When Paths Never Crossed Again

Chapter 50

Joe's POV

The ball slammed against the front wall, rebounding straight back at me. I swung, but I was too slow. Too lost in my own head. The racket missed, the ball rolled away, and frustration surged through me. Without thinking, I hurled the racket across the squash court, the sharp clatter echoing in the empty space.

My breathing was ragged, my heart pounding for reasons that had nothing to do with the game. Running a hand through my damp hair, I shut my eyes. What if I had never met her that day?

What if I had never asked her for coffee? Never invited her to my birthday? Never let her laughter become the soundtrack of my life?

I swore to myself I wouldn't fall again. And yet… I did. Despite everything. Despite knowing better.

I needed to talk to someone. Someone who could tell me I wasn't making the biggest mistake of my life. Someone who could tell me that love always finds its way, no matter the distance.

I needed Calvin.

I had been calling him since morning, but he hadn't picked up. Desperation clawed at my chest as I pulled out my phone and dialed again. Pick up, man. Just this once.

The ringing stopped.

But it wasn't Calvin's voice.

"Hello, sir, how can I help you?" A woman. Professional. Unfamiliar.

I hesitated. "Umm… Can I talk to Calvin? Calvin Jordan?"

"Sorry, sir. Mr. Jordan is attending a conference at the moment. Can I take a message?"

A bitter taste settled in my mouth. "Just… tell him to call Joe. ASAP."

"Of course, sir."

I ended the call, exhaling sharply.

Tonight was my last night with Tina. She had invited me to dinner, completely unaware that this would be our final memory together. I needed Calvin's advice. Should I tell her? Should I keep it a secret?

I turned my gaze back to the squash court. Our favorite place. Calvin and I had spent countless weekends here, hitting balls, talking about everything and nothing. Before life got complicated. Before responsibilities weighed us down.

My phone buzzed in my hand. A call from Calvin.

"Hey, bro," he said, his voice easy but edged with concern. "Sorry for not answering. Was kinda busy. What's up?"

"I need advice," I admitted, my voice strained. "You're the only person I can count on."

"I'm all ears."

I swallowed, gripping the phone tighter. "Tonight… I'm meeting Tina for the last time. And I don't know if I should tell her I'm moving to LA."

Silence. "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow. After graduation. Night flight."

"What?" Calvin sounded genuinely stunned. "And you're just telling me now?"

"I know, I know," I muttered. "But I don't have a choice. I have to meet the owner of the building to sign the deal."

Calvin sighed. "Joe, if you tell her tonight, you're gonna shatter her. Graduation is tomorrow. Do you really want her to go through that with a broken heart?"

I clenched my jaw. "But if I don't tell her tonight, I won't get another chance."

"Damn, man…" Calvin went quiet for a moment. "Okay. Then tell her after graduation. Before you leave, at least call her. Don't just disappear."

I ran a hand over my face. "Yeah."

"Listen, I gotta go," he said, his voice firm but understanding. "We'll talk later. And hey… congrats in advance."

The call ended, but my thoughts didn't.

I drove home, showered, dressed, and headed downstairs. As I grabbed my car keys, dad's voice stopped me.

"Where are you off to? Shouldn't you be packing?"

I forced a neutral expression and turned around. "I'm done packing. Just meeting Asher and Noah. I'll be back soon."

Before he could question me further, I walked out.

That was a half-truth. I was meeting Asher and Noah but after that, I was going to Tina's.

Because tonight… I wanted to hold her one last time.

I wasn't expecting this.

The dim lighting. The candles flickering softly, casting golden glows across the room. The slow, haunting melody playing in the background. And the small coffee table transformed into an intimate dinner setting. Two plates. Two glasses of wine. Two cushions on the floor.

It was beautiful. It was perfect.

And it felt like a goddamn funeral of our relationship.

"Hey, handsome," Tina greeted, her smile radiant, oblivious to the storm raging inside me.

"Hey, beautiful," I murmured, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

She took my hand and led me to the table. "I set everything up beforehand since you said you couldn't stay long."

Right. Another lie.

I sat down, trying to ignore the way my chest tightened. The aroma of roasted lamb. My favorite filled the air. But my stomach was in knots.

Tina studied me, her eyes sharp, like she could see past my forced calm. We ate in silence. Should I tell her now? Should I wait?

She set down her fork, picked up her wine, and took a slow sip.

Then she spoke.

"Joe, is there something you want to say?"

My heart stopped.

She wasn't asking. She knew.

"You've been different lately," she continued, her voice soft but piercing. "It's like… you're here, but you're not. Like you're holding something back."

I clenched my hands into fists under the table. Say it, Joe. Just say it.

