The Wind Between Our Goodbye

Since I could not wrap my head around Josie's behavior, I stopped thinking about it. I was not going to waste time on strangers–not anymore.

I carried on with my studies and checked out the city.

On the day I was about to leave, I headed for the Disnelleland theme park. I did not expect to bump into Xander and Josie again.

"Josephine, why are you stalking Xander again?" gasped Josie, pretending to be stumped. She continued, "If you love him, you have to accept that friendship comes first to him, and love second. We're only friends having a good time. Don't overthink it."

The same excuse over and over again, always trying to provoke me so I would lose my cool.

I could not be bothered with her, so I turned to leave when Xander called out to me, "Since you're here, join us."

After a moment of surprise, I finally understood. His sudden concern was not out of love, but of guilt.

The kiss he had with Josie had crossed the line, after all.

"Xander, I want some ice cream."

After sending Xander away, Josie looked at me in disgust. "Why won't you just get lost? He's only asking you to stay out of pity. The person he truly loves is me."

I finally asked, "Since you only treat him as a friend, why do you care who he truly loves?"

Josie snickered. "Back then, he wasn't good enough for me. But look at how amazing he's become! He is finally a worthy match for me."

She added, "No man would ever cherish someone like you who keeps sticking around. Only by playing hot and cold, he'd forever go mad for me.

"I know that you two have booked your divorce dates. Get it done today, or I'll show you what I'm capable of!"

Before I could see what she was 'capable' of, a sudden commotion erupted among the crowd.

Two men who had gotten into an argument while lining up started fighting.

Their burly bodies slammed toward us.

Nearby, Xander threw the ice cream in his hands to the ground and yelled, "Josie!" He ran over, looking nervous.

In the blink of an eye, he wrapped his arms around Josie and pulled her to the side, while I was knocked to the ground. Warm blood trickling down my head blurred my vision.

He was calling out to her. I should have known.

I headed to the hospital on my own to get my wounds cleaned and dressed. When I exited the hospital, Xander arrived in a rush.

He opened the door to the passenger seat and pushed me inside without saying anything.

"Josie fainted at the sight of blood. I had to settle her first, but I came as soon as I could."

While waiting for the traffic light, he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel before saying determinedly, "I admit I had neglected you, but when something happened to you, I finally realized that the person most important to me isn't Josie. It's you.

"Josie, let's cancel the divorce. I promise I won't ever let you suffer again."

My wound throbbed faintly as I was in a daze.

Xander finally decided to choose me. The Josie he was referring to was finally me.

Past-Me would have cried tears of joy, but it was all too late.

I would never forget how, when I was in danger, he went to someone else's aid instead of me.

"Too happy to speak?" He smiled and caressed my head.

He added, "I have a surprise for you tonight. It's something you've always wanted."

Oh? Too bad, the only thing I wanted at that moment was for him to leave.

When he had just parked outside the city hall, his phone rang.

It was his personalized ringtone for Josie.

"Xander, I think someone is following me. I'm really scared."

After a moment of hesitation, Xander handed me the documents. "You go ahead and cancel them. I'll come as soon as I can. I'm only treating her as a good friend now–honest. You have to believe me."

"Alright," I replied calmly, as if this was not the last time we were seeing each other.

After getting the divorce certificate, I scanned the place where I had lived for the past seven years.

The place where I once thought was home had slowly turned into a prison.

After a moment, I placed Xander's certificate on his desk, along with a thumb drive. That was my surprise for him.

Maybe a scare, too.

After all, in the thumb drive were not only Josie's disgusting acts, but also the secrets to how he managed to climb through the ranks so quickly over the past few years.

Even if I was leaving, I was not going to let them off the hook. This was payback for being lied to and the suffering of the past 10 years.

Before night fell, I left without looking back.