Lost in the Pause

Eloise couldn't remember how she got off the cruise or how she found her way back to her apartment.

All she remembered was Jonathan's hand striking her across the face and the deafening laughter that had ensued around her afterward. The guests had spat abuse at her, calling her a shameless whore and a homewrecker who failed.

She was then "accidentally" jostled and pushed by the crowd. Each time they shoved her around like they were passing a ball, she could hear men and women alike laughing at her. The noises eventually formed a tidal wave and crashed over her, threatening to pull her into the rowdy undertow.

As for her so-called fiance? He carried his half-drowned first love and walked away without so much as a backward glance at Eloise, even though she'd gotten hurt on her birthday.

Eloise thought she'd never shed a tear for Jonathan again, but traitorous tears cascaded endlessly down her face nonetheless. When she returned home, she soaked herself in the tub.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Sonia had made it into that evening's list of trending topics on social media. Someone had posted the footage of Jonathan cradling Sonia while seeking medical help for her, and the netizens lauded them with blessings.

It wasn't long before someone dug out Jonathan and Sonia's history.

Everyone soon found out that Jonathan and Sonia were heirs to prestigious families. They were practically a power couple. Their relationship was an example of refined and materialistic perfection, a pair who had grown from childhood friends to sweethearts.

Even the story of how Jonathan had risked his life to save Sonia was included. No one could come close to beating such a flawless match. It didn't take long for the netizens to become fans of this pairing.

Eloise, whose face had been blurred in the footage, was always the forgotten one.

Sonia posted on her Instagram, too. "Of all the fields we've played, we're still each other's endgame."

Accompanying that caption was a picture of Sonia getting an IV drip while Jonathan fussed over her. In the picture, Jonathan had a bleeding cut on his finger, presumably from peeling fruits.

Eloise double-tapped on Sonia's post, then unfollowed the latter. She also unfollowed Jonathan, Helena, David, and the sycophantic scions on her list.

When Eloise's body was feeling much better after a long soak in the tub, she rose and put on her clothes. After that, she began to plan her future. She decided she'd travel around the world for a year once her love for Jonathan had been erased. To do so, she'd have to sort out her business in advance.

It was already dark outside by the time she was done planning.

At that moment, Marie called. "Hello, darling. The surgery's tomorrow. Will you be able to make it, or shall I reschedule your session?"

"It's alright, Grandma. I've already bought the plane tickets."

The love-erasure surgery had yet to officially launch in the medical industry, and the ones presiding over Eloise's surgery were elites in the medical research world. Their time was precious, and she didn't want their trips to be wasted.

Having hung up, Eloise dropped by the house she and Jonathan used to live in. It had been a while since anyone occupied the property, which explained the overgrown plants and grass in the yard.

Eloise walked about 15 steps along the pebbled path before stopping at the second evergreen tree. She dug up a little box and opened it. A pretend marriage certificate lay within, and written on it were her and Jonathan's names.

"Ellie, what does it mean to be married?" Jonathan had asked her once.

"It probably means that we'll get to sleep together, eat together, live together, and never be apart when we grow up. We'll be closer than anyone else we know," Eloise had answered.

"I don't ever want to be apart from you. Must we wait until we grow up to get married? I want us to be married now."

"No, I can't marry you now. If I do, you'll be committing a crime."

"How do we make it not a crime, then?" Jonathan pressed earnestly.

"I think you might get away with it in the olden days."

That year, Jonathan had the mental capacity of a seven-year-old, but he pored over various books and tried to understand the complex sentences in them. He then mimicked those in the olden days and painstakingly penned a "marriage certificate".

At the time, Jonathan had loved Eloise boldly and unreservedly. He once told her, "We'll spend forever together, Ellie."

There was once when Marie came by to take Eloise away. Jonathan had chased after their car through half the city barefoot, leaving bloody footprints in his wake. He'd nearly lost his life as he clutched the marriage certificate and cried out Eloise's name hysterically.

That day, Eloise caved and got out of the car.

But now, the man who vowed to protect her forever had shoved her aside and hurt her until she was barely whole. Eloise's heart grew colder and colder, and she didn't even realize she was crying until her tears splattered on the back of her hand.

She forcefully tore the marriage certificate into shreds, then tossed those pieces into the air along with the scattered moments of her past.

"I will love you forever, Ellie. No one will pick on you on my watch!"

"Ellie, I'll behave from now on. Don't get on your knees anymore, okay?"

"Ellie, I'm better now. I'll protect you for the rest of your life."

"You know I can't just watch Sonia die."

"What the hell are you playing at, Eloise?"

"Why couldn't you have just drowned at sea, Eloise?"

Eloise had stuck by Jonathan's side for five years, yet she was still no match for Sonia.