âAurora, check your desk drawer. Thereâs a letter in there.â
Aurora hesitated, her fingers brushing against the drawerâs edge before pulling it open. Her hand found the envelope he mentioned, the words âTo Auroraâ scrawled across it.
Her lips quirked upward in a nervous smile.
âYou sure know how to make things dramatic.â
âOf course,â Rickey replied with a strained laugh. âOpen it and read it. Iâm boarding my flight in ten minutes.â
Auroraâs heart clenched. âWhere are you going?â
âIâm going to a business school overseas. My family set it up ages ago.â
Auroraâs panic was immediate. âWhat about Dugruayae University? I thought you were going there?â
To Rickey, her words carried more weight than she probably intended. It sounded like she was asking about their future together.
âAurora, are you seriously that naive? Do you really think Dugruayae University is somewhere I could get into with just connections? I was joking, and you completely fell for it. Stop being so gullible.â
âRickey!â Aurora snapped, her voice laced with genuine anger. âIf youâre lying to me right now, I swear Iâll never speak to you again!â
âIâm not lying this time, Aurora,â Rickey let out a bitter chuckle. âI promise. We were bound to part ways eventually. You have your dreams, and I have mine. Letâs move forward and meet again someday â when weâve both achieved something.â
Aurora inhaled sharply, steadying herself. She was eighteen now, no longer a little girl who would cry and refuse to accept losing a friend. But her heart still ached.
galnovelsâ¢com where stories grow âIs that all you wanted to say?â Her voice was quiet, restrained.
âEverything I want to tell you is in that letter. Read it for yourself.â
âOkay.â
The call ended abruptly. Aurora sat in the quiet classroom, gripping the phone tightly as she fought back tears. With the fading light streaming through the windows, she unfolded the letter.
Rickey, who struggled to write even an eight-hundred-word essay, had managed to pour his heart out in three full pages.
âAurora, I donât have the guts to say this to your face. If you cried, Iâd lose it instantly and jump off the plane mid-flight just to come back. My dad never expected much from me growing up. Now I get it. The old man had this planned all along. Crafty, wasnât he?
Alright, I know you donât want me to leave. Without me, whoâs going to fill your water bottle? Whoâs going to bring you breakfast? Whoâs going to take the blame for all your mistakes? Wait⦠why do I sound like Iâve been your servant all this time?
After you get to college, youâll finally start living your own life. Donât be scared, okay? If you donât get along with your classmates, just drop out. Come to my house and be my servant â Iâll pay you triple the usual rate.
Are you crying right now? Of course, you are. I knew it. Stop crying, you silly girl! Donât you know youâll scare off all your blessings like that? Visit me overseas when you get the chance. Itâs only an eight-hour time difference, a few thousand kilometers, and a seven-hour flight. Not so bad, right?
I canât say much more â Iâm afraid youâll get too emotional. Just promise me this â letâs stay best friends, always and forever. I wish you happiness. And in the future, bring your boyfriend to visit me overseas. Iâll treat you two to a nice meal.â
Night had fully descended by the time Aurora finished reading. Clutching the letter tightly, she walked aimlessly, tears streaming down her face. Each sentence felt like Rickeyâs voice speaking into her ear, but the painful truth weighed heavily on her heartâshe might never see him again.
The streetlights flickered on, illuminating the campus path.
As her tears fell steadily, Aurora glanced up. Beneath the flowering tree, bathed in soft light, a figure turned slowly to face her.
.
.
.
Message from Noah:
Hello, dear readers! Sorry for the delay this week â my birthday was two days ago, and I didnât have much time to release the chapters.
Two new novels will be released tomorrow. I hope you enjoy them!
God loves you, and Noah wishes you all the best. (ÉOâ¿=)É â¥
.