A Love That Fades

Selena's phone buzzed.

It was a post from Vanessa, letting everyone know she was fine.

"Thank you all for your concern. I'm okay now. And thank you, Ian, for always being by my side when I need you. I'll use the rest of my life to repay you."

The attached photo showed Vanessa lying in a hospital bed, her fingers intertwined with Ian's as he sat beside her. They looked like the perfect couple.

Selena barely glanced at it before locking her phone and tossing it aside.

She and Ian were over.

Whatever Vanessa's intentions were—whether to flaunt her victory or provoke her—Selena didn't care. She would feel neither joy nor sorrow.

That night, she made herself a warm dinner and went to bed.

For the first time in years, with the house empty, she finally slept soundly.

The next morning, she brewed herself a cup of hand-ground coffee, sat in a wicker chair in the yard, and listened to the morning radio as she stretched.

For the first time, free from the weight of family burdens, she truly enjoyed the feeling of simply being alive.

She should have done this long ago.

After breakfast, she returned to her room, intending to gather all the gifts Ian had given her and send them back to him.

But as she went through them, she realized there were barely any.

The few gifts he had given her over the years were nothing but cheap trinkets, things that had meant the world to her at the time, things she had carefully stored away in a drawer like treasures.

Yet now, as she pulled them out, she saw they had yellowed with age, mold creeping along their edges.

It was just like Ian's so-called love.

Selena shook her head.

Ian was a germaphobe. He wouldn't want them back.

So, she tossed everything into a metal bin, along with every photo of them together, and set it all ablaze. The flames roared, devouring every last trace of the past.

Once this was over, she went to collect the paperwork to withdraw from school. She planned to spend the last few days traveling and clearing her mind.

She was scrolling through travel guides when Ian showed up.

Unlike her, relaxed and at peace, he looked like he hadn't slept all night.

Ryan had told him about the returned gifts and how Selena had barely reacted. He didn't believe it. He knew how much she had loved him. He couldn't accept that she would be so indifferent.

However, he saw the burned gifts and photos in the metal bin outside.

These were things Selena had once cherished, but now she had discarded them like garbage.

"Why did you burn everything?" His voice trembled.

Selena lifted her gaze to his pale face.

"They were moldy, so I burned them," she said in a flat voice.

Ian froze. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he scoffed. "You did this on purpose. You knew I'd come, so you put on this whole act, trying to play hard to get, hoping I'd come back to you. Selena, why do you always have to be so unreasonable?"

He turned to leave, frustration boiling over, until his eyes landed on the papers on her coffee table.

It was the withdrawal paperwork.

His mind went blank.

"You're withdrawing from school? Was it because we asked you to hand over the patent to Vanessa?" His voice was shrill.

"Say something. Where are you going?"

Panic surged through him as he grabbed her arm.

Selena was right in front of him. He could see her and touch her. Yet, for some reason, he had this feeling that she would disappear forever.