Chapter 8
After living in Santa Fe for half a
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Chapter 8
Chapter 8
After living in Santa Fe for half a year, I’d gotten pretty used to this pace of life.
Val had always been by my side; we worked at the shop, and when we wanted a break, we could just go out to explore.
In fact, he took me to Twilight Summit twice.
Up on the summit, he gently held me in his arms, looking all soft and sweet.
“Sweetheart, let me take care of you for the rest of my life, okay?”
I nodded with a smile.
I always thought back to that one thing Mom said when she was still around.
She went to a tarot reader, who told her my
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I figured I’d have to grow up and make some money before finally reaching that mountain.
I always dreamed of taking Mom there someday, so she could meet my soulmate with her own eyes.
But sadly, she passed away way too early.
Her last wish was for me to visit Twilight Summit.
So all these years, I’ve convinced myself that Peter was my soulmate, and I wanted to go to there with him.
But life had other plans, and it turned out it was all already meant to happen.
We dated for eight years, but Peter could never find the time.
And I gave up on him.
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Then I came to the foot of Twilight Summit and met my soulmate.
Suddenly, Val dropped to one knee at the mountain top. The next thing I knew, he pulled out this fancy diamond ring from his pocket and smiled so warmly like the sun.
“Hailey Chavez, will you marry me?”
I quickly nodded, wrapped my arms around his waist, and kissed his lips!
Soon, we got our marriage license!
Meanwhile, Peter probably heard the news from who the hell knows where. That asshole
really showed up to stop me!
Over the past six months, he came to Santa Fe more than 10 times, trying to force me to go back with him.
That asshole said he wasn’t upset I sold “our
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That asshole said he wasn’t upset I sold “our
home“; he’d just buy me the best villa as our wedding home.
He promised he’d make up for all the shit I’ve been through these years, bit by bit.
He even brought out the property deed.
He handed it over to me like some kind of holy offering.
“Babe, look, this is the best riverside villa. It’s in your name, and we’ve even got it notarized. Come back with me and let’s get married, please?”
“Being away from you in six months… It made me realize how much I love you. Hailey, oh Hailey, I can’t lose you!”
Well, I pity him.
I’ve been living my best fucking life without
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I’ve been living my best fucking life without him this past half–year.
But I smiled at him and reached out to take
the property deed. His eyes lit up, probably thinking I agreed, until I slowly spoke.
“Well… Yeah, the villa should be some kind of compensation for all the years I wasted with you. Jeez, I got nothing out of our time together and even lost a lot, too!”
“Consider it a breakup gift.”
After all, his company got off the ground, and I didn’t take a single share.
This villa is worth millions.
It’s what I deserve.
On the day Val and I got our marriage license, I officially announced it on Instagram, and
friends and family flooded in with their
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Chapter 8
WI
mu, ne
Stante com wi, e culum Stop coughing.
When he saw me, he still stepped forward, all
fired up.
“Hailey… don’t leave just yet.”
“I just want to ask you one question-”
“If it weren’t for Josie, would you still have left me? Or would you have married me, and none of this would have happened?”
I thought it over. “Maybe, maybe not.” “But life doesn’t have maybes. Regardless, Josie showed up, and she’s important to you.”
“Maybe I should thank her, after all. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have seen how much of a jerk you are.”
After I said that, I took Val’s hand, and we left my jerk ex behind.
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I saw him stand there for a long, long time.
Then, he faded into a black dot in the distance.
Three months later, I heard news about him again.
Apparently, during our last meeting, he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.
His heavy smoking left his lungs pretty messed up. He knew his days were numbered and came to see me for the last time.
And his lover?
That bitch was hell–bent on becoming Mrs. Iverson. To avoid being called a
homewrecker, she started bragging everywhere that she was pregnant with Peter’s kid.
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But later, her husband found out and rushed back from abroad. He beat the shit out of her, making her lose the baby.
Turns out—damn, that kid wasn’t even Peter’s. Josie, that stupid flirt, just said that shit to make me give up on Peter and leave him.
When he finally saw his childhood friend for who she really was, he took back the villa and all the privileges he’d given her.
In revenge, Josie switched out Peter’s meds with sleeping pills.
During one of his cancer relapses, without getting treated in time, he ended up dying that night.
Soon, his traitor childhood friend got arrested for killing him.
Now that I know all this, it all just feels so
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Chapter 8
at
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fucking absurd and tragic.
But well, it’s none of my business anymore.
