#Chapter 126: A Bitter Goodbye

Aria It felt strange, standing here in the middle of my living room, surrounded by half-filled boxes and the remnants of a life I was about to leave behind. Strange, but necessary. Packing up my tiny, run-down apartment was a lot harder than I had expected. Every item I picked up seemed to carry a memory, a piece of the person I used to be. The throw blanket draped over the couch reminded me of nights spent curled up with Bella, binge-watching cheesy rom-coms over too many glasses of wine. The mismatched mugs in the kitchen cabinet brought back memories of lazy Sunday mornings in the winter, sipping coffee to warm myself before heading out for my weekend dog walking gigs. I sighed, folding the blanket and placing it carefully into a box. Darren had offered to send movers over to handle everything so I could relax, but I had insisted on doing the bulk of the packing myself. I had also refused his offers to come and help me, as well as Bella’s. It felt impo