Where Snow Can't Follow

In a moment, I felt like all the wind had been taken out of my sails. All the times we fought seemed like nothing but a joke.

Wrapping my wet jacket closer around my body, a single thought began to sprout and take root in my mind. I wanted to go somewhere warm.

A place with no winter, no snow… And no Lucas.

-

I blocked all of Lucas' contacts, including his friends.

Out of the blue, a message popped up from an unknown number. It was Lulu Harper, the woman Lucas got engaged with.

"Lucas is engaged with me now, and you have no idea how much he dotes on me. If I were you, I'd back off and save myself some dignity.

"He used to hate your guts, you know? Every time he met you, he'd buy me a gift to make it up to me! Everything you have, I have too, and more!

"Stop buzzing around him like a fly, and I won't tell everyone that you tried to seduce my man."

Lulu Harper was the ditzy, clumsy little assistant that was always fumbling around and making mistakes around Lucas. Petite and fragile, even a single harsh word was enough to make her eyes well up with tears like a helpless kitten… So did Lucas know that she could be this arrogant?

She had always been scheming against me in the shadows, spilling wine on my custom-made gown and deliberately breaking my diamond necklace.

I'd seen through her façade ages ago, seeing her for the manipulative witch that she really was, yet Lucas treated her like a crown jewel. Whenever my tone became just the slightest bit harsh, he'd swoop in like a knight in shining armor.

Thinking back, I mourned for my poor dress and jewellery.

I had fought back, but Lucas would only say I had plenty of those frivolous things and that Lulu was just a young girl who had just started working—telling me not to make things difficult for her.

Plenty or not, they were mine. If she broke them, she should pay. Isn't that just common sense?

With that thought in mind, I handed all the information I had to my lawyer, telling him to get back every last penny Lulu owed me. Then, I pulled out my phone's SIM card and tossed it into the trash.

Then, I sincerely wished for this scumbag and this gold digger to torment each other for the rest of their lives.

When my parents came upstairs and saw me packing my suitcase, their faces filled with concern.

"Susan, are you sure about this? Lucas really did cross the line this time, so we'll go to their family and ask for an explanation!"

Both our families had always assumed Lucas and I would end up together. Our families were well-matched in stature, and we'd grown up as childhood sweethearts, so it was the natural course of events.

"Mom, Dad, if you want to leave me some dignity, then don't go. Besides, isn't it good that I'll be helping Tony with his business overseas? Didn't you always want me to gain some experience in the field?"

The shock in their faces was unsurprising, considering how I spent my entire youth chasing after Lucas like a lovestruck fool… Which I had been.

"You've thought this through, haven't you?" My mom asked, her tone careful.

I walked over and hugged them tight, my voice steady and filled with resolve, "Sorry for worrying you two so much in the past… From now on, I'll change."

They had always had high hopes for me, just like they did for my brother, Tony. I was the one who was too blinded by love and too stubborn to do anything but prioritize Lucas over everyone else.

"Alright, that's more like it! If you've made up your mind, then go for it! Don't worry, your old man will be there to support you if anything happens!"

I agreed, choking up in emotion.

The moment I boarded the flight headed overseas, that foolish chapter of my life finally came to an end.

-

That night, Lucas kept waiting for Susan, or at least for a call.

Very patronizing, he thought about how he'd do her a favor and pick up when she called, and endure her crying and clinging onto him.

No matter how much he waited, however, nothing came.

He felt like a kite that had its string severed, leaving it to drift away into the air, and he was suddenly left with an unsettling feeling of emptiness.

"Lucas, I can't hold on any longer... I gotta sleep," Sean mumbled, barely able to keep his eyes open.