Chapter 8
510words
"You look like hell," I said, sitting down next to him.
Leo gave a bitter smile. "Tonight is the last time."
"What?"
"Seraphina's farewell livestream. Tonight at eleven thirty." His voice was calm, but I could hear the pain underneath. "I plan to send her a message telling her what her voice has meant to me."
I was reminded of last week at the bar, when I was similarly confessing my obsession with Alex to my colleagues. We're all chasing after people who don't belong to us, all suffering for impossible relationships.
"What are you planning to say?" I asked.
Leo took out his phone from his pocket and showed me a message he had prepared in advance:
"Thank you for your companionship these six months. On my loneliest nights, your voice healed me. You made me believe that gentleness and goodness still exist in this world. I know you don't know me, and we will never meet, but I want you to know—you saved someone's nights, someone's heart. I wish you happiness in your marriage and peace throughout your life. Goodbye, Seraphina, whom I genuinely liked."
After reading this message, my throat tightened a little.
"It's beautiful," I said.
"Pretty stupid, right?" Leo laughed bitterly. "Spending three hundred dollars to confess to a virtual streamer."
"Not stupid," I shook my head. "At least you were honest. Much braver than me."
Leo looked at me with a kind of understanding in his eyes. We were the same kind of people—looking for love in the wrong places, protecting ourselves in the wrong ways, but at least we were still trying to learn how to be honest.
"You know, Chloe," Leo said, "maybe loss isn't the scariest thing. What's scariest is never having the courage to speak the truth."
I thought of Ethan, of all the men I never gave my true heart to, of the "list" I had so carefully maintained.
"You're right," I said softly.
The next morning, when Leo appeared at the office, he looked much more relaxed. Though his eyes were still red, there was an expression of relief on his face.
"You did it?" I asked.
"I did," he nodded. "She read my message. Cried. Said thank you. And then... it was over."
"How does it feel?"
Leo thought for a moment. "It hurts, but... it's also liberating. At least I have no regrets."
I looked at him, remembering how I had received another message from Alex last night. This time I didn't reply.
But the phone was still in my pocket, vibrating. Once, twice, three times.
I knew it was him. I knew if I took out my phone now, if I saw his name, I'd likely compromise again.
Leo stood up and patted my shoulder. "Go do what you need to do, Chloe."
He left. I sat on the terrace, my phone still vibrating.
