Chapter 7

"You should've brought an umbrella, Saga..."

The voice came from behind her, gentle, almost dragged down by the rain.

Victor stood there: tall, warm, and wrong. Wrong time, wrong place. But still the man who once felt like home.

A large blue umbrella unfolded above their heads. The heavy Oxford rain that evening seemed intentional, like a cruel invitation to the memories Saga had fought so hard to bury.

"Summer doesn't guarantee clear skies," Victor continued, his gaze soft. "Rain like this... always reminds me of us. Do you feel it too?"

Saga offered a faint smile, but her eyes held no light.

"Yes, Victor..." she whispered, her voice dissolving like the pieces of herself.

She crouched down to tie a loosened shoelace.

But the knot was nothing compared to the tangle in her heart, unraveling again ever since Victor reappeared before her.

Five minutes passed. No words. Only rain, and a silence thick with distance.

Until finally...

"Saga..."

Victor's voice shifted, hesitation, old wounds he chose to open.

"Did you... did you really let go, knowing I married Signe?"

It struck her like lightning to the chest.

She looked up, eyes sharp, lips parting with no sound.

And then, barely audible:

"Do I... have the right not to let go of that choice, Victor?"

Silence.

Victor inhaled deeply. The wet on his face, rain, or tears that never fell?

"Saga… I'm sorry. Not because I didn't love you. I did. I still do. But I'm their only son. I... I couldn't bear being the disgrace of the family anymore. They never accepted you. And I... I was tired of fighting alone. I married Signe... for them."

Saga smiled.

But it was the kind of smile that breaks hearts.

"So this is how the love we fought for ends?" her voice quivered.

"After all the wounds I bore, after giving you every piece of my soul... you gave up? Not because you stopped loving me, but because you were afraid?!"

Her fists clenched. But what spilled wasn't anger, it was ruin, long buried.

"You know, Victor... the cruelest thing isn't losing someone. It's being abandoned by the one who once vowed they never would. I... I don't blame you. But starting tonight, please, don't whisper my name in your prayers again. Because I will learn to love this loss, the way you learned to forget our love."

Victor bit his lip. His breath caught.

"Saga..."

His eyes held the storm he never voiced.

"The truth is... love isn't enough. Life is too cruel to survive on feelings alone."

Saga let out a hollow laugh. It echoed, sharp as glass.

"You're right, Victor. Love is not enough."

But tears flowed down her face, uncontrollably.

Slowly, she stepped back.

Leaving the shadow of the umbrella. The rain welcomed her like punishment. Her dress soaked, her body trembling, but her steps unwavering. She had chosen pain, over waiting for a promise never kept.

"I'm sorry, Victor. I have to go."

"Saga!"

She stopped. Didn't turn. Didn't move. But her voice rang out, clear, cold, final:

"If life is about choosing... then today, I choose not to be yours."

And she walked away.

While Victor stood there still, clutching an umbrella that had lost its purpose. His head bowed. Shoulders trembling.

***

That night…

Saga had barely stepped onto the stairs of the girls' dormitory when her body trembled, exhaustion mixing with a fragile hope she'd only just managed to gather. Her graduation had passed weeks ago. All she wanted tonight was peace. No tears, no Victor, no Signe. Just herself, and the scattered pieces of her heart she was slowly learning to pick up.

But the world, once again, had a cruel way of saying, "No."

The sharp click of high heels pierced the damp night air.

Saga turned, and her heart nearly exploded.

Mrs. Mariana. Proud and cold as ever, standing beside Mr. Bernard, who glared at her with the weight of a judge ready to deliver a death sentence. They stood like a stone wall at the entrance of the dormitory, immovable, impenetrable.

Saga lowered her head and stepped forward slowly, her hand beginning to rise in a polite greeting.

But..

The slap came out of nowhere.

Her body staggered, nearly collapsing if not for the pillar beside her that caught her fall.

"Saga?! Oh my God, what happened?!" whispered one of the students from behind her bedroom door.

Some of the girls peeked out, gasping, but not a single one dared to stop the wrath of the woman standing before them.

"You filthy little tramp! Who do you think you are?! Still clinging to Victor after he's married to Signe?!" Mrs. Mariana's voice blazed, her eyes lit with fury.

Saga froze. Her eyes widened, her lips trembled. "I… I didn't.."

"Shut your mouth!" Mariana snapped. "You think Victor loves you?! Wake up from your pitiful little fantasy, you low-born girl! You cheap slut!"

Mr. Bernard said nothing, but his stare pierced like knives. His silence screamed: "You're nothing but a disruption to this family."

"You're just a common girl, living off scholarships and crumbs of pity! And you think you can compete with Signe? My daughter-in-law? Beautiful, honorable, and born from a woman of class? Huh?!" Mariana took another step forward, her finger pointed directly at Saga's face.

Saga clenched her fists. Her knees shook, but she refused to cry. Not in front of this woman. Not tonight.

Then..

The dormitory door creaked open. The headmistress stepped out, holding Saga's suitcase.

"I… I'm sorry, Saga," she whispered. "Starting tonight… you have to leave the dormitory."

Saga stiffened. "What?"

"There's been an order from the foundation. They received a significant donation from someone who specifically requested your removal. The donation is… critical to the school. So, with great regret, we've packed your belongings. You have to leave tonight." She couldn't meet Saga's eyes.

"What?!" cried one of the girls. Some began to sob, others shouted in protest.

Saga stepped back. Her vision spun.

The world collapsed in utter silence.

In the distance, the headlights of a luxury car flickered on.

Inside, hidden behind tinted glass, sat Signe, grinning. Watching her game unfold.

She had followed Victor and Saga's brief meeting at the campus park last week.

She had taken the photo.

She had sent it to her mother-in-law.

And now, with a single move, she had destroyed the only home Saga had left.

***

The cold night wind pierced through her bones as Saga arrived at the deserted bus stop. But before she could sit down, a voice, barely audible, cut through the silence like a blade:

"Saga. Get in. We need to talk. Now."

The voice stopped her blood cold.

She turned around.

A black car lurked silently by the roadside. The back door slowly creaked open.

Oscar.

And in the passenger seat sat Ebba, her eyes never truly meeting Saga's.

"Dad… what are you doing here?" Saga's voice cracked, dry, hoarse, barely escaping her throat.

Oscar didn't answer. He stepped out of the car, his strides swift and commanding. His rough hand seized Saga's arm and yanked her toward him.

"I said get in," he hissed, coldly. "We need to talk, and this time, you will listen."

"Let go! I don't want to come with you! Let go, Dad!" Saga struggled, but her body was too exhausted, too frozen. Her strength had been drained by the humiliation she suffered from Madam Mariana just hours earlier.

Oscar pulled harder.

Saga caught a glimpse of two men across the street, standing at the mouth of a dark alley. They looked over briefly… but did nothing. Just turned away and vanished. The world had never been on her side.

Inside the car, silence tightened like a noose.

Oscar sat rigid behind the wheel, eyes fixed on the road, unmoving. Ebba glanced at the rearview mirror now and then, her glare sharp and full of disdain.

"What do you really want from me?" Saga finally whispered, her eyes locked on the windshield, unblinking.

"Be quiet," Oscar snapped. "You'll hear everything. At home."

***