Leaving Without a Trace

Time flew by, and Isabel hadn't returned, not even once.

I spent several days cleaning the house and clearing through everything—until not a single trace of me could be found.

When the countdown timer went down to two days, I got my keys and left the house to buy Professor Carter a birthday present. He was my humanities professor at college. You could say he acted as the matchmaker for Isabel and me.

After browsing through the mall's offerings for quite some time, I eventually decided to get Professor Carter a garnet pendant. Garnet was said to protect its wearer from harm, and Professor Carter wasn't getting any younger. I hoped the garnet would help ensure that he had many more good years to come.

Professor Carter's birthday fell on the last day I spent in this city. After his birthday celebration, I would fly back home to get married.

Last night, Isabel sent me a text saying that she might not be back because of work. When I failed to respond to her, she called me up to rebuke me.

"If you're unhappy, you should just say so! Why did you get people to cause trouble for Cam at work instead? Hurry up and apologize to him! Cam is a kind and generous person. He won't hold it against you."

I found it laughable. Despite being with me for years, she still thought of me as a petty man who would go behind another person's back to scheme against them.

I ended the call without responding, so she bombarded me with texts once more.

"You've gone too far, Jeremy! I have no idea how you went from being a perfectly nice person to the person you are now!"

…

Isabel and I met in college. We were both enrolled in one of Professor Carter's classes.

Once, a lot of people failed to complete their assignment, including Isabel. Furious, Professor Carter made everyone who didn't finish their work stand up. When he walked over to me, he eyed Isabel and I with a strange look.

"You two sit together all the time, so I'm guessing you're a couple. Well, in that case, why did you complete your assignment without reminding your girlfriend to do the same?"

Isabel and I both flushed with embarrassment.

The young me back then would've never thought that I would end up wasting so many years of my youth on Isabel.

After setting aside my melancholic reminiscing, I went over to Professor Carter's place and knocked on the door. He happily escorted me into the house.

When I told him I resigned from my job and was planning to head back to my hometown to get married, he stared at me in shock.

Shoving his glasses up his nose bridge, he asked, "Does Isabel know about this?"

"We're not right for each other," I replied without giving any further explanation.

Sighing, Professor Carter said, "Jeremy, I know you're a decent man. There are things you don't wish to air in public. Nevertheless, some of us heard about what happened at the wedding. Isabel did you wrong, didn't she?

"I'd invited her over today as well, and I was going to help you two patch things up. But since you've decided, I won't make any further comments. It's Isabel's loss…"

For the past few years, I cut off contact with my family for Isabel's sake. As a result, I didn't even have someone to look after me when I was hospitalized. But I didn't cry then. I also didn't cry when Isabel faulted me for everything or when I got into a car accident and nearly died.

But now, tears abruptly pooled in my eyes.

"You need to take good care of yourself, Professor Carter. I'll come and visit whenever I can," I said.

As for Isabel… I probably wasn't the one she wanted to marry anyway.

I didn't want to dwell on this subject, so I started chatting with Professor Carter about other things. Just as I was about to leave, the doorbell rang, and Isabel arrived with Cameron in tow.

"You know, Izzy, vacations are only fun when you have someone with you. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to accompany me," Cameron gushed.

Isabel and Cameron were holding hands, but when Isabel noticed I was inside the house, she quickly let go.

"Oh. You're here, Jeremy. Please don't misunderstand. I was just feeling a little exuberant just now. Izzy and I were out having fun the last few days. You must've been bored all alone at home. We'll ask you to join us next time," Cameron offered.

Once he finished speaking, Isabel surreptitiously shielded him behind her before saying to me, "Cam means well."

It was as though she feared I would injure Cameron somehow.

I let out a self-deprecating chuckle. In the past, I would've been incredibly upset. Fortunately for me, I no longer loved her.

While we were eating, Isabel focused entirely on Cameron. She didn't even bother to look at me once. She even peeled prawns and buttered rolls for him. The two of them chatted away, looking like a sweet couple.

Even Professor Carter couldn't take it anymore. He slammed his cutlery down and snapped, "Isabel! Jeremy's right here, you know. How can you be so intimate with another guy in front of him? That's unforgivable!"

Hearing that, Cameron quickly sat up straight. He wiped his mouth with his napkin before saying, "Please calm down, Professor Carter. Izzy and I grew up together. Maybe we're just closer than most people."

With an awkward expression, he turned to Isabel and said, "I'll do it myself, Izzy."

Isabel nonchalantly served him some food and said, "You did nothing wrong. Here, have some more."

"Someone like you is no student of mine!" Professor Carter declared angrily.

Eyeing Isabel in dissatisfaction, he continued, "What is Jeremy supposed to think when you're behaving like this with another man right in front of him? Aren't you worried about hurting him? What if you never get to mend your relationship with him?"

Isabel smirked sarcastically and replied, "We didn't complete our wedding ceremony, and we didn't register our marriage either. He even blocked my number, so it's not like I can do anything to mend our relationship."

"So be it. Do whatever you want. You'll regret it once Jeremy marries someone else," Professor Carter snapped.

"Professor Carter," I called out.

Tugging on his sleeve, I shook my head at him. Only then did he stop talking.

However, Isabel looked over with a knowing expression, remarking, "Are you still a child? I can't believe you complained to our professor about this.

"I didn't say I'm not going to marry you. I just want to delay the wedding for a while. What's the rush? Are you that afraid you won't be able to find yourself a wife?"

Looking up, I snorted and replied, "You're right. I'm worried I'll never find myself a wife, but what does that have to do with you? I'd rather live the rest of my life as a bachelor than marry you."

Seeing how tense the atmosphere was, Cameron quickly poured himself a cup of steaming hot tea.

"Jeremy, you're a little older than Isabel and me, so it's a bit harder for us to communicate with each other, but I do respect you like an older brother. Can you and Izzy stop fighting because of me? Allow me to offer you a toast today."

With that, he brought the cup of tea to drink, but he accidentally splattered the hot tea on himself. Immediately, he clutched his arm and started howling.

Isabel frantically searched the house for a soothing balm to apply to his scalded skin. The sight of that reminded me of the old her who once loved me deeply.

Before I even snapped out of my reverie, I heard Isabel berating me, "I'm so disappointed in you, Jeremy!"

She marched off with Cameron, and amid Professor Carter's sighs, I took a cab to the airport.

Along the way, Isabel called me. She was just about to speak when I heard Cameron crying out in pain.

Isabel hastily said to someone on her end, "Don't press too hard! Even though he's an adult, he's afraid of pain. You have to be gentle with him!"

Only when she was done barking instructions did she recall she was on the phone with me.

"Jeremy, if you still want to maintain our relationship, you better apologize to Cam at once! He only got scalded because he felt guilty toward you. You're a fully grown man! Must you be so petty?"

Even now, I had no clue what I did wrong. How was she capable of coming up with all sorts of ridiculous excuses to pin the blame on me?

I looked at my arm. It still had scars from when I got hit by a car. All of the hurt and disappointment that had been building up inside me recently finally got the better of me.

"Let's break up, Isabel," I said curtly. "Like you said, we haven't gotten married yet anyway. Let's just never see each other again."

The boarding call for my flight rang out, so I ended the call before Isabel had a chance to respond.