The city lights flickered outside, just like the hope she had clung to for the past five years, always igniting, only to be extinguished again and again. Now, she had finally learned. There was no point chasing a light that would never shine on her.
It was dark when Damien hugged Amelia from behind, his warm breath brushing against her ear.
"Baby, I’ll accompany you home to see your parents in a few days, okay?"
Amelia stiffened at his words, confusion clouding her expression and asked, "Why do you want to go home suddenly?"
Damien’s fingers gently traced the curve of her shoulder as he answered, "You’ve seemed down lately. I thought maybe going home would lift your spirits."
Amelia’s thoughts drifted to the villa area in her hometown, St. Paul, a place filled with memories of her and Damien. Every blade of grass, every tree, held fragments of their shared past.
Lost in these memories, she heard Damien then added, "By the way, I heard your father isn’t feeling well. It’s a good time to go check on him."
"Dad is sick?" Amelia sat up abruptly.
"Why didn’t I know?"
Damien quickly reassured her.
"Don’t worry, I overheard the maid mentioning it. It’s nothing serious, just a small thing."
He pulled her back into his arms and asked her gently, "So, will you go back and visit him?"
Amelia was still unsettled, but Damien’s surprising tenderness that night made her hesitate to overthink it. She nodded. Although she wasn’t sure about Damien’s sudden kindness, it was strange. Tonight, he was just … holding her, nothing more.
Amelia clutched the corner of the blanket, reminding herself not to jump to conclusions. She had once heard that when a man suddenly seems distant, it means he had found something … or someone else.
The next morning, for the first time in a long while, it was just the two of them traveling together.
As the car drove through the familiar villa area, Damien pointed out a sycamore tree along the side of the road, smiling.
"Remember this? You used to love picking up fallen leaves here to use as bookmarks."
Amelia’s eyes followed the direction he indicated, her nerves slowly loosening.
Damien continued, "And you always followed me home after school. One time, I checked to see if you were really following me and you got lost. You cried so hard, I felt bad."