Chapter 2
Maybe my relationship with Nolan was doomed from the start.
I always chased him, an eight-year crush from college.
After graduation, he and Eloise broke up, and everyone knew.
Eloise got an overseas job offer, but Nolan had been interning at a domestic airport for six months, soon to be permanent. Neither could give up their future, so they parted ways.
At that farewell party, Eloise didn’t come. Nolan drank heavily and was a mess.
Leaving, he was unconscious. His friends knew I liked him, so they urged me to take him home.
Even drunk, he was a grown man, over six feet tall, his weight on me. I got him to the couch but was pulled into his alcohol-scented embrace.
I had a few drinks at the party too. As the alcohol hit, I heard him sobbing, “Eloise, don’t leave me.”
The next morning, I fled with a hickey on my neck.
We silently agreed not to contact each other, and I thought my crush was over.
Then I found out I was pregnant.
My periods were always regular, and when I noticed something off, I got tested. With the report in hand, I sat in the hospital corridor. On a whim, I texted Nolan.
I didn’t want to trap him with the baby, but he had a right to know.
I waited at the hospital till night, but he didn’t respond.
I thought he blocked me, but then Nolan called.
“Phoebe, let’s get married.”
If not for being in a hospital, I would’ve screamed with joy.
I thought I used all my luck for his proposal.
But I stayed calm, “If you’re doing this out of duty, I don’t need it.”
He paused, then firmly said, “Phoebe, I’ll take responsibility. We can be together.”
I waited for him at the hospital entrance.
As he approached, he became the handsome boy from my youth.
I didn’t know when I fell for him. Maybe when he caught me skipping class but let me go, teasing, “Like a little rabbit, hard to scold.”
Or maybe every morning and evening I watched him.
But at this moment, my longing finally found hope.
Later, Nolan’s mother used my pregnancy as an excuse to skip the wedding. She made my life difficult, and I lost the baby.
But I believed if I worked hard enough, Nolan would see my worth.
How naive I was back then.
Five years later, my sincerity was worn out, meaningless.