades, argued over solutions to math
problems.
Everything between Josh and me was ordinary,
comfortable, without any grand dramatic
moments. So, I hadn’t even realized I was falling
for him. It wasn’t until that day he pointed at
the bulletin board, challenging me to join him at
the top, that I realized the truth hidden within
the lines of my diary entries.
I loved his drive, the way his eyes lit up when he
tackled a difficult problem, the way he’d look at
me when I felt discouraged, his gaze serious as he asked, “So, you’re giving up, Ashley?”
