He confessed to me at a hometown gathering, telling me that he wanted to take care of me. And he truly did. He brought me breakfast, saved me a spot at the library, worked part-time just to accompany me, sent me home for the holidays, and picked me up when I returned to school.
When he graduated and we were faced with the challenge of a long-distance relationship, he held me tightly and promised me something I thought I’d never doubt.
"No matter how far apart we are, you will always be my only one."
In just one year, everything had changed.
And since it had changed, I couldn’t hold on to it anymore.
That day, I sent James the only message I would ever send him again, the final message.
"James, let's break up."
After hitting send, I ignored him completely, turning my focus to preparing my inspection materials.
When I finally looked at my phone again, I found dozens—no, maybe hundreds—of missed calls and unread messages.
"Lila, did you go back to school? You left without saying goodbye, and now you're telling me we’re breaking up? What’s going on?"