After I Left, He Begged Me to Come Back

I hesitated for a moment before accepting the friend request, replying with a simple question mark.

But there was no response.

Driven by a mix of fear and curiosity, I clicked on her profile. Her latest post was barely five minutes old, an image of a bouquet of blooming roses and two hands tangled together.

The caption read: [Wishing to be with my love forever.]

The roses matched the ones that had arrived this morning. And that hand, unmistakably, was Trevor’s.

My thoughts went blank, my chest tightening with an unbearable ache.

In the blink of an eye, she updated her profile with another photo, this time, a hand, glittering with a diamond ring, resting on the side of a man’s face.

The caption read only: [I do.]

The sequined silver dress she wore gleamed in the picture, the same glint of light I’d seen in Trevor’s video call just moments earlier.

It was like a slap to my face, a sharp sting that burned my cheeks. The softness and understanding I had felt for him now seemed nothing more than foolishness, a cruel joke at my expense.

It didn’t take long for more messages to flood in:

[He’d rather cross half the city to be with me than spend Valentine’s Day with you.]

[Love doesn’t care who was there first. The one unloved is the true outsider.]

[Miss Falconridge, Trevor and I are very happy together. I hope you’ll back off.]

Then came a video file, thirty minutes long. The thumbnail alone was enough to make my heart stop. I didn’t have the courage to press play.

Trembling, I held the phone, tears blurring my vision and dripping onto the screen. How could this be happening? How could Trevor betray me like this?

Wiping away my tears, I fumbled and accidentally hit play. The screen immediately filled with an obscene scene, the sound of their voices, hers and Trevor’s, grating against my soul. Then, I heard it. That all-too-familiar "baby."

In that instant, my heart broke into a thousand pieces.

Until that very moment, I had desperately hoped it was all a misunderstanding, just a coincidence. But the truth was undeniable: after comforting me that morning, Trevor had turned around and gone straight to a hotel with someone else.

The nausea rose in my chest.

I wanted to confront her, but every message I sent was met with a glaring red exclamation mark; she had already blocked me. It seemed her only purpose was to declare war.

A noise behind me snapped me from my thoughts. Quickly, I turned off my screen and tried to compose myself.

“What are you watching?” My bestfriend, Scarlett, teased, leaning in closer. “It’s Valentines today! Studying for a surprise to blow Trevor away?”

She gave me a playful nudge. “I’ve got to hand it to you, you really know how to pick ’em! Trevor’s got it all, the looks, the body, and he’s totally head over heels for you. Men like that, when can I get one?”

A “perfect catch,” huh?

I forced a smile, but all I could see was Trevor’s face from that video.

I was six years older than him. Five years ago, I had returned to my old university to visit a professor, and that was when he fell for me, head over heels, at first sight.

Back then, he was a sophomore, and I had already been worn down by three years of the grind in the real world.

I didn’t take his pursuit seriously at first. Young love was often just infatuation with looks, how much of it was genuine? With my background, I’d never been one to believe in intense emotions. Love was a luxury: nice to have but hardly essential.

Even after we started dating, I never thought we’d last.

When I fell sick on a business trip to Canada and needed surgery, he wasted no time booking the earliest flight to be with me. As dawn broke and the first light filled the sterile hospital room, he gently held my hand and whispered, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here with you.”

His smile was comforting, and he added, “I’ll stay with you forever.”

Looking back, that smile was so genuine, full of the kind of young love that pours from the eyes, raw and unfiltered.

“I swear, I’ll treat you well for life,” he promised, sliding a soda tab onto my ring finger, making a vow that we would be together forever.

With the Canadian breeze brushing against us, I could hear his heartbeat, and at that moment, I began to picture a future with him.

Later, after he graduated, he turned down an overseas study opportunity without even telling me, choosing to start working right away.

Furious, I grabbed his ear, demanding an explanation. He simply chuckled, brushing a hand through my hair and pulling me into a tight embrace, saying, “I didn’t want to wait that long. I wanted to start earning so I could build a home for you.”

I hesitated, asking, “And if you regret it one day...”

Before I could finish, he placed a hand over my mouth, pressing a soft kiss to my lips, and teasingly scolded, “Don’t say that. This is my choice, and I’ll never regret it. Trevor loves Amara, and that will never change.”

His warm gaze softened something deep inside me. His tenderness melted away my doubts, and I began to believe in us more.

Six months into his first job, the industry hit a rough patch, and his company shut down, leaving him without work. I held him close, murmuring reassurance, telling him it was okay and that better opportunities would come.

That night, he held me tightly, his face pressed against my neck, his tears staining my shirt.

He spoke with a cracked voice, helpless and choked, whispering, “What should I do, Amara? How can I make more money, build us a home?”

I leaned into him, feeling the steady thump of his heartbeat beneath my ear.

At that time, my art studio was beginning to bloom, and I teased that I could support us. He didn’t say a word, only holding me tighter as if his silence spoke volumes.

From then on, he poured himself into job hunting, working around the clock. To climb the ladder faster, he studied non-stop outside of work, even finishing a part-time Master’s. Every night, he came home exhausted, falling into my arms.

I urged him to take a break, but he only flashed a mischievous grin, leaning in for a kiss. “How could saving for you ever wear me down?” His eyes shone with an unshakable resolve.

At that moment, I believed without a doubt that this young man would give up everything to protect me.

But when did the man who vowed to love me forever transform? In those stolen moments with another woman, did he recall the promises he made to me?