Proposal No. 18: Still Lost to Her Childhood Sweetheart Chapter 09
No matter how “perfect” one seemed, it was all the same. In the face of love, wasn’t everyone equally pathetic?
After I landed, my phone was flooded with notifications. As I looked at the glaring red alerts, I shook my head, feeling somewhat awkward.
Hailey had never been someone who cared about me. This was the first time she had called and texted so much, all because she was afraid of losing me.
But her affection that came too late was worthless to me.
I deleted and blocked her number, then threw myself entirely into my work.
Being busy helped with making me forget all the pain, but it could also bring about gains.
However, the biggest surprise was that Hailey still came looking for me
I didn’t know how she found out where I was. When I encountered her, I treated her as a stranger and ignored her.
After the third time I ignored her, Hailey asked me while crying, “Do you have to be like this?”
She stood directly in front of me and acted as if she would start shouting the moment I said something harsh.
It was after work hours, so many of my colleagues and company partners were passing by.
Feeling like my head was about to explode, I could only take Hailey to a nearby cafe.
“I thought we made things very clear, Hailey. We’ve already broken up. Wouldn’t it be better to keep things dignified?”
I couldn’t understand what point there was in her chasing after me like this.
Hailey had lost some weight, and her face showed her weariness.
“Daniel, don’t be like this. I asked so many people before I managed to find this place. I really know I made a mistake. I’ll stay with you from now on and look after you, okay?”
I didn’t want to waste my breath on her, so my tone was rather cold when I spoke. “Hailey, stop bothering me. You’re an adult, and so am I. We both have our own lives. Let’s end it here.”
With that, I left her behind and went back to busying myself with work.
Things were progressing well here. In a few days, I could fly to another city to continue working on the project.
Ethan even called to praise me. He told me to keep it up and said there were plenty of promotion opportunities ahead.
It had been a long time since I’d thought about Hailey. If she hadn’t suddenly appeared, I would have forgotten about those unpleasant memories.
Looking back, it hadn’t been that long ago, yet it felt like a lifetime had passed. The memories seemed somewhat distant now.
Daisy noticed something off with my mood and asked me about it.
I found the whole thing strange, so I asked her in return, “Do people only realize what they have after they lose it?
“I don’t think so. She was mostly unwilling to accept it. You treated her so well, and you left just like that. Anyone would find it hard to take. When someone who’s always followed you around suddenly leaves, it’ll hurt.
“In other words, she might not necessarily love you or miss you. She might just miss how well you treated her.”
That cruel truth made my face turn pale.
Hailey persisted and kept waiting outside the hotel. She did many things she would never have done before.
She bought me flowers, cooked different meals, and planned “romantic” surprises.
These were the perks only Eric used to get, and her doing the same things now just felt forced.
I ignored her every day, regardless of whether she cried, begged, or got hurt.
None of it concerned me anymore. Letting go of each other meant just that.
On the last day before I left, Eric came. He looked even more disheveled than before, and his wrists were covered with apparent, fresh cuts.
Hailey was fed up with him clinging to her and shouted angrily, “Then just die!”