Instead, I whispered, "Come here."

She moved around and sat beside me. I took her hand, caging it between mine.

Taking a deep breath, I finally said the words that would break us.

"I think we should end this."

Her breath hitched. "What?"

I forced myself to look at her. "I… I might go back to LA. And this time, I won't be coming back."

"But we've done long distance before," she said quickly, her hands tightening around mine. "We can do it again."

I cupped her face, our foreheads almost touching. "Tina, we have different paths now. We talked about this. When the time came, we'd face it."

Tears filled her eyes. "But why now? Why like this?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Because I don't want you waiting for me. I don't want to hold you back."

Her hands trembled against my skin. "But I love you."

I shut my eyes. God, don't say that.

My phone vibrated. Jia.

"Dad is asking about you. It's late," she said.

I ended the call. Looked back at Tina. Tears streamed down her face, but she was silent now. Defeated.

I pulled her into my arms, burying my face in her hair. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

She clung to me. "You promised me, Joe. You promised you'd always love me."

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest. "I know."

I pulled away, pressing my lips to hers. One last time.

"Goodbye, Tina."

I turned to leave. She grabbed my hand.

I pulled away.

As I walked out, I felt it. The unbearable weight of what I had just done.

She was my shadow. My sun. My home.

And I had just left her behind.

The moment I stepped out of Tina's apartment, the cold night air hit me like a slap. I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to keep walking, to not look back. If I did, I wouldn't be able to leave.

I got into my car, gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. My chest was heavy, suffocating. I had just broken the heart of the one person I loved more than anything in this world. And for what? For a future that I wasn't even sure I wanted?

"I think we should end this."

The words replayed in my head, each time slicing through me like a blade. The way Tina's eyes widened, the way her entire body tensed as if I had stolen the air from her lungs. I will never forget it.

I had expected her to cry, to get angry, to beg me to stay. But what I hadn't expected was the way she held on. The way she looked at me with so much love, despite the pain I was inflicting on her.

"But you promised that you'll always love me and stay with me."

I had broken that promise tonight.

And the worst part? I still loved her. I always would.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I knew it was Jia checking if I was on my way home, but I couldn't bring myself to answer. Not yet.

I leaned back against the headrest, exhaling shakily.

This wasn't how I wanted it to end. I had imagined our last night together differently. Maybe a slow dance under the city lights, maybe holding her close and whispering that no matter what, she'd always have a piece of me. But instead, I walked out, leaving her in tears.

Tina deserved better. She deserved someone who wouldn't walk away. Someone who wouldn't love her only to leave her behind.

I ran a hand through my hair, the guilt sinking deeper into my bones.

Had I made the right decision?

Calvin told me to wait until after graduation, but I couldn't. If I had waited, it would have made it harder. I knew Tina. She would have held onto hope, thinking we could find a way to make it work.

And maybe we could have.

But I had convinced myself we couldn't.

I needed her to hate me so she could move on.

Because the truth was, if she had asked me to stay one more time. If she had begged me with those tear-filled eyes. I would have.

I would have thrown away everything just to be with her.

And I couldn't afford that.

The life waiting for me in LA wasn't just mine. My father had set everything in motion. The deal, the responsibilities, the future he had planned for me since the day I was born.

There was no space for love in that future.

So I did the only thing I could. I broke her heart before she built a castle of her dream. Us living together. Forever.

My hands shook as I put the key in the ignition.

I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to face anyone.

I wanted to turn the car around, run back to Tina, hold her, tell her I was sorry, and spend the rest of the night making her believe in us again.

But I knew I couldn't.

So instead, I drove.

Not home. Not anywhere.

Just away.

Away from her.

Away from the love I was too much of a coward to fight for.

Tina's POV

I stood there, frozen.

The warmth of his last kiss still lingered on my lips, but his absence left a hollow void in my chest. My fingers clutched the fabric of my dress as if holding onto something. Anything. That could keep me grounded. But he was gone.

The door clicked shut, and the weight of his words crashed down on me.

"I think we should end this."

No. No, this wasn't how it was supposed to be.

My breath came in shallow gasps as I stumbled back, my legs giving out beneath me. The soft thud of my knees hitting the floor barely registered, drowning beneath the deafening roar of my breaking heart. The dim candlelight flickered, casting restless shadows along the walls. Ghosts of memories that refused to fade.

Every whispered I love you.

Every promise he made.

Every dream we built together.

Gone. In a single night.

Tears burned hot trails down my cheeks, relentless and unforgiving. My body trembled as I reached for the wine glass on the table, my fingers barely strong enough to wrap around the stem. I lifted it to my lips but stopped, staring at the deep red liquid.

