Chapter 11
CF5 Points)
Chapter 11
But it was okay.
I told myself that time would heal all wounds. It was only natural for things to fade–memories, feelings–until they were no more than distant
echoes.
At home, I packed in silence, my hands moving mechanically. After the cleaning lady had swept away every trace of my presence, the house felt empty, as if I had never been there. I waited quietly for the moment to leave.
When the clock struck midnight, I tore out the last page. In the blank space, I wrote a simple
message:
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“Waldo, I won’t marry you. I wish you and Alanna happiness.”
Suddenly, my supervisor’s words echoed in my mind. After all, I had loved him once. Maybe, just
maybe, I owed him this last goodbye.
The phone rang for what seemed like an eternity before I finally picked up. Alanna’s voice, light and bright, came through the line. “Is something wrong? It’s so late.”
My fingers tightened around the phone as I asked, “Where is Waldo?”
“Waldo?” She chuckled softly. “He’s in the
shower. He was so tired.”
“Oh.”
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I thought the words would sting, but when I pressed my hand to my chest, it felt strangely empty–like there was nothing left to feel.
Alanna’s voice continued to echo in my ear, soft and distant. “Well, if you don’t need anything else, I’ll hang up. We’ve got the second half of the night ahead of us.”
A moment later, a photo popped up on my screen–one of Alpha Waldo and Alanna, sleeping side by side, from the night before.
I ended the call, staring at the phone, the picture still burning in my mind.
supervisor, I wanted to say goodbye–but this is the result.
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And then I realized that not everyone gets to leave things on their terms. So, I would leave without looking back. No more meetings.
I wiped my fingerprint from the password lock, grabbed my suitcase, and stepped out into the night, driving into the unknown.
The next morning, at eight o’clock, my phone rang. It was Alpha Waldo.
He sounded tired but hopeful, as though he had stayed up all night arranging the proposal ceremony on the hillside.
He’d wanted it to be perfect–a chance to redo the rushed proposal from a year ago. He thought that this time, he could make
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everything right. He imagined us standing in the sunlight, the breeze tugging at our hair, apologizing, making up for all the distance between us. He even had a new wedding dress design ready for me. Something special. Something just for me.
He wanted this day to be unforgettable.
But the call went unanswered. Alpha Waldo
assumed I was still asleep. After all, I often
worked late in the Training Ground and came home exhausted. But I was disciplined. I wouldn’t sleep in like this.
His unease grew. He tried to calm himself, telling himself I had probably just missed the call. I was probably busy cooking breakfast or doing something equally ordinary.
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A few moments later, he called again. Still, no answer. Panic slowly crept in. He urged the driver to speed up.
Someone in their group chat asked if they should scatter petals along the road leading to the mountain. Alpha Waldo glanced at the sun rising outside the car window, the light spilling over everything.
“Valerie should be out there, basking in the sun. It’s just another ordinary day.”
“She didn’t hear the phone. She wasn’t ignoring me… right?”
If she only knew the surprise I’d planned for her today, she’d be overwhelmed with emotion. I
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could already picture her–maybe even crying. She’d always had a soft spot for me.
He responded in the group chat with a simple, one–word reply: “Okay.”
“We would walk hand–in–hand toward a
brighter future, stepping into a life full of hope, surrounded by a road lined with blooming
flowers.”
Alpha Waldo stood at the door, inhaled deeply, and took a step inside. But then, something caught him off guard–his little bunny slippers were nowhere to be found.
His heart skipped a beat. He quickly tried to calm himself. “Valerie must be in the room, waiting for me. She’s probably in there, dressed
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in her best.”
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Chapter 12
