Chapter 45: The Path Less Taken.

The city streets blurred by in an awful montage as Chloe wandered aimlessly; all the detail of what surrounded her was lost in her perambulation. The thump of her bootheels striking the cracked pavement reverberated within her like a metronome, keeping time with the dull pain in her chest. How many times had she traced the same sidewalks in the hazy glow of new love? Every corner of the storefront, every weathered park bench, seemed to hold a ghost, lingering imprints of her and Liam's once effervescent joy. Her steps faltered, her knees threatening to buckle beneath the weight of fresh anguish. God, she could still smell the hint of his cologne amidst the putrid city fumes. Hear the rich timbre of his laughter amidst the discordant chaos. "You are still haunting me," she murmured, her voice cracking through disuse and sorrow. A passerby shot her an odd look but kept moving. Chloe barely registered it; she was too lost in the tide of remembrances that threatened to sweep her away.