Chapter 9
Tia Clark picked up the soaked charm from the ground.
She didn’t notice the small note she had tucked inside.
“May Nathan find peace and joy.”
The ink had blurred in the water, rendering the words unreadable.
A rush of bitter sweetness rose to her throat, and Tia swallowed her tears with difficulty.
Three days later, she returned to work.
The physical injuries from the car accident had mostly healed, but her stomach cancer was worsening.
When Simon visited her at home, he tried to persuade her to take it easy, but to no avail.
That evening, Nathan took her to another dinner party.
Everyone was determined to make her drink, and Tia Clark didn’t refuse any of it.
“Miss Clark sure can hold her liquor, a real trooper!” someone exclaimed.
The burning in her stomach was unbearable, but amid the clamor, Nathan merely watched her drink in silence.
Once again, she drank from start to finish.
As the night wound down, she slipped into the restroom to take a couple of pills.
Tia Clark forced herself to endure the pain and returned to the private room, only to find it empty.
Nathan had already left, and Tia, accustomed to being abandoned, quietly walked out to hail a cab home.
Stepping into the cold wind outside the club, the car headlights on the street blurred in her vision.
With a hint of drunkenness in her eyes, she unknowingly wandered into the middle of the road, raising her hand to flag down a car.
“Beep beep-”
A speeding car honked frantically at the sudden pedestrian.
But Tia Clark was slow to react, seemingly about to be hit, when a hand suddenly pulled her back to the curb.
The warmth of a man’s breath enveloped her.
She looked up to see Nathan’s intense eyes. “Trying to get into another accident?”
Tia Clark stared at him, her mind momentarily blank.
The two stood close, and she suddenly remembered a beach party from years ago, hosted by various school clubs.
Tia Clark, having never seen the ocean, excitedly collected shells by the shore.
A crab on the sand pinched her, nearly causing her to fall.
Nathan quickly reached out, pulling her into his arms, their lips brushing together with the sudden motion.
Then, he kissed her harder, each breath more demanding.
While others were busy admiring the sea, no one noticed the reserved class star passionately kissing her.
The sea breeze, the bonfire, friends, the tail end of youth.
In the midst of a lively gathering, their hidden feelings were briefly laid bare.
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Chapter 9
It had been the most beautiful moment of her life.
Perhaps Nathan remembered something too, because he held her for a long time without letting go.
Suddenly, an angry voice interrupted them.
Sylvia had come to pick up Nathan and witnessed the scene. “What are you two doing?”
Nathan seemed to snap out of a dream, pushing Tia Clark away, a fleeting expression crossing his face.
He said nothing, just turned towards Sylvia. “It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Sylvia shot Tia Clark a long, heavy glance, then took Nathan’s hand and left.
Tia Clark stood there, dazed, as if she had drunk too much or was still lost in memories.
It wasn’t until Simon found her and helped the drunken, disoriented Tia back home.
Late that night, as Tia Clark arrived home, a message popped up on her phone.
“Hey old classmates in Kingsbury City, let’s meet up this Saturday at Harborview Plaza!”
Among the long list of tagged names, Tia Clark saw her own, and Nathan’s.
Their names, now only appearing together in such a way.
The chat group buzzed with excitement.
Everyone was responding eagerly, as if it were just after graduation, when nobody wanted to part ways.
AA.CC
