Chapter 3

3.

Standing at the mountain overlook, Sadie turned to me.

"Love is not defined by promises or the future. Just because a story ends badly does not erase the beautiful moments you experienced."

I smiled bitterly. Between Harrison and me, it was always just my one-sided delusion.

Sadie wrapped her arm around mine. "Clara, you carry too many chains. You need to break free, explore who you are, define yourself, and choose your own path."

"If you want others to love you, you have to love yourself first."

With that, she grabbed her camera to snap landscape shots.

I watched her run across the ridge, her words echoing continuously in my mind.

All those years at the Hayes mansion had shaved away my sharp edges and stripped away my right to be reckless.

Walking out on Harrison was the very first decision I had made for myself in over a decade.

Yet I felt like an uprooted leaf, adrift with no home.

I had fled purely on a burst of courage without any plan for the future.

But I was only twenty-five.

Even if darkness had swallowed my past, I could still choose to live in the light.

Sadie returned, pulling me down to sit on the grass and gaze at the sky.

She pointed out shapes in the clouds, laughing freely.

In my past life, every action was dictated by propriety and duty. Living this freely had once been an impossible dream.

Sitting there, chatting about everything and nothing, a clear resolve formed in my heart.

I had to step out boldly.

Since I had left my comfort zone behind, I would live a life that truly belonged to me.

"Sadie, I want to travel. I want to see the world."

Sadie threw her arms around my shoulders in excitement. "Let's go together! We can start a travel vlog, document our road trips, and make money while we explore!"

"I can shoot the footage, and you are gorgeous. We will definitely blow up online!"

Her enthusiasm was contagious, sparking a genuine sense of hope inside me.

"I majored in literature. I can write the scripts and voiceovers. Anything else, I can learn."

Sadie clapped her hands. "Perfect! We are a match made in heaven."

Her dramatic wording made me burst into laughter.

She was a woman of instant action, immediately pulling me down the trail to get to work.

I laughed, reminding her that I had left without any of my documents and needed time to replace my IDs.

On the way down the trail, I popped the SIM card out of my phone and tossed it into the brush.

Goodbye, Hayes family. Goodbye, Harrison.