This was supposed to be a celebration.

A beautiful, perfect night.

Instead, it had turned into a nightmare I never saw coming.

How long has he been planning this? Had every touch, every kiss, every laugh in the past few weeks been a lie? Or had he already decided back then that he was going to leave me?

A choked sob left my lips.

I had sensed it. The distance in his eyes, the hesitation in his voice. I had felt the change, the slow unraveling of something I thought was unbreakable. But I kept telling myself it was just stress, just life pulling at us. I never thought he would break us.

Not like this.

My hands clenched into fists.

I wanted to call him. To scream at him. To demand answers. To beg him to stay.

But I knew it wouldn't change anything.

And yet, hope was a cruel thing. A small, desperate part of me still prayed that he would walk back through that door. That he would realize what a mistake he was making. That he would take me into his arms and promise to fight for us, for me.

But the door never opened.

The only thing that filled the silence was the soft music playing in the background. A song he once said reminded him of me.

I let out a shaky breath, wiping my tears.

Tomorrow, we graduate.

Tomorrow, my life will be different.

And tomorrow, I will wake up knowing that the person I love most has already chosen a life without me in it.

But no matter how much I tried, I knew one thing for certain.

I would always love him.

Even if he wouldn't let me.

I searched for his face in the crowd at graduation, desperate to catch his eye, to make him see me. But Joe sat in the front row while I was lost somewhere in the back, just another name in the sea of caps and gowns.

I called his name in my heart, willing him to turn around. Just once.

Give me a sign.

A look.

A moment.

Anything to tell me that what we had wasn't over.

But after the ceremony, he didn't even glance in my direction.

No lingering look. No small smile.

Nothing.

He walked out with his family like I was never a part of his life. Like the past few years had been nothing more than a passing moment, a chapter in his story he had already closed.

I stood there, frozen, my breath caught somewhere between my ribs, suffocating me.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

We were supposed to talk. We were supposed to sort things out. I had convinced myself that love. Our love. Was strong enough to survive miles and time zones.

So why was he bailing?

Why was he giving up on us like this?

And then it hit me.

He broke his promises.

He promised he would stay.

That no matter where life took us, we would always find our way back to each other.

That he would love me forever.

That he would never let go.

But he did.

For a week, I waited.

I called. I texted. I convinced myself that something was wrong. That there had to be an explanation. But the calls never went through. The messages remained unread.

And then, when I could no longer take the silence, I went looking for him.

Love & Latte.

The only place he spent hours in, the place where we shipped warm drinks and talked about the future we were going to build together.

The future we were never going to have.

I pushed open the glass door, the familiar chime sending a wave of nostalgia crashing over me. Herbert, glanced up, his expression shifting the moment he saw me.

I didn't even have to ask.

The pity in his eyes told me everything.

"He's gone," he whispered.

Two syllables. One word. And it shattered me.

"He left for L.A.," he added hesitantly. "He's not coming back."

I felt my stomach drop, my vision blurring.

The world tilted, and for a moment, I thought I would collapse right there.

Joe was gone.

Without a goodbye. Without an explanation.

He had erased me from his life as if I had never existed.

And that was the worst part.

He swore he would never do this.

He promised that no matter how tough things got, he would never walk away. That we would always fight for each other. That he would never just disappear like this.

But he did.

I stumbled back to my apartment, a place that once felt like home, but now… now it was nothing more than a graveyard of memories.

The couch where we cuddled for hours.

The kitchen counter where he used to lift me onto and steal kisses while cooking.

The bed where we whispered secrets. Where we touched. Where we made love like we had forever.

I walked through the rooms, my fingers brushing against the walls, as if searching for traces of him.

As if trying to hold onto something that was already slipping through my hands.

I clenched the suitcase handle, my knuckles turning white. My body trembled as I tried to brace myself.

I needed something to hold onto.

I needed something. Someone.

But the only person who could steady me was miles away.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing myself to move. I walked to the counter, my fingers lingering over the small wooden souvenir he had given me.

Next to it, the silver necklace he had given me on my birthday while he was miles away. His promise of forever.

A promise he broke.

My hands shook as I placed them down, my final farewell to the life we built.

To the memories we shared.

To him.

To us.

I took a deep breath, turned toward the door, and stepped out without looking back.

I was done waiting.

Done holding on to someone who had already let go.

Tonight, I was leaving, too.

But unlike Joe, I wasn't running away.

I was walking toward something new.

A journey without him.

A life where his memories no longer had the power to hold me hostage.

And this time, for the first time, I was finally ready to say goodbye.

_______________________________

"Goodbye isn't just a word. It's a promise that a part of my heart will always belong to you, no matter where life takes us."