Chapter 6: For the First Time, I Chose Myself

The next morning, Matteo woke before sunrise.

For a few seconds, he lay still, staring at the ceiling.

Then he remembered.

City Hall.

He reached for his phone and checked the calendar.

September 9.

The date Celeste and he had circled months ago.

He had always imagined walking into City Hall with her, signing the papers, and finally making twelve years official.

Except Celeste wasn't going to be there.

Matteo sat up and rubbed his face.

Chiara was already awake.

She stood in front of the mirror, fixing her hair.

“You're up early.”

Matteo didn't answer.

His eyes landed on the empty space beside the television where Celeste's suitcase had once been.

“Did she take everything?” he asked.

Chiara paused.

“Almost.”

“Almost?”

“There are still some boxes in the storage room.”

Matteo got up immediately.

He opened the storage room and found several neatly labeled boxes.

Celeste had written the labels herself.

Winter clothes.

Family photos.

Grandmother's things.

Books.

He picked up the box marked Grandmother's things.

His fingers tightened around the cardboard.

He remembered the two quilts.

One was still missing.

“Where's the quilt?” he asked.

Chiara appeared behind him.

“Which one?”

“The green one.”

Chiara's expression changed for half a second.

“I don't know.”

Matteo stared at her.

“You said Celeste could buy another one.”

Chiara looked away.

“I was upset. I didn't think she'd take it so seriously.”

Something about her answer bothered him.

He walked past her and opened the remaining boxes.

There was no quilt.

Then his phone rang.

It was his mother.

“Matteo, where is Celeste?”

He swallowed.

“She needed some space.”

His mother was silent for a moment.

“Today is your wedding day.”

“I know.”

“Then why isn't she here?”

Matteo had no answer.

His mother sighed.

“You told us everything was settled. We already invited everyone.”

“Mom, I'll handle it.”

“Handle what? You can't handle this by pretending nothing happened.”

The call ended.

Matteo stood motionless in the storage room.

For twelve years, whenever Celeste was hurt, he had waited for her to calm down.

She always had.

But this time, there was no angry text.

No crying phone call.

No demand that he choose her.

She had simply disappeared.

That silence frightened him.

Meanwhile, several states away, I was sitting in a small apartment with two suitcases beside me.

I had spent the entire night organizing my future.

My new phone number was active.

My bank accounts were separated.

My resignation paperwork was complete.

And on my laptop was the acceptance letter for the graduate program I had postponed for years.

For the first time in twelve years, every decision on the screen belonged to me.

I stared at the enrollment deadline.

Then I clicked Confirm.

A notification appeared.

Enrollment successful.

I smiled.

Matteo had spent twelve years telling me to wait for the right time.

I finally realized there was never going to be a right time while I was waiting for him.

My phone buzzed with a message from an unfamiliar number.

“Celeste, it's me. We need to talk.”

I stared at it for a few seconds.

Then another message appeared.

“Please come back. We can still fix this.”

I turned the phone face down.

For once, I wasn't going to answer just because Matteo had decided he was ready to talk.