1 Prologue: Falling Out Of Love

It was one of the warm and peaceful evenings in the early summer in the city of Etanova. The sun was setting into the western horizon while dyeing the sky with orange, yellow, red, and a little blue color.

Sylvia was standing under a huge royal poinciana tree in the park near her house. She was waiting for her boyfriend Chris who had called her and asked her to meet him urgently at their regular meeting place.

She was wearing black joggers track pants and a red and black checkered shirt. Her black hair was tied into a messy bun.

Half an hour had been passed from their determined time and still, there was no sign of Chris's arrival.

The people strolling in the park started to leave one by one with their partners, friends, and children.

With a worried expression on her face, Sylvia started to look in the direction of the entrance of the garden.

'What's taking him so long to come?'

She slid her hands into her pants pockets and started to pace back and forth.

Finally, a man wearing a gray hoodie and white pants walked in through the park's gate and halted for a moment upon seeing the girl in her early twenties waiting under the poinciana tree.

Chris pulled off his hoodie, revealing his shiny black-brown hair and a pair of charming greenish-blue smoky eyes, and a stunningly handsome, god-gifted, and well-chiseled face. His facial expressions were a little serious as he stared at Sylvia's side frame with an intense gaze.

Clenching his fists tightly, Chris resumed walking in her direction with determination in his eyes.

Sylvia casually turned her head to look at the gate and finally let out a sigh of relief after seeing Chris. She hurriedly rushed in his direction and threw herself in his arms.

"Oh, Chris! I almost thought something happened to you! You never came this late before!" She said while running her slender fingers through his smooth and shiny hair.

She loved the touch of his bouncy hair and his soft yet cold cherry lips. Touching him would give her the feeling of comfort and happiness.

How lucky she was to have a boyfriend like him! He was so attractive, smart, and loving guy she had ever met in her life.

However, like every time, Chris didn't kiss Sylvia's forehead, which made her a little upset. Still, she didn't mind it and nestled in his arms, finding her regular safe spot.

"Why did you call me urgently? I was helping Grandpa in his same boring old project of time travel. Do you know, today, he sent an apple to the future and guess what, someone sent him apple pomace in return! Hahaha!" Sylvia started to laugh as she talked about her crazy scientist grandfather- Mr. Saymon Rudalf.

But Chris didn't laugh or smile at what she told him.

"Sylvia," he called out her name in a serious tone, which startled her.

Sylvia instantly looked up at him in surprise. "Chris? Why are you calling me by my grandma's name? You call me Amie. Have you forgotten that?" She asked with a half-smile.

Sylvia's pet name was Amie and Chris usually called her by that name. He had never called her Sylvia even if he was talking about something serious.

Sylvia's heart dropped when she saw the strange look on his face. He seemed to be someone stranger and not her Chris.

"Chris, what has happened?" Sylvia asked while holding his pale face in her palms. "Is there any problem? Talk to me! Don't scare me like this! I am your Amie! Only yours..."

Chris's adam's apple bobbed up and down as he stared at Sylvia's scared face. He mustered his courage and pushed her hands away slowly. "Sylvia, Norah has returned from overseas."

An expression of confusion appeared on Sylvia's face. "Norah?"

Chris nodded his head. "Norah. My ex-girlfriend. She has brought her and my parents to my uncle's home. Now my parents want to take me with them to the Capital. They are planning my marriage with Norah. In fact, they have arranged a small engagement ceremony at my uncle's home tonight."

His words made Sylvia's heart skipped a few beats in a row and she suddenly felt the ground slipping under her feet.

She instantly held Chris's arm as if he was going to disappear at any next moment.

"What? But you had broken up with her six years ago! How could your parents decide your marriage without your consent?" She asked him anxiously. "Why didn't you tell them about us?"

Chris looked at Sylvia's naturally beautiful face. He had never seen her applying any kind of makeup on her face. She was a simple and elegant girl. Her actual beauty was her talent and courage.

