CHAPTER 59 CHASING HER BACK

　　LEO'S POV

　　I held the velvet box in my hand, and it felt really heavy. It was like all my hopes and fears were pressing down on it. When I opened it, I saw a gorgeous silver necklace inside. It was sitting on a bed of black velvet, and there was a single pearl that looked like a teardrop at its center.

　　This necklace was a lot different from the fancy ones Nina was used to. It reminded me of simpler times, like our first date. I had bought her a similar necklace from a street vendor on a whim. I'll never forget how she laughed and her eyes lit up with joy. It wasn't about how much the gift cost, and that memory is forever stuck in my mind.

　　But this time, the laughter and happiness all felt like a memory too far and impossible to reach.

　　It had been more than seven whole painful months since I had last seen Nina physically, more than seven months since i made the gravest mistake of my life of letting Nina walk away.