No More Sharing Chapter 10
Jerome stayed in my city for a week.
During this time, he stubbornly repeated every sweet gesture he’d once done for Maeve, all for me.
In the morning, a warm breakfast would appear at my door — sometimes fresh croissants and coffee brought from across town, sometimes elegantly plated pastries. It was different every day.
When the sky turned gloomy in the evening, a brand-new long-handled umbrella would hang on the doorknob.
Late at night, when I headed home from work, I’d spot him walking silently beneath the streetlights around the corner, making sure I got back safely.
These gestures I once longed for now only exhausted me and left me feeling nothing.
On the evening of the seventh day, I stopped him right at the complex gate.
“Go back home,” I said. “Stop doing all this.”
“Nadi, I just want to…”
“You’re trying to make it up to me,” I cut him off. “You want to give me everything you used to give Maeve.”
He didn’t deny it. He just lowered his eyes.
“It’s far too late.
“Jerome, everything you do now just keeps reminding me how freely you gave your affection to someone else, while keeping it from me.
“Every extra day you stay, every gesture you make — it won’t move me.
“It’ll only remind me more clearly what those five years were like and make me…” I paused for a moment and said plainly, “Hate you even more.”
I said no more, stepped past him, and walked toward my apartment building.
It was past two in the early morning when the pattering rain woke me up from sleep.
I got up to get some water and walked over to the window out of habit, pulling back a small corner of the curtain.
Beneath the dim streetlight, Jerome was still standing there.
He stood quietly without an umbrella, looking up at the window of my room.
He didn’t leave until I left for work the next morning.
He never showed up again after that.
A month later, I got an email from an unfamiliar address — just a string of random code.
The subject line read: “For Nadine.”
Inside, there were several different sections.
There was a custom website that recorded every wish I’d ever made.
A schedule app sent reminders to take an umbrella on rainy days and automatically shared warm care tips during my period.
In a casual mini-game, a little figure in white ran forward, chasing the moonlight all the way.
Every time I cleared a level, warm words popped up on the screen.
“You’re amazing, Nadi.”
“Don’t be afraid, Nadi.”
“You deserve to be loved, Nadi.”
I clicked through each page one by one.
The more I looked, the more ironic I felt.
All the things I once longed for deeply were right in front of me, but I felt nothing.
Snowflakes drifted slowly across the screen. The program ran smoothly and elaborately.
It was obvious that Jerome had put a great deal of effort into this.
This gesture was far more sincere and thoughtful than anything he’d ever done for Maeve.
I simply stared at the screen calmly.
Then I tapped the delete button with my finger.
A confirmation window popped up, and I didn’t hesitate at all.
“Permanently delete?”
I clicked yes.
The page vanished in an instant.
The phone screen went blank.
And with it, all the love I once had for him disappeared.
I’d loved with passion and hope, only to end up hurt and worn down.
In the long years ahead, this chapter of my life would slowly fade, leaving no trace behind.
The end.
