Chapter 8

When Winona came to, she discovered she was in the hospital. The nurse on one side of the ward realized she was awake and hurried over to check on her. "Are you fully awake? The staffer at the recreational lake who dropped you off has already left. Have a family member sign the release paperwork." It was only after Winona heard this that she learned she had been saved by a staffer at the recreational lake. She looked around the empty hospital ward, then reached for her phone and switched it on. There were no calls or messages. She recalled the last thing she saw before passing out, and a quiet, mirthless laugh escaped her. Feeble as she was, she steeled herself and got out of bed to sort out her discharge papers. She had taken no more than a few steps out the door when she heard a familiar voice coming from the ward next door. Winona turned and saw Naomi sobbing in Logan's arms. "Logan, I've made up my mind to end things with Edmund. When I fell into the lake, he swam away without me even though he knew I couldn't swim! He isn't worth it at all! I would've died in that lake if you hadn't saved me. "I know you've loved me for years and that you transferred to Stellanridge University because of me. I also know you aren't happy or in love with Winona. I was blind and couldn't see how good you were to me, but I've come to my senses now. Will you be my boyfriend?" Logan didn't look the slightest bit excited about Naomi's raw, desperate, and tearful confession. He didn't immediately accept it either, even though he had waited years to hear it. He simply froze and said nothing. On the other side of the glass window, Winona was surprised to see the blank look on Logan's face. But she did not dwell on it. Maybe Naomi's confession had come too suddenly for him to process it. In any case, they'd end up together. Winona wasn't patient enough to stick it out to see their happy ending. She made a turn and headed downstairs. After sorting out her discharge papers, Winona got a message from Elena, informing her that her lease was up today. She checked the time. It was 1:00 pm; she still had time. She hailed a cab and returned to the apartment. The only belonging Winona had left in the apartment was the suitcase. That, and the box where she kept all the presents she had gotten from Logan in the last two years. She grabbed the sticky note pad and began labelling each of the presents with the price she had found online. Among the presents were the five-dollar star bracelet, which had been a graduation gift from Logan; the seven-dollar his-and-hers rings, which were a commemoration of their first year together; the three pairs of earrings that cost 9.99 dollars and came with free shipping, which had been her birthday gift; and the sundress that cost 19.99 dollars and came with free shipping, which had been a gift for their second year together. The box was full of such things. Beautiful as they were, the items didn't even add up to 500 dollars. All these years, Logan had only ever seen Winona as a poor woman and believed she deserved equally cheap presents. Winona let out a self-deprecating laugh. She put the break-up letter she had written into the box, closed the lid, and dropped it off at the courier company to dispatch it. She put down the villa where Logan was currently staying as the recipient's address. After doing all that, Winona went back to the apartment and paid Elena another month's worth of rent to have her clean out the rest of Logan's stuff from the unit. She doubted he'd return now that he was officially with Naomi. She had only just sent Elena the message when she received a dozen private messages on Instagram, all from Logan. Winona didn't open or read them. Instead, she blocked Logan's number and profiles on all her socials. At that moment, David called her. "Winona, it's time to go. We're already waiting for you at your apartment. Come on down." Without any hesitation, Winona grabbed her suitcase and left the dump of an apartment. She would never look back.