Life in Full Bloom After Walking Away
Chapter 3
The Department of Computer Science's Class of 2021 hosted its class reunion three days later.
Gabriella only found out that Owen was attending as well when she arrived at the venue.
Their former classmates surrounded him, making him the center of attention. But when he spotted her, he immediately approached her and sat beside her.
The atmosphere in the private room turned a little strange as their classmates looked at them sitting together.
Gabriella knew that she was the cause. After all, from their classmates' perspectives, she had only married Owen because she wanted to climb up the social ladder. It was why everyone looked down on her.
However, she didn't care that her classmates thought of her as a conniving woman. She simply sat quietly in her seat and didn't move an inch.
The class leader arrived late, carrying a large box. She greeted everyone and said, "The main purpose of today's class reunion is for everyone to catch up with each other. Secondly, it's also time for us to read the letters that we wrote five years ago for our future selves."
Chaos erupted in the room as everyone swarmed the class leader.
"Why don't we make this more interesting? Everyone should pick a random letter and read it aloud."
"That's a good idea. I'll go first!"
The most energetic student in their class, Thomas Dalton, squeezed through the crowd and grabbed a letter at random.
The others rushed him, prompting him to tear open the envelope. He cleared his throat and unfolded the letter.
"To Gabriella Candola five years from now, are you doing well? I'm sitting under the sun as I write this letter to you. Although I have no idea where you are, or what you're feeling when you read this letter, I still want to share my current thoughts with you."
The entire room had fallen silent by the time Thomas finished reading the first part.
Everyone's gaze was fixed on Gabriella. Even Owen, who had been scrolling through his phone earlier, looked up at her. Surprise was written all over his face.
Gabriella's heart plummeted into her gut when she thought about the rest of the contents of the letter.
Thomas glanced at her. A mischievous smile stretched across his lips before he continued reading.
"You're 19 years old this year. You just started your sophomore year in university, and you've fallen in love with Owen Wendell. He doesn't know about your feelings, but it doesn't matter since he already has someone that he loves. Your affection for him is fated to remain unrequited.
"You might be asking me why I didn't just give up when I knew that my feelings would not be returned. My answer is because I like how he gets fired up as everyone cheers him on. I like how he stopped the basketball from hitting me as it flew toward me.
"I also like how polite and sincere he is when he rejects another person's confession.
"I'm the one who gets jealous whenever I steal a glance at him and see the marks on his neck, but I'm also the one who willingly braves a storm to sneakily place some medicine in his locker when he gets hurt during a basketball match. I'm also the one who scribbles his name all over my notebooks.
"Perhaps he'll never remember my name in this lifetime, but it doesn't matter. After all, having a crush on someone has always been a chaotic and solitary struggle."
Everyone in the room had fallen silent by the time Thomas finished reading the letter.
Owen stiffened as he recalled his disastrous wedding. He remembered how Gabriella had stood up without any hesitation and resolutely walked to his side under everyone's scrutiny.
It was only at that moment that he finally realized why Gabriella had married him. It wasn't because she was after his power or wealth like some people accused her of. It was simply because she had nursed an unrequited crush on him for many years.
Owen's heart, which had been still for so long, suddenly started racing at that moment. He was nearly overwhelmed with the urge to blurt out all the questions that he had buried in the deepest part of his heart for the longest time, wanting to know Gabriella's answers.
However, before he could get a single word out, Samantha called him.
"Owen, I'm surrounded by a group of hooligans downstairs…"
Owen's expression twisted even before she finished her sentence. He leaped to his feet and rushed downstairs. The moment he laid eyes on the group of hooligans, he immediately began swinging his fists.
Driven by anger, he didn't pull his punches, beating the hooligans until they were black and blue.
Another group of people rushed onto the scene and shielded Samantha behind them. Tears were streaming down her face as she told them that the tattooed hooligan had touched her hand.
Owen immediately grabbed a steel bat and smashed it against the tattooed hooligan's hand, causing the latter to let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Gabriella rushed downstairs just in time to see Owen attack the tattooed hooligan. She stood rooted to the spot as she stared at the hooligan's nearly crippled right hand that was bleeding profusely. When she looked up at Owen, she saw him leading Samantha away while holding her protectively.
Gone was the fierce and ruthless man from a few seconds ago. Owen's expression was gentle as he softly comforted Samantha.
Gabriella had never experienced this sort of care from Owen. She dropped her gaze to hide the emotions in her eyes, barking out a self-deprecating laugh. She then quietly turned around and headed home.
Owen only returned home in the early hours of the morning. He only realized that he needed to explain himself when he saw Gabriella sitting silently on the couch.
"Gabriella, about what happened today… We're all classmates. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing after finding out what was happening to Samantha."
Gabriella wasn't interested in exposing Owen's lies. She hummed in response, then grabbed her pajamas and headed for the bathroom.
When she emerged from the bathroom half an hour later, towel-drying her hair, she noticed Owen looking at her phone with a slightly bewildered expression.
"Why are you buying plane tickets, Gabriella?"
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