Sean immediately got out of bed. He hurried to a certain place. His car sped away from the grounds of the Sterling mansion. He entered a tall building that still looked beautiful against the dark sky. Sean opened his office door and saw an office boy cleaning the room.
"Where's the food?" Sean glanced at the table, which a few hours ago had been filled with lunch boxes but was now empty.
Without looking at his boss's face, his hands trembling, he swallowed hard before speaking.
"I'm sorry, sir, I threw the food away."
Sean closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then rubbed his face roughly. "Bring it here! Put all the lunch boxes back the way they were!"
The office boy immediately ran to the kitchen area. Soon after, he brought the lunch boxes his boss had requested. He placed all the lunch boxes on the table. His hands were very cold, and he swallowed several times before finally plucking up the courage to speak.
"Sir, this food is no longer fit for consumption."
Sean stared at all the lunch boxes laid out on the table. The food had been prepared by Alexa herself. His hand reached for one of the lunch boxes containing his favorite food. Opening the lid of the lunch box, he heard a popping sound. Slowly, Sean ate his food, his eyes closed as he tried to enjoy this stale meal. He held back from vomiting. Only the sound of clinking filled the quiet room as the fork hit the bottom of the glass lunch box.
***
Elsewhere, Alexa was removing her makeup, getting ready for bed. Her hand reached for several bottles of medicine that were always on her desk. A bitter taste filled her mouth as she swallowed the pills.
Her eyes shifted to the mirror, which reflected her tired face, pale lips, and panda eyes that had been hidden behind concealer. If the mirror were a person, it might be mocking her right now. The arrogant woman everyone knew turned out to be nothing like reality when faced with a mirror. Only fragility was visible in her facial expression.
Her hands moved rhythmically, her eyes focused on each word she wrote on a white sheet of paper. Her head was busy working, trying to remember what events she could write about this time. Accompanied by the dim light of the lamp, she occasionally checked the sentences she had written. Often, there were many scribbles in them.
Scrape
With one hand, she opened the drawer. Her other hand held a quill pen and a black diary. She placed the diary in the empty space right next to several stacks of other diaries that looked worn and had long filled the drawer.
This was Alexa's usual bedtime routine. She would write down everything that had happened that day. By writing, she could tell her story without fear of being judged. A feeling of calm would wash over her afterwards. She really enjoyed this, writing in a diary with a pen and paper was more fun than typing it into a note. The vibe was different.
Alexa got up from a chair, raised both hands and stretched her body. She straightened her stiff back and let out a sigh of relief.
***
Sean leaned his head back in his office chair. His stomach felt full and tight, having devoured all the food Alexa had made. He was waiting for his stomach to react after consuming food that was no longer fit to eat.
His eyes gazed out the window at the darkness of the night. Then, they shifted to the moonlight. He loved this light. It was soothing. The moon always reminded him of someone who also loved the moon.
Nine years ago
Alexa sat on the rooftop. She placed a book over her face to block out the heat of the sun. Her eyes narrowed as she adjusted to the light, when a hand took her book. Her heart raced, her face flushed before she realized that it was Sean, her first love.
Now, the two of them sat facing west. Sean handed her a drink with the lid already open, which Alexa immediately accepted. Alexa felt her throat was fresher than before. Her hand rubbed her throat. Then she placed the bottle of drink with the red liquid still remaining on the bottle wall.
The corners of Sean's lips turned up at her behavior.
"Why did you skip class again?" Alexa turned toward the source of the voice. Alexa took a deep breath, her eyes glancing lazily at the question. Was there no other question she could ask?
"I just wasn't in the mood." Her voice was barely audible.
Sean nodded, his eyes staring straight ahead. There was no further conversation after that. Until one question came out of his mouth.
"What are your plans for the next few years?"
"I don't know, I don't have any plans." Alexa's innocent answer drew protests from the questioner. His brow furrowed, his eyes occasionally glancing at the girl next to him.
"How can you not have any plans for your future? At least you know what you want to be in the future." Sean snapped.
"You're like a parent, Sean. How important is planning for the future? Do you believe in the future?" Her face looked up, her mouth asking several questions, causing small movements with questioning eyes.
"Planning for the future is important, Lexie. Even though we never know what will happen in the future, at least we have a solid foundation to make it all happen."
"In my opinion, the future doesn't exist."
Hearing Alexa's answer, his heart raced, and he took a deep breath before speaking.
"The future doesn't exist because you don't really think about it, Lexie. The future exists for people who really fight for it."
"Save your motivational speech, Sean."
"Lexie." Sean growled.
"People who are now cleaners, waiters, drivers, and so on. They never dreamed of becoming that, Sean. They are just like you, wanting a bright future, but the universe says otherwise. There are things we can't control.
The future. I've pondered these two words many times, never finding a definite answer. What will I be like and what will I become? Until finally, I found the answer: the future never exists.
The future we refer to will become the present. Since I was a child, I always dreamed that in the future I would study at Eldermount Academy, and here I am now. The future that little Alexa always dreamed of has become the present.
And to this day, questions about the future never end. Where should my career go? What will I become? And maybe one day, when I have children, I will start to worry about their future too.
This cycle never ends. So I started asking myself, at what point am I allowed to stop thinking about the future? Because even when I get there, it still doesn't feel like I've truly arrived.
Perhaps the hardest part is learning to pause and say, I've had enough. This is enough."
Sean didn't know when he had started paying attention to Alexa's outlook on the future. Every time she opened her mouth, her words were magical and soothing. Sean felt a strange sense of calm. His eyes sparkled and his smile broadened. He was overcome with pride. This was the first time he had seen another side to Alexa, the spoiled girl.
"What makes you happy? If the future never existed, at least you know what would make you happy."
His gaze drifted away, until Alexa's answer was heard.
"Being your wife." She tilted her head to the side, looking at Sean with a smile on her face.
There was no further conversation between the two. They were lost in their own thoughts. Until a promise came out of his mouth.
"If we're not married by the age of 29, let's get married."
The corners of Alexa's lips turned upward, and she immediately stood up and jumped. Without saying much, she raised her hand and showed her pinky finger.
"Promise?"
Sean, who was sitting across from her, smiled slightly and hooked their pinky fingers together.
"Promise." He said.
Sean snapped out of his reverie. He rubbed his face roughly with his hand. Sean had been sitting here for three hours, and it was getting late. He picked up his cell phone from the table. His hand quickly scrolled through his contacts, searching for a name. Sean took several deep breaths before deciding to call her.
"Make a pair of engagement rings with the initials S ♡ A engraved inside."