All Chapters of Fading Slowly but Surely: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"Your application for the exchange program has been approved, Isla. You're the only one in the university to get the spot. Congratulations!" Richard Langham said.Isla Stokerton felt relieved hearing the good news from him. "Thank you, Mr. Langham. I'll make sure to live up to your expectations!"Richard had always been confident in the students he mentored. With a cheerful smile, he asked, "When are you planning to depart?"Isla replied, "I've already applied for the visa. I'll be able to leave once it's processed in a month."Richard was pleased to know that she had already arranged for everything. He continued, "You'll be away for three years. What about Emmett then? You've been pursuing him for so long—you've even confessed to him 99 times. Shouldn't the two of you get together soon?"Isla was momentarily stunned to hear gossip about her from a professor she respected.It seemed like gossip traveled fast. She wasn't aware that her story had already made it this far. But then

That was why Isla only thought it was ironic when she saw Emmett putting on this act in front of her again.She placed her wine glass down and left for the washroom. After splashing her face with some water, she felt more sober and pulled out a tissue from her bag to wipe her face.As her vision was blocked, Isla did not realize that someone had come to stand beside her. She only found something amiss and glanced to the side when she heard Sadie's peculiar tone.Sadie said, "You've been pursuing Emmett for so many years, Isla, and he never accepted you. Yet you still dared to show your face at his birthday party?"Oh please—he doesn't like you at all. Can't you have some self-awareness? You're so cheap with your obsessive pining!"She looked so well-behaved, yet her words were beyond vulgar.Isla did not show any signs of displeasure upon hearing Sadie's words. She merely looked at Sadie calmly and asked, "Are you done cursing at me?"Sadie was stunned as she wasn't expecting Is

As the two protagonists—Emmett and Isla—showed up, the crowd's laughter grew louder when they saw Isla get publicly humiliated.Some of the onlookers were eager to stir things up. They deliberately asked her in a sarcastic tone, "You've confessed 99 times yet he's not fond of you at all, Isla. Aren't you supposed to work harder on it then?"When's the next confession? We can all come watch and give you some pointers. How about it?"Isla tightened her grip on the tattered love letters. Her knuckles turned white from the effort. She was about to speak up when she saw the mocking gazes from around her. She decided to hold her tongue.She scoffed and raised the love letter high in her hand. She then declared loudly, "Fine, the 100th confession will be at the central square of the university, at 9:00 am on December 3rd. Everyone is welcome to come and watch!"After that, Isla ignored everyone's reactions. With reddening eyes and gritted teeth, she left the scene with her head held high

Isla bumped into Emmett and Sadie in the underground parking lot on the day of her discharge.Upon seeing her, Emmett picked Sadie up from her wheelchair and carried her into the car.She poked her head out from the window and flashed Isla a fake smile. "I heard that you live just across Emmett, Sadie. How about we give you a lift?"Isla ignored her and got into her car without looking up.Once the car arrived at her apartment, she turned down her parents' help and made her way home with her crutches on her own.The elevator moved from the basement to the first floor. Emmett, who was supposed to send Sadie back home, suddenly walked in. Their eyes met, yet neither of them said a word.The elevator stopped at the 17th floor, but Emmett, who was by the exit, refused to leave. Isla could only move around him with her crutches and walk out of the elevator. Although she walked slowly, he was even slower behind her. She could feel his gaze constantly on her.She walked to her door a

On the day of Isla's departure, she was woken up by the commotion across her room just as dawn broke.She opened her eyes groggily and grabbed her phone to check the time, only to notice the flurry of messages popping up on her notification bar. She stared at it for some time before realizing that they all came from a group chat with over 20 people.Isla had secretly joined the group chat a year ago in order to learn about Emmett's preferences. She had forgotten to leave, and he had no idea she was even in it.The ones chatting enthusiastically early in the morning were Emmett's roommates.One of them wrote: "You're awake so early, Emmett. Could it be that you were too excited to sleep last night?"Emmett replied: "Isn't that obvious? I've been tossing and turning on my bed since 11:00 pm last night."Someone else asked: "Are you really planning to accept Isla's confession this time?"Isla paused from her scrolling then. It was rare for Emmett to type such a long message in re