Chapter 9

At that moment, Giselle was more sure than ever that Anthony wasn't working overtime at the office but taking care of the sick Melanie instead. She recalled when Anthony told her confidently he'd be here to pick her up and suddenly laughed out loud. So, Anthony didn't even want to make time for her anymore, even if it was just for half an hour. If only Anthony knew that the next few hours were all that he had left with Giselle, would he regret standing her up again this one last time? Nobody gave her an answer. However, she didn't care for an answer anymore either. She only glanced at the post for a while before quitting the app on her phone. Then, she tapped on Ian's chat window and sent him a text message. "Mr. Lawson, since it's the last day of the cooling-off period, do I still need to drop by your office to finalize anything?" Ian answered her soon after. "There's no need, Ms. Lockhart. Since it's the last day, everything has already been finalized. Congratulations on your new life." A new life, indeed. From today onward, Giselle was going to live a better life with a brighter future ahead of her. A new life awaited her from the moment she stopped loving and pining after Anthony. Giselle felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders when she thought about this. She then turned around and went back home. There were only three hours left. Giselle threw out everything of hers that was still left in the house. Then, she lay down on the couch and watched the sunset. Two hours before the end, she took out her laptop and uploaded all of her photos into it, editing them into a short video clip. One hour before everything was over, Giselle was finally done editing. After watching the video clip, she then took out her camera again, this time angling it so that it faced her, and started to record. She was planning to film a final video for Anthony, reading out her goodbye letter to him. Finally, she was done filming and editing. She reinserted the memory card into her camera, took out the divorce agreement, and put them by the bedside drawers. "Anthony, we're divorced now. I wish you all the best. Wish me all the best as well." After Giselle was done with everything, she took the last of her things in her suitcase and left the city. Nobody knew where she was heading. However, she left without a backward glance. She had no regrets, so she wasn't going to look back anymore. … Meanwhile, Anthony only left Melanie's house after she had mostly recovered. While driving home, he called Giselle's number, wanting to continue with their date where they'd left off the last time. However, he couldn't reach her even after calling her dozens of times. He kept being directed to voicemail after being told that the recipient's phone was turned off. Giselle never responded to any of his text messages either. They'd been married for three years, but this was the first time Anthony couldn't contact her. He suddenly thought about the last time Giselle got into an accident and got worried about her. So, he decided to go home and have a look. Everything at his new home was in place. None of his things were higgledy-piggledy thrown together in a heap anymore. However, Anthony realized something amiss when he looked at them. Where were all of Giselle's things? As soon as he found out about this, Anthony's heart started palpitating harshly. He quickly flew back to his old home. The place was empty. He searched the whole house, but he didn't see anyone in sight. Finally, he went into the bedroom and saw the camera and documents on the bedside drawers. He recalled Giselle looking quite happy while still holding this camera just a few days back, so he heaved a sigh of relief. He then turned on the camera, wanting to see what sort of pictures she'd taken. The video started with an uplifting song in the background. It was like a documentary of the different sceneries in Sapphire High. Sometimes, a huge chunk of words would appear on the screen, and Anthony would pause the video to read them all. "Anthony, there are still a lot of students playing on the slides here. I remember confessing to you here for the first time in my life, and you even rejected me then! I went home and cried all day… "Anthony, the library seems to still be as popular as ever. I didn't want to disturb anyone, so I only took a panoramic photo of the place. You remember this place, don't you? It was your favorite spot of all… "Anthony, you used to play basketball here all the time. I'd also secretly watched you play every time for four years." … The video continued showing other scenes in the school. Anthony felt as if he'd been transported back six years in time to his days of youth. He couldn't help smiling as he remembered his prime time and how Giselle used to pursue him for ages. The music stopped. However, the slider showed that there was still a whole minute left of the video to go. Anthony thought that it was some sort of a surprise. He couldn't stop looking around the room, expecting something, but Giselle never appeared. Confused, Anthony tapped on the "play" button once more. After the screen turned black, Giselle's face appeared in the center of the screen. Anthony had a bad feeling when he saw her red eyes and exhausted expression. "Anthony, today marks the tenth year we've known each other. It's also the tenth anniversary since I first started liking you. "I bet you find it hard to believe that I've liked you for as long as a whole decade. Actually, I can't really believe it myself either. I mean, how many decades do we get in our lives, after all? "In the past ten years, I'd been crushing on you for the first seven years and then we got married for the next three years. I've always wanted to become someone special in your heart, so I did everything I could. "But of course, that doesn't mean everything will go as planned. If you don't like someone, you'll never like them. Even three, seven, or ten more years wouldn't make a difference. You never liked me, and that's a fact I cannot change. "So, on this very memorable day, I made a decision to finally let go of my obsession. I'm also doing this so that you can be with Melanie Eastwood, just like you wished. By the time you're watching this video, there's something I'd like to tell you—no, I'd like to make an announcement. "Anthony Grayson, you and I are now divorced."