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Novel Catalog
Chapter_35
Quinn’s footsteps echoed in the empty streets, each one heavier than the last. The city around her had quieted, the bustle of the day now a distant memory. She felt the weight of her solitude with every step, the cold air cutting through her thin clothes and seeping into her bones. Her mind replayed the events of the evening—sitting in that restaurant, waiting, hoping. But Alexander never came. She had been left behind, alone in a room full of people who were celebrating what she could never have.
Her fingers gripped the box containing the uneaten cake. It was a mockery, a cruel reminder of the birthday she would never get to celebrate with the person who mattered most to her. She’d hoped for something—a gesture, an acknowledgment, a sign that she mattered in his life. But all she had received was emptiness.
Her stomach twisted again as the taste of the cake lingered in her mouth, the rich sweetness now a bitter aftertaste. She had forced herself to eat it, but she knew it was pointless. She wasn’t hungry for food; she was hungry for something more—a connection, a love, anything that made her feel like she wasn’t invisible.
As she walked through the dimly lit streets, she pulled her coat tighter around her, seeking whatever warmth she could find in the frigid night. The soft whoosh of cars passing in the distance seemed to mock her, and she couldn’t help but wonder if Alexander was even aware of how much she longed for him to show up, how much she craved his presence.
But the longer she walked, the more she realized how little that mattered. Alexander had made it clear over the years that she was secondary to his ambitions, to his company, to his own needs. She had allowed herself to believe otherwise, but tonight had shattered any illusions she still held. She was nothing more than a fleeting thought in his busy life, someone to appease when it was convenient.
The chill of the night was a physical reminder of how far she had fallen, of the coldness that had crept into every aspect of her existence. She had waited for him, but in the end, she was the one left in the dark. No candles, no wishes, no celebration—just a lone woman walking the streets with nothing but memories of a love that had never truly been hers.
With each step, Quinn realized something deeper within herself: she didn’t need Alexander to define her worth. She had been waiting for his validation, but now she saw that she had been waiting for the wrong thing. Her self-worth had never been tied to him. It was time to let go.
The thought was both liberating and terrifying, but it was the first time in a long while that Quinn had felt a sense of clarity. She was more than this, more than the woman who had waited in the dark for a man who never truly saw her.
The wind picked up, and she pulled her coat tighter, the first steps toward reclaiming herself. The road ahead was uncertain, but for the first time in a long while, she felt the possibility of something better.
