Chapter 44
I studied the item Selena held out to me. It was a piece of amber, clear as glass, with a tiny cicada perfectly preserved inside.
The memory hit me immediately. I had stumbled upon it by chance during a company retreat, deep in the heart of an untouched forest, buried under layers of leaves and dirt
The night I gave it to Selena, she’d been spending New Year’s with me.
“IOS
After dinner, I handed it to her and said, “In some ways, this is a prison for the cicada, a place it can never escape. But cicadas only live for about eighty days, so maybe this amber also gave it a new kind of life–one that lasts forever.”
Almost jokingly, I had added, “Take it, Lena. Someday, if you really need to, you can trade it back to me for a wish.
At that time, I knew that Jessica had been my prison in my earlier days. Giving Selena that amber had felt like a promise to start over.
But reality had a way of shattering, dreams.
Looking at Selena now, I knew the truth. No matter how much I cared for her, no matter how much I wanted us to work, there were mountains and oceans between us–barriers we could never overcome.
If I truly loved her, I had to let her go.
If Selena left me, she could chase her dreams unburdened, while Christopher could get the treatment he needed. Without me, she could have a better life. But she didn’t know that. Not yet.
Her hand trembled as she held out the amber. Before I could say anything, she spoke quickly, her words tumbling out like she feared I would stop her.
I only have one wish,” she said, her voice breaking. “We don’t break up. You can’t leave me. Seb, you can’t be this cruel. Not now. Not when I love you this much. How can you just throw me away like this?”
Her voice cracked on the last word, the desperation in it hitting me like a punch to the gut. She was begging now, pleading in a way that made it impossible to look away.
“Please…”
My heart clenched so tightly I thought it might stop. For a moment, I almost gave in.
Almost.
But I managed to keep my head.
I silently looked at the amber in her hand and slowly took it from her. I saw a flicker of hope in her eyes slowly reigniting
“Selena…” I sighed. “That was just a lie. And now that Jess is back, why would I leave her for you?”
I turned and hurled the amber into the water.
Selena bolted toward the river like a mad woman, frantically searching the dark water for the tiny piece of amber.
My hands clenched into fists, nails digging into my palms. Even though it pained me, I turned and walked away. Rather than letting her continue to have hope, It was better to completely sever any connection that may exist between us.
