Echoes of a Lost Love

The day after I returned to my home country, my old classmates ambushed me with an invitation to a reunion.

In the hotel, I ran into my ex, Shawn Quinn, whom I hadn't seen in five years.

The room froze when he pulled out a ring and proposed.

Gasps rippled through the crowd. They all expected me to jump at the chance, given how hard I had chased him back in the day.

They forgot the gut-punch of our graduation day. Shawn had sided with another woman, letting her paint me as a plagiarist, a cheater, a bully.

The school authorities revoked my diploma and kicked me out of the ceremony.

Humiliated, I fled abroad, leaving behind a shattered heart.

Now, his best friend told me, "Shawn pulled strings to get your diploma back despite your past mistakes. He never forgot about you. He has been waiting for you all these years. You're his only love."

"Scarlett, are you even listening?" Karl Compton, Shawn Quinn's best friend, plopped down next to me at the reunion.

He rambled on, sounding impatient, "You know how much Shawn hates his family. He didn't take a dime from them when he started his company. But for your diploma, he groveled to his dad."

Curious or mocking gazes came from the other classmates.

Honestly, hearing that name after five years felt foreign. The burning love I'd once carried for him had long since fizzled, drowned in the relentless tide of time.

Five years ago, I'd boarded a plane without a goodbye, so few people here knew I was married now.

I just wasn't sure if Karl's words were his own or if Shawn put him up to it.

Either way, it didn't matter.

I pressed my lips together. "Shawn and I are ancient history. What you're saying doesn't mean anything to me."

Karl's jaw dropped, and the room's chatter hiccupped into silence.

After all, I chased Shawn for three years, made a huge scene, and nearly got the school leadership involved.

I used to buy him breakfast every day, rain or shine. When his stomach acted up, I braved snowstorms to get him medicine.

If a girl confessed to him, I'd show up to stake my claim. When he needed money for his startup, I emptied my savings and even sold my 16th birthday gift.

Behind closed doors, I ate cheap food for a semester. Before that, I had always lived in abundance.

My efforts paid off, or so I thought. Shawn finally said yes, and for a while, he was the boyfriend of my dreams.

He'd take good care of me during my cramps, carry me piggyback when my heels betrayed me, and shut down anyone who called me a simp.