They Forgot Me 99 Times, I Won’t Give Them a 100th Chance Chapter 07

They Forgot Me 99 Times, I Won’t Give Them a 100th Chance Chapter 07

Life back in Silverpine was busier than I’d imagined.

I was only the most junior planner in the reconstruction team, but everything I inherited had been delayed for

years.

Aging water pipes, border roads that turned to mud in the rainy season, and an under-equipped Pack

Hospital. Every one of them needed to be fixed from scratch.

The first week, I worked late almost every night.

But every time I proposed a plan, someone listened seriously.

My planning maps had my name on them. My comments weren’t missing from meeting minutes. When pack members brought work meals, someone always asked about my dietary restrictions.

These things were so ordinary.

Yet it took me a long time to get used to them.

I changed my number and kept the old phone only for necessary messages.

The day I turned it on, hundreds of messages flooded in.

Adrian asked where I was living.

Julian said he could analyze for me whether staying in such a small pack had any future at all.

Sienna sent a lot of crying emojis.

Kael sent the most, from initial accusations to later urging.

[Stop making a scene.]

[I bought you venison hand pies.]

[I had the bookmark made too.]

[If you want to go to the music festival, I’ll figure out how to get tickets.]

As if replacing the missing pieces would restore everything to how it was.

I didn’t reply.

And after I left, their lives started falling apart.

The day they moved into Maplewood Apartments, Adrian realized no one had contacted a moving company.

Julian thought Kael had booked a van.

Kael thought Adrian would arrange it.

In the end, the four of them dragged over a dozen boxes and waited outside the apartment building for two

hours.

I used to handle all of that.

I’d compare prices ahead of time, set the schedule, and number every box.

They just had to show up at the location I sent.

At dinner, they forgot Sienna’s seafood allergy again.

No one made travel plans. No one reminded them about graduation materials. Even the shared photo album

stopped the day I left.

All the thoughtfulness they’d taken for granted hadn’t appeared out of thin air.

Late at night, Adrian opened the Pack family group and realized that for years, I had been the one reminding

them about every birthday, holiday, and dinner.

But my birthday hadn’t been remembered in that group for three years straight.

While organizing his computer, Julian found an album named “Five People.”

It held over three thousand photos.

Four people growing from teenagers to adults, smiling brightly in every one.

Almost all of them were taken by me.

He scrolled to the end and couldn’t find a single solo photo that truly belonged to me.

Kael, meanwhile, found a dusty cardboard box in the storage closet of the old apartment.

Inside were the cups, plates, and a handwritten list I’d bought for our future home.

At the top of the list:

[Things we need to prepare for living together.]

Every item had a price and purchase date next to it.

At the very bottom was a line in small handwriting.

[Once Kael moves in, it’ll be home.]

Kael stared at that line for a long time.

That night, for the first time, he didn’t ask when I was coming back.

He sent one line:

[Freya, did I do something wrong?]

I glanced at it and turned off the screen.

Some questions came already too late by the time they were asked.

The day of the music festival, the four of them still went.

They stood at the entrance, holding four tickets.

No one spoke.

Last year, after failing to get tickets, I’d forwarded the band’s tour news to Kael.

[Next year. We have to go.]

He’d replied with a single “Okay.”