You Hurt Me Once, I’m Gone Forever

Anna wins a national design award, but when she reaches for Isaac Lucas to share the news, their chat has gone quiet. He is away again, tending to Alma Bailey's grandmother, and the silence between them feels final. She posts her trophy on Instagram instead, and it is Alma who tags Isaac, prompting his furious call about being the last to know.

When Anna says they have already broken up, Isaac refuses to let her go quietly, and Alma's voice drifts through the receiver, gentle and possessive. Anna remembers the night she begged him to take her to the hospital and he chose Alma instead, leaving her to crawl to the phone alone. Now she tells him she will come for her things and cut him off for good.

Isaac's answer is a photo with Alma in a French restaurant, captioned that some people are destined to miss each other. Anna turns to the autumn trees and her classmates, unsure whether she still wants to share anything at all.