Roses, he remembered, were my favorite.
A memory flashed in Simon’s mind.
Nine years ago, in the throes of courtship, he would leave a grand bouquet of roses at my door each day. A different hue for every day of the week.
He never imagined a time would come when he would lose the chance to send even a single petal.
He had planned to make things right with Nicole and I once the dust had settled, but we would not wait around for that day.
His phone broke the silence, ringing.
His ringtone was a snippet of my singing, a playful demand I had made on my last birthday, haunting his phone.
He leapt to check the caller ID, his heart sinking when it was not me. He collapsed back into his seat with no desire to answer.
Then, something struck him. He checked his calendar and the reminder of the day was ‘Happy Birthday, Lily‘.
1/2
Chapter 7
Simon froze.
He had missed his daughter’s birthday and mine.
Overwhelmed, he buried his face in his hands, sobbing.
The phone, relentless, rang again. Simon, fighting the storm inside, finally picked up.
Ella’s sugary voice came through. What was once music to his ears became a grating noise.
He used to hang on her every word, whispering back as if not to startle a delicate songbird.
Suddenly, he could barely stand it, wishing she would transform into his dear Lily.
+15 Bonus
Ella chirped, “Simon, I’m pondering over which brand of champagne we should stack for our engagement party’s champagne
tower-”
Simon could not hide his irritation as he cut her off with a sharp click of his tongue.
“The engagement’s off. I’m not getting married.”
Ella froze on the other end of the line. When she snapped back to reality, she unleashed a torrent of insults at Simon.
‘Just calling off a wedding like that? Ridiculous!‘ she thought.
Simon could not stand another second of it and hung up. Finding Lily was all that mattered.
At the airport, he slumped as the staff confirmed the flight he needed had already landed at their destination.
“Isn’t there anything you can do? Think of something, for heaven’s sake. You’re all useless!”
His outburst echoed through the terminal, throwing a tantrum like a petulant toddler.
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