Chapter 1
When our long-distance relationship finally ended and we were excited to start a life together, my boyfriend enlisted in the army with a dramatic, “Serve the country.”
I held on for two years, surviving on nothing but a half-hour call every week.
Then, during a business trip in a foreign city, I saw him. Chand Kimball. The guy who was supposed to be stationed at the border. Instead, he was dressed sharp, escorting a woman into a fancy sports car.
She laughed, her voice carrying in the air.
“Chand, are you still pretending to be the deep, poetic type? Sandra isn’t like the people in our circle. If she finds out you’ve been married for two years and still messing with that little chick on the side, she’ll divorce you.”
Chand stepped on the gas.
“Let’s just end it on our anniversary in five days. Sandra’s already planning to celebrate with posters all over the city. No way to hide it anymore.”
I wiped my tears, pulled myself together and agreed when my mom pushed me to go on a blind date.
But later, I heard Chand walked away from everything, left with nothing, covered in blood, just to get the chance to marry me.
The smell of exhaust stung my throat, making me cough. My hands shook as I typed out a message. [When will you be discharged from the army?]
Silence. In the sports car, Chand barely glanced at his phone before tossing it aside. I watched him drive off, my grip tightening on my phone. My chest felt too tight, my breathing unsteady.
I kept sending messages. No response. I scrolled up, staring at the endless green bubbles on my
screen.
Over the past two years, I had sent Chand tens of thousands of messages. He had replied to maybe just a few times.
And I had kept going, holding onto those scraps of love, convincing myself they were enough. I typed “Sandra” and his name into the search bar. The first news article popped up. [A well-known jewelry designer marries the young heir of the Kimball Family! A perfect match!]
The date? The day after I sent Chand off to the army. He got on that train, kissed me goodbye…
and then married Sandra Walsh.
The phone rang. I hesitated, covering the screen with my hand before slowly sliding it away. When I saw my mom’s name, my heart turned cold. “Jayla, when are you coming home? How much longer are you going to stay with that man?”
I swallowed hard, my chest tightening. Tears slid down my face, silent and steady. “Mom, I’ll come back. I’ll do what you want. I’ll go on the blind date. I can’t do this anymore.”
She hung up, satisfied. Meanwhile, I sat there, lost in memories.
For years, I worried about Chand struggling in the army. I saved up, buying him quilts and clothes. He refused them over and over, so I just sent him the money instead.
And now, standing here, I realized everything I gave him over the years wasn’t even worth as much as the watch on his wrist.
The screen of my phone lit up, then dimmed again. I walked back to our rental in a daze, barely feeling my own footsteps.
Under the bed, I pulled out an old cardboard box and opened it. Inside were stacks of letters. I picked one up, then another, reading them over.
From the day we started dating to the day he enlisted to now, we had been together for exactly 1,825 days.
These letters had always made me feel like his love was still with me.
Even when my friend joked that he probably copied them from Google, I told myself Chand just wasn’t good at expressing himself.
I looked around the room. Just a few faded photos on the wall. Years of love and I was the only one holding on.
Then the door opened. Chand walked in, dragging a big suitcase. He reached for my hand, rubbing it gently between his palms, his voice carrying a hint of complaint. “Jayla, I told you I was discharged early. Why didn’t you come pick me up?”
The warmth of his touch made my tears fall before I could stop them. It felt like a dream, a story Chand had spun just for the moment.
And I only had five days left in it because he had already decided how it would end.
