Chapter 1The 99th Faded Love Letter

The blizzard grounded every flight out of Zurich, leaving me stranded in a sea of frustrated travelers inside the packed terminal.

My phone screen suddenly lit up with a push notification. It was a video of Declan and Nancy holding their championship trophies. The comment section was already flooded with people calling them a literal power couple and the golden duo of the interpreting world.

What stung the most was the little tag at the top. The video had just been shared and recommended by Declan himself.

My fingers went numb as I opened our chat. More than a dozen unread messages sat pitifully on the screen. It was just me, rambling about my day, begging for his help.

I had grown so used to talking to a brick wall. I was so used to chasing a silhouette that never bothered to look back.

But right then, the sheer exhaustion of it all finally broke me. I had scored half a band higher than Nancy on the advanced French fluency exam. I was the one who originally signed up for this simultaneous interpreting competition with him.

Why was someone else standing next to him, soaking up the flowers and the applause?

It took me until this very moment to realize the truth. The real distance between us was never about test scores.

This was already the nineteenth time he had unilaterally decided we were over.

* * *

Hour twenty three of being trapped in the Zurich airport.

I watched that short video clip until I memorized every frame.

When the winner of the French interpreting championship was announced, Nancy wept tears of joy and threw herself right into Declan's arms.

They were an incredibly attractive pair, so naturally, the embrace sent the internet into a frenzy.

Declan rubbed her back to comfort her. Then, with a gentle touch I rarely ever saw, he picked a stray piece of confetti out of her hair.

That single, simple gesture had the gossips screaming.

"This is true love! A couple with matched intellects is just superior!"

The internet era was truly magical. A snippet barely lasting a few seconds already had over a million likes.

The comments praised them as a romance novel brought to life. Some internet sleuths even dug up their real life details.

"That's Declan! The absolute god of Yale's linguistics department. He speaks five languages fluently. He went viral before for his looks during a debate, but his actual skills are terrifying."

"No wonder they took the gold. Partnering up with your girlfriend means the chemistry is off the charts."

The comments kept refreshing. I read them one by one until my eyes burned.

Then, the words 'Recommended by Declan' popped up on my screen.

I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

So he was looking at his phone.

He had the time to share a viral video of himself and Nancy.

He just did not have the time to reply to my desperate cries for help.

I was originally supposed to be his partner for this competition in Switzerland.

During our layover, he abruptly informed me that Nancy would be taking my place.

Yes, informed.

He did not discuss it with me. He did not ask for my opinion.

Winning this championship guaranteed a fully funded spot in a prestigious overseas grad program in Paris.

Declan knew exactly how much this competition meant to me. I wanted to study abroad with him so badly.

I practiced from dawn until midnight. I was so sleep deprived my roommates thought I was going to drop dead. My throat was so swollen from speaking drills that I completely lost my voice for a week.

I simply could not accept his ridiculous decision.

The fragile string holding my sanity together snapped.

I broke down and demanded a reason. Declan just sounded utterly indifferent.

"Serena, don't you think you are being incredibly dramatic?"

My brain stalled. I had no idea what he meant.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean your attitude is rarely serious. I simply do not trust you to perform well under the pressure of a live stage."

I felt completely lost. I forced a smile, still trying to negotiate with him.

"How can you say that? We practiced together so many times, and you saw my progress. I just scored an 8.5 on the advanced French fluency index. Doesn't that prove I am capable enough?"

Declan cut me off with ice in his voice. "What exactly is there to be proud of with an 8.5?"

"You swore up and down you would get a perfect score. And what happened? You are stuck in the exact same percentile every single time. Are you even trying?"

"Serena, you grew up traveling the world with your parents. You enjoy a bottomless bank account and endless educational resources. How is it possible that you still can't master a second language perfectly?"

Those three rapid fire questions choked the air right out of my lungs.

I knew he was obsessively disciplined. His academic standards bordered on absolute insanity.

Back in the day, I studied until I made myself sick just to crack the top ten in our major. That was the only way I managed to catch the eye of the untouchable academic god.

Declan had sky high ambitions. He didn't care about romance or grand gestures. His only goal was to become the top interpreter in his field.

He always said his girlfriend had to be equally exceptional.

Just to stand by his side, I killed my own lazy habits. I buried myself in suffocating coursework right along with him.

Just to keep up with his shadow, I gave it everything I had.

I earned scholarships I never thought I could get. I collected certifications like spare change. Even the strictest professors praised my work.

But from Declan, I received absolutely zero validation.

I could never figure out why.

I just kept comforting myself by saying he was naturally a harsh critic.

Yet he handed my hard earned spot to Nancy, a girl whose grades were objectively worse than mine.

A bitter seed of jealousy and resentment took root in my chest. It grew wild and out of control, wrapping tight around my heart.

Even drawing breath hurt. I could not pretend to be calm anymore.

"And what about her? Is her 7.0 suddenly the standard of excellence? Is that why you let her replace me?"

Declan paused. When he spoke, his voice dripped with cold impatience.

"Nancy is not like you. She actually works hard."

"Without your parents' money paving the way, you wouldn't even be in the same league as her."

I laughed out loud. It was a harsh, breathless sound. Then I hung up the phone.

Works hard. Parents' money.

With just a few lightweight words, he entirely erased years of my blood, sweat, and tears.

I tilted my head back, but thick tears still crashed down onto my phone screen.

I lost the battle with my emotions. I opened our messages and started a massive argument with him.

It ended exactly how it always did. Declan pulled his favorite trick and told me we were done.