Without a doubt, she was destined to succeed in the position of her grandfather in the future or become like her father who was an Army General and wanted to make his daughter a soldier like him.

Chris controlled his emotions and averted his eyes from Sylvia's ashen face. Looking at the tree behind her, he started to speak again expressionlessly, "Sylvia, I have cheated on you all these years. I had reconciled with Norah a long time ago. I still love her and want to marry her."

Sylvia tried to smile as she didn't believe him. "Are...are you angry with me, Chris? You are lying... Right? This...this can't be true."

"It's true!" Chris cut across abruptly.

Sylvia felt someone stabbing her heart mercilessly and squeezing it out of her chest. She stared at Chris dumbly for a long while with her mouth agape.

From his strange and serious facial expressions, it didn't look like he was lying to her.

Chris shifted his gaze again at Sylvia and noticed the shocked and painful expressions in her eyes.

He waited for her reaction but she stayed like a statue, neither asking him any question nor expressing her anger or disappointment.

Chris started to get worried after noticing her condition. He slowly extended his hand to touch her arm. "Amie..."

However, in the next moment, he received a tight slap on his face from the girl in front of him.

"Don't utter my name from your filthy mouth!" Sylvia shouted and pushed him away.

Chris felt a burning sensation on his left cheek and lifted his hand to touch it. He looked downward with guilt in his eyes. "I am sorry..." He whispered in a hoarse voice.

Sylvia's eyes started to sting with tears but she tried her best to not look weak in front of Chris. "Get lost! Go away from my eyes!" She pointed her forefinger towards the entrance of the park. "Don't show me your face ever again!"

Chris didn't move from his place. "Don't you want to ask me anything?" He asked her.

Sylvia turned around to avoid looking at him. "No! Do you think you are the only one who cheated on me? Hah! I was also deceiving you all these years. Chris Walker, you are no match to me! My father wants me to marry a soldier. He has already selected a suitable guy for me. I am going to join Army soon. It will be better if you go away as soon as possible. It's over between us! Goodbye!" Her voice trembled at the end as she said 'Goodbye'.

With a contorted face, Sylvia closed her eyes and tried hard to not cry loudly. She stood without making any suspicious sound as Chris was still standing behind her.

A flicker of disappointment appeared and vanished instantly in Chris's mesmerizing greenish-blue eyes. He only muttered a soft 'Oh' before staying silent again, not discerning what to say further.

"We are equal then..." He said after a long time.

"Uh-huh... do you want to slap me?" Sylvia asked him, staring at the western sky, which was beginning to darken just like her broken and lifeless heart.

After hearing her apathetic question, Chris clenched his fists tightly again, digging his nails deeper into his flesh. "No. I deserved that. Good luck." After saying that stiffly, he turned and started to walk away with hurried footsteps.

Sylvia finally turned to look at the guy she had loved for five years. Tears started to fall from her eyes as she remembered every moment she had spent with Chris.

Were all those moments just a long dream?

Were his love and care just a pretense?

What was she going to do without him?

Sylvia couldn't imagine her life without Chris and his warm hugs. Her Chris had disappeared somewhere and she didn't know where to find him now.

Sylvia slowly slid down against the tree and sat on the ground. The more she wiped her tears, the more they continued to flow like an open tap of water.

Chris was staying with his maternal uncle to complete his final years of high school. He became friends with Sylvia and decided to stay in Etanova for another three years to complete his graduation.

His family was constantly pressurizing him to return to his home and all he wanted to stay with Sylvia and her brilliant and exceptional scientist grandfather Mr. Saymon Rudalf.

Chris would often visit Sylvia's grandfather's science lab to help or learn something new from him.

Sylvia and Chris were dating each other from the first year of university and they had accompanied each other in every campaign and adventure.

Sylvia's family was strict with its principles, but it was friendly and open-minded towards her friends. They liked Chris very much from the beginning and treated him like any other child from their household.

Everyone was convinced that Sylvia and Chris would marry each other one day.

But who would have thought that it would end like this? It was like her dream had been shattered into pieces that she couldn't accumulate again.