011
I reached out to wipe away his unshed tears, my fingers lingering briefly over his lips, caressing them with bittersweet nostalgia.
I realized everything too late.
If I had uncovered the affair earlier, if I had seen through Lennon’s pursuit, if I had given up my career and returned to my family sooner, would things have turned out differently?
Unfortunately, there were no “ifs” in life. That word carried a weight too heavy for anyone to bear.
My friends might deceive me, my lover might betray me, but my career never lied, nor did the life I had chosen.
I could only move forward.
Lennon reached out, clutching at the hem of my clothes, his voice trembling as he begged me not to leave. Over and over again.
But this time, my resolve was unshakable. I gently pried his fingers away, one by one.
曲
I resigned from the orchestra. When I told the group leader, he looked at me with shock. I excused my decision by saying that I needed time abroad to recover.
He nodded, his expression softening with understanding. Then, with a sigh, he added that Lennon’s reputation had taken a severe hit because of “the incident.” His promotion had been revoked, rumors had spread like wildfire and eventually, he had resigned.
As for Mia, she had been expelled from the group. Her deliberate attempt to harm someone had left her with a criminal record and an unspoken ban within the industry. She would never be hired again.
The news caught me off guard because disrupting Lennon’s career had never been part of my plan.
Love Does Not Wait Forever
Besides, knowing him as I did, I doubted he would care about such rumors.
As I bid farewell to the group leader, his quiet words followed me out the door. “That guy, Lennon, he still loves
you.”
A realization washed over me. Because he loved me, he cared about the rumors. Because he loved me, not stand the whispers.
But it was too late.
he could
I was not lying to the group leader. A foreign orchestra had sent me an offer and it included a position as
concertmaster.
The day of my flight, I received a call from Lennon. He got a new number because I had blocked his old one.
The airport’s signal was poor, the line crackling with static, but his cautious tone was unmistakable.
“Claire, I heard you’re leaving today. Have you packed everything? Are you sure you haven’t forgotten anything? Will you…”
“I will never come back, Lennon,” I interrupted him, knowing full well what he wanted to ask.
Lennon had never been one for nostalgia, but his persistence in trying to win me back was relentless.
Several orchestra members subtly approached me with questions about my future plans. I did not need to ask to know the source. It was Lennon, trying to stay informed through others.
The silence on the other end of the phone stretched on. Only the faint “sizzling” sound of static filled the void.
It went on for so long that I thought the call had been dropped. But then Lennon’s voice broke through, slow and
deliberate.
“Claire, do you hate me?”
I froze, caught off guard. For a moment, I wondered what kind of script Lennon was playing out this time. Then he
spoke again.
“You must hate me. I’m the one who wasted your youth, the one who failed to keep my promise of giving you a happy home.”
“I was cleaning my house the other day and realized how little time we actually spent together these past few years. We’ve been apart just as much as we’ve been together. I used to blame you and your constant performances for keeping us apart. But the truth is, I never tried. I never made the effort to truly pursue you.”
“I was like a child, standing in the same place, thinking that if I caused enough of a stir, you’d turn around and look at me. But by the time I realized my mistake, you were already far ahead and I was still standing in that same
spot.”
“I kept betting that you’d be angry because of Mia and me. That you wouldn’t be able to let go of me. But in the end, I was wrong. The one who really couldn’t let go was me.”
I heard a faint shuffling sound like he was holding the phone further away, but his muffled voice still reached me.
Small, choked sobs also followed.
“Lennon…”
I opened my mouth to say his name, only to realize my own voice was just as hoarse.
