I shook my head and answered him, “I’m not taking anything. I’ll just buy new stuff once we get there.”

Chris nodded without pressing further and helped me into the car. Together, we headed for the airport.

After passing through security, I sat quietly at the departure gate. Then, without a flicker of hesitation, I opened my phone and left the group chat. One by one, I deleted their contacts, Simon included and then blocked them all.

Finally, I pulled out my old SIM card, snapped it in half and tossed it into a nearby trash bin. I then put the new SIM card, that I had prepared before, into the phone.

I whispered, “Simon… whatever this twisted fate between us was… it ends here!”