James’s grip suddenly tightened.
A faint throb of pain shot through my arm.
“Turning off my hearing aid… that was my fault,” he rushed to say, the words spilling out of him.
“I’ll change. I’ll change everything.”
“I swear, I will never ignore your feelings again. From now on, I’ll actually listen to you. Really hear you, I swear.”
I remained completely silent.
In stark contrast to my calm, James was frantic, bordering on sheer panic.
“If you want to stay here in Silvercliff, I’ll stay with you. I’ll go back and quit my job immediately.”
“I’ve completely cut ties with Chloe. I swear, I will never contact her again. Emily, please, just give me one more chance…”
Both of his hands grasped my shoulders, forcefully turning me to face him directly.
“Emily, you’re just angry. You’re just feeling wronged, aren’t you?”
“Give me one chance to make it up to you, and we can start over, okay? Six years together… it can’t just vanish into thin air.”
A long silence stretched between us.
James’s panic visibly grew; in the quiet of that alleyway, I could clearly hear his heart pounding against his ribs.
Just one word from me.
One gesture.
It felt like his heart would burst right out of his chest.
“James, I’m not angry,” I finally said.
“I’m exhausted. I just don’t love you anymore.”
“I don’t need you to change, and I don’t need you to make anything up to me. I just need you to let me go.”
He stood completely frozen in place.
As if struck by lightning, his lips parted slightly, staring at me for a long time without regaining his senses.
I could see the violent storm of agony swirling in his eyes.
After a long while, James finally spoke, his voice completely hoarse: “…You don’t love me?”
“How could you not love me anymore?”
“Emily, six years…”
“You used to… you used to say you’d be with me forever. You clearly… you remember everything I like…” he rambled incoherently. “Your photo gallery is full of pictures of me… Emily, you do love me…”
“You must be lying to me.”
He stared deep into my eyes.
He was desperately trying to find even a single trace of reluctance or softness in them.
But there was absolutely nothing.
“You really don’t seem to understand plain English,” I laughed. “I said, get lost. Stay as far away from me as possible.”
“Don’t ever show your face in front of me again, it makes me sick.”
