Chapter 7

Courtney slept soundly that night.

The next morning, she met with staff from a local charity and donated all the clothes she had sorted through.

As for her personal items and every gift, letter, or memento Jesse had ever given her, she took them directly to the crematorium. She handed the staff a generous sum of money and had everything burned.

Meanwhile, Mia's text messages arrived as expected.

"This place is stunning! Thank you, Courtney. If it weren't for you, I'd never have met Jesse. Without him, I couldn't have dreamed of vacationing in such a luxurious place!"

Mia proceeded to flood Courtney's phone with photos, and all of them were of Jesse. He applied sunscreen on Mia's shoulders, grilled lobsters for her, and held her close as he kissed her.

Courtney didn't bother opening the photos. She shut off her phone and focused on making final preparations to leave.

On the second day after Jesse's departure, Courtney went to the bank. She withdrew every cent from her accounts, converted it all into Alorian currency, and closed out all her cards under her name.

Next, she visited the local government office to inform them of her move and update her address.

Later that evening, she went out for dinner with her closest friends.

Starting over with a new identity didn't scare her as she was confident in her ability to build a good life no matter the circumstances. But saying goodbye to her friends was hard.

Courtney didn't mention her plans to leave, though. Instead, they ate, sang, and laughed the night away.

Mia, however, refused to let up.

After a day of leaving her phone off, Courtney turned it back on at home, only to be bombarded with Mia's messages.

"Jesse's already looking into early childhood education and baby food recipes. He's such a good man, Courtney. Thank you for handing him over to me."

Attached were more photos of Jesse. He was at a desk, seriously taking notes with glasses perched on his nose and a pen in hand.

If not for the book title—A Guide to Prenatal Care for Babies—it might have looked like he was analyzing financial markets or academic papers.

His desk was stacked with books, ranging from early childhood education to pregnancy care essentials, and preventing postpartum depression.

Jesse wasn't just invested in the baby anymore.

Unbeknownst to him, Mia had already crept into his heart. His body had betrayed Courtney, and it was only a matter of time before his heart followed.

Courtney found herself wondering when Jesse came home to find her gone, would he panic like last time? Would there be frantic calls to the police and private investigators?

Or would he shrug it off and assume she was out shopping, then wait for her to return? Or perhaps, by then, his heart would be entirely occupied by Mia and their unborn child.

The care he had for Courtney would shrink, little by little, until it disappeared altogether.

Courtney stopped her thoughts from wandering further.

She had already made her decision. Whether Jesse regretted losing her or not didn't matter anymore. She only knew that leaving him and forgetting him was something she would never regret.

On her final day, she slept for a full 12 hours. She woke feeling refreshed, radiant even.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Courtney gave her reflection a wide, confident smile.

When she left the house, she carried no luggage. Everything she owned had been donated or burned. The only thing she took was a small sling bag.

Inside were Nessa's ID, passport, visa, and a one-way plane ticket to Aloria.

Besides that was a small vial of memory-erasing potion.

The last tie to Courtney was her phone. She used it to call a taxi one last time.

Upon arriving at the airport, she transferred the driver the full balance of her account and got down.

The driver hurried after her while exclaiming, "Miss, you must've made a mistake! The fare was only 18 bucks, but you paid me 1,800."

Courtney smiled. "It's yours. Thank you for driving me to the airport."

"This is way too much! I can't take it."

"You didn't just take me to the airport. You took me to the starting point of my new life."

She said her goodbyes to the driver, then removed her SIM card, snapped it in half, and tossed it along with her phone into the trash. With that, every link to Courtney Lloyd was erased.

She asked the staff at the airport for a pen and paper, then wrote herself a letter.

"Nessa, when you read this, your new life begins. Don't dwell on the past, and don't try to uncover who you used to be. Trust me, move forward with determination. You have what it takes to live a brilliant life.

"Also, never believe in love or any nonsense men spout. People change. No one is ever truly reliable. The only person you can count on is yourself. You must love yourself first and foremost."

She folded the note and slipped it into her pocket, ready for herself to find when she woke.

The airport speakers announced the final boarding call.

"Passenger Nessa Hill, your flight is about to depart. Please proceed to Gate H25 immediately."

Courtney pulled out the vial of memory-erasing potion and downed it. The liquid was bitter, but she savored it like the sweetest nectar.

Then, she boarded the plane without looking back.