Chapter 6: The Last Goodbye

I wondered if I owed him a real goodbye—closure, like they say. I used to judge TV heroines for sobbing through their breakups, mascara running. But now I got it. Trying to rip Nathan out of my heart was like tearing out a piece of myself. The tears just came, ugly and unstoppable.

I nearly turned back to yell at him, to make him feel what I was feeling. But what would that change? He wouldn’t notice.

So I left, suitcase in hand, not looking back. I paid extra to change my flight, didn’t even flinch. Sitting at O’Hare, watching the city lights blur through the windows, I waited for boarding.

Right before I got on the plane, Nathan texted: "I got home. Your things are gone. Rachel, why did you suddenly leave? We need to talk about this rationally."

Once, that message would have made me desperate for hope. Now, it was just ironic. No one disappears suddenly in love—it’s a slow fade, a thousand little heartbreaks.

I replied, "Let’s break up."

His call came through immediately, Nathan’s name lighting up my screen. As the plane took off, the city lights blurred below, and I finally let myself cry.