The Indifference of a Man Forgotten (BOOK I)

Chapter 8- The Love of your Life

--Dahlia POV--

I thought I was over him; I was almost certain of it.

But with just a few words, he was able to tell me otherwise.

I stared at him, my heart trembling as I thought of something to say but not a sound dared to leave my throat. He was right. I spoke a lot when I was nervous.

My world trembled under me as the shock of the realisation pounded through me. 

All those days where I went to sleep thinking of him only to wake up to know that he'd never be mine, that emptiness that spoke in volumes when I saw him with a woman that wasn't me, and most memorably, the guilt that refused to leave me knowing that it wasn't his fault.

I hated that he didn't love me, but I hated myself more for hating him. How could I blame him when none of it was his fault? I fell in love with him of my own accord, and it wasn't his responsibility to love me back, it wasn't anyone's.

But still, I don't think I'm ready to let myself be that vulnerable again, I don't think I ever will be. Not after that first time where the ship crashed and burned before sinking to the depths of the ocean without having even left the bloody port.

"I need to go," I whispered.

"What?" I stepped back, causing his hand to fall slack beside him.

"I need to go... It was nice seeing you again, but goodbye," Dipping my head down into a quick nod, I spun around, not giving him a moment to spare as I dashed out of the room as if my feet had caught on fire.

"Wait a minute, hey! Dahlia," 

I ran through the hall, pushing passed people and profusely apologising as I did, going down the familiar hallways that were infested with bittersweet memories that I didn't want to remember right now.

But it felt as though I could finally breathe as I finally escaped the confined building, walking down the entrance steps and making my way towards the main entrance of the institution which stood some feet away from my current self.

Closing my eyes, I looked up to the sky as I breathed in a deep lungful of crisp air, feeling the wind whipping against my face and nipping at my exposed skin as I finally calmed myself down.

I ran without thinking, and now he probably thought I was a complete weirdo.

And... "Oh no, Isaac." I jolted back to reality, realising that I left without saying anything to him, so without another thought, I turned back around, going to head back into the building only to come to a squeaking halt when I saw Marcos jogging towards me.

Damn it, I couldn't seem to think straight right now.

"Are you Cinderella or something? Why would you run away from me like that? It's not even midnight yet," I think it was supposed to be a joke, but it didn't stop the blush from lighting up my face.

If only he knew the about the hold he had on me.

"I-I-"

He chuckled, cutting me off as I silently stared at him, gripping onto the skirt of my dress with enough force to stain my hands white.

I looked up at him as he smiled that wondrous smile at me, those grey eyes of his gleaming with the whole galaxy swimming in them, the stars were glowing, and the moon was holding them all together. Whenever I looked at him, I was reminded of what I loved, and what I couldn't have.

I thought it was going alright at first, but then he made me realise just how terrified I was of him, or rather, of what he could do to me. And he didn't even know it. I thought I had managed to take my heart back, but now that I see him, I see that he still has it gripped in his hands.