Chapter 2

Not wanting to hear the noise outside, Vanessa closed the door and put on her earbuds. Since she had decided to return to Xerton and get married, she would have to resign from her job in Jirphia. To avoid inconveniencing anyone, she wanted to complete her remaining tasks. Sitting alone by the floor-to-ceiling window, she worked through her final tasks. Outside, the sun was setting, and the sky gradually darkened. After a while, Vanessa took out her earbuds and stretched. She was finally done with her work. It had also gone completely quiet downstairs. Out of habit, she unlocked her phone to unwind. That was when she saw a message from Hannah pop up. She instinctively opened it. Hannah: "Why didn't you like my Moments post?" Hannah: "Why didn't you like my post?" A minute later, another message arrived. Hannah: "Sorry, Nessa, I sent that by mistake. Please don't be mad, okay?" Curious, Vanessa clicked on Hannah's social media post to see what she'd posted. The first thing that caught her eye was a grid of nine photos, showcasing all the gifts Keanu and Seamus had given her. One photo featured a luxurious pink princess dress, spread out like a pink cloud. To match it, Keanu had given her a pair of custom crystal-studded heels, their dazzling sparkle reflecting an extravagant glow. And then, there was the red sports car which was obviously a gift from Seamus. The center photo showed Hannah standing between Keanu and Seamus, holding onto each of them with a sweet smile. Her caption read, "Yay, I got to be a princess too today!" Vanessa knew Hannah had posted this to get under her skin. In the past, Hannah's two-faced attitude would have undoubtedly gotten to her. She wouldn't have been able to stand the fact that Keanu and Seamus had given things once special to her to someone they had only known for less than a month. However, now that she was leaving, Vanessa didn't care about these things anymore. She tapped the screen indifferently, and a little red heart lit up. From now on, she, Keanu, and Seamus would be nothing more than friends. She had let Hannah make the difficult choice. The next day, Vanessa went to the office and submitted her resignation. When she returned home, she gathered all the photos of the three of them together. As they had known each other for over 20 years, they had enough photos to fill a dozen thick albums. Flipping through them, she found snapshots of Keanu and Seamus playing house with her as kids, the three of them winning awards in high school, and their travels together during university… Vanessa looked at each picture; the memories felt vivid as if they had just happened. But now, none of it mattered anymore. She ignited each photo, one by one, and tossed them into a trash can, forming a small bonfire. The flames licked at the images, consuming them until there was nothing left but ashes. Keanu and Seamus came home one after the other just in time to see this. Realizing what she was doing, Keanu quickly walked over and demanded in a shaky voice, "What are you doing?" Vanessa glanced at him and said, "Nothing much. These photos are getting moldy, so I figured I'd just burn them." Seamus instinctively reached out to grab the remaining photos from her hand, but she deliberately let the photos slip as she tossed the last of them into the fire. The flames quickly spread, not giving them a chance to save anything. Seamus tried to snatch a photo that hadn't fully burned yet, but the intense heat forced him to pull his hand back. "Even if they're moldy, there's no need to burn them. These are all memories!" He spoke with a pained expression, his eyes reddening with distress. Keanu, too, looked at the fire in sorrow but was powerless to stop it. Vanessa found his words amusing. Here she was, standing right in front of them, and yet they could hurt her time and again for Hannah's sake. Now, they were heartbroken over a pile of photos. She was suddenly curious about their reaction if they found out she was planning to go home to get married.