Chapter 6
I opened the drawer and saw some of the valuable gifts Lucas had given me. After a moment of contemplation, I decided to put them in his bookshelf.
Isabella trailed behind me, hesitant, as if wanting to say something but unsure how.
She appeared surprised when I opened the bookshelf.
“I didn’t expect him to keep this,
she said.
She pointed to a glass jar filled with colorful folded paper stars placed neatly beside his trophies. I picked up the jar. “You know this?
Isabella nodded. “I made it for Lucas in seventh grade, as a birthday gift.”
When I first moved in, I had been curious about the colorful jar.
But Lucas had been cold when I asked about it, saying, “It’s best not to touch the bookshelf.” So, I had let it be.
Now, I learned the jar belonged to Isabella.
I put the glass jar on the table.
In the light of the present, the jar looked so ordinary.
I raised my head and saw Isabella‘ s delicate face.
I couldn’t help but ask, “On Lucas’s birthday in our senior year, he went to see you, didn’t he?” Isabella’s eyes flickered. “I’m sorry. When I first went abroad, I had a hard time adjusting. I didn’t know he had a girlfriend then.
I didn‘ t know what to say.
“”
Senior year was the first year Lucas and I were together.
I had started planning for his birthday early, excited about surprising him.
But that night, after I had quietly arrived at his place, set up a dinner and baked a cake, he didn’t
come home.
I waited until the food got cold and eventually received a message at dawn.
He was celebrating with friends overseas.
My memories came up all at once.
I had gone to a bar once to pick up a drunk Lucas, only to overhear his friends gossiping about him and another senior while teasing me, not even aware that we were together. I had sat there awkwardly.
After starting work, a colleague of his confessed her love to him, and he hadn’t mentioned it at all at home. I only learned about it through one of his colleagues.
The birthday gift he gave me was a trending seasonal item, yet he had meticulously carved a wooden puppet for Isabella.
I didn’t even know he could carve wood.
For years, I had been like an ostrich by his side, believing my gentleness could melt his coldness. But we kept fighting and giving each other the silent treatment.
No one knew that after our first argument, I sat crying alone in the flower bed outside, regretting my
up with me. impulsiveness and fearing he might break
I had thought he was a treasure had won over, something I had to guard carefully, navigating
countless challenges.
Slowly, he revealed his softer side, like a hedgehog exposing its vulnerabilities
envy my luck.
No one knew I was covered in wounds by then.
I came back to my senses.
d people began to
I snapped back to the present. Sunlight streamed through the window, refracting into colorful patterns through the glass jar.
I hesitated before asking, “Since you liked him, why didn’t you accept his love back then?”
Isabella smiled bitterly. “I was young and foolish, taking things for granted. By the time I realized my mistake, I had already missed my chance.
I had poured so much effort into this relationship, something that seemed so easy for others to let slip through their fingers.
Feeling dazed, I mumbled, “It’s okay. You still have a chance now.”
I turned to leave but tripped, nearly falling. Fortunately, I grabbed the table to steady myself, but the glass jar wobbled and then fell, shattering into pieces on the floor.
