A Childhood Promise, A Cold Comeback Chapter 04

A Childhood Promise, A Cold Comeback Chapter 04

One by one, I laid out the gifts Lucas had given me over the years.

This necklace had been my 18th birthday present from him—I’d worn it to school once, only to spot an identical one around Coco’s neck days later.

She’d blushed, saying, “Lucas said if anyone else has something, I should too…”

The box for the limited-edition teddy bear sat empty. Lucas had taken the bear, saying he loved the scent of my perfume on it.

The next day, I saw it perched on Coco’s desk.

Then the heels from my coming-of-age party, the indigo-scented candle…

Everything I’d thought was unique to me had already been handed out to someone else by Lucas.

But it wasn’t even equal.

I thought of how Lucas doted on Coco, how he’d defended her without question, and a scornful smile tugged at my lips.

If that was the case, these things no longer had any reason to exist.

I booked a flight for the next day, planning to spend one last quiet night at home.

But at 2 a.m., the phone jolted me awake.

I fumbled to answer it, but the line stayed silent. I was about to hang up when Lucas’s voice came through, “Haze, I’m sorry.”

My mind snapped to attention—if he was finally going to tell the truth…

Lucas’s tone turned grave, “Coco hurt herself. I can’t leave her alone, so I’m putting off my transfer application for a while…”

The hope that had sparked inside me crashed, leaving only a humiliating, absurd emptiness.

I wanted to scream at him: What about all the pain I’d endured protecting his fake bullying act?

Lucas went on, as if nothing had happened, “Just apologize to her.”

For a second, I thought I’d misheard. “What?”

Lucas’s voice turned hard. “Hazel, you really owe Coco an apology.”

“Can you honestly say her self-harm has nothing to do with you?”

I fell silent, suddenly realizing—with Coco around, every word I said would be wrong.

Lucas spoke again, his voice cold as ice, “Hazel, you’ve disappointed me deeply.”

“Apologize, and we can forget this. I’ll still transfer to the new school with you in two months.”

“Are you really going to be this stubborn, ready to throw away everything we’ve had?”

I heard the threat behind his words loud and clear.

But instead of anger or sadness, all I felt was exhaustion.

I hung up without a word, blocked his number, and deleted his contact.

For the first time in weeks, I looked forward to tomorrow’s flight.

The foreign scenery felt fresh and new as someone took my suitcase from me.

I looked up and met the eyes of the Sullivan family’s legitimate heir, “Hazel Bennett. Long time no see.”

I took his hand, smiling warmly, “Likewise, Silas Tate.”

My phone rang, cutting off our conversation.

I unlocked the screen, surprised to see it was one of Lucas’s friends calling.

I answered, confused, and Lucas’s voice came through, tight with panic, “Haze, which class did you transfer to at Ridgewood?”

“Why does no one there say they’ve seen you?”