Chapter 12 

Jason staggered back slightly, the color draining from his face. It was as though someone had reached into his chest and squeezed his heart until it threatened to stop beating. 

“She moved out?” His voice cracked, barely recognizable even to himself. 

“That’s right,” the supervisor said, giving him a puzzled look. “Aren’t you her boyfriend? Didn’t she tell you? She graduated early and moved out. I think she stayed in the guest quarters last night… Hey! Where are you going?” 

Jason didn’t even wait for her to finish before sprinting toward the guest housing. His lungs burned, not from exertion but from the growing panic threatening to suffocate him. This couldn’t be happening. Not like this. Not when he was just beginning to understand what she meant to him. 

The enormity of his mistake was crashing down on him with each pounding footstep. 

When he arrived at the guest quarters, sweat beading on his forehead and his breath coming in ragged gasps, he was about to ask the front desk which room had been Kelsey’s when a janitor walked by, speaking to his colleague. 

“You won’t believe what I found in the trash bin this morning,” the janitor said, dramatically pulling out a small velvet box. His face lit up with excitement. 

“A diamond necklace! What do you think–is it real or fake?” 

Jason felt his world tilt on its axis. The familiar velvet box – the same one he’d presented to Kelsey just last night with such confidence, such certainty that his gesture would be enough. His stomach twisted into a painful knot as he snatched the box from the janitor’s hands. His fingers trembled visibly as he opened it. 

Inside was the diamond necklace he’d given Kelsey, now crushed and bent, as though someone had deliberately damaged it. The sight hit him with a force he wasn’t prepared for, knocking the air from his lungs. Each broken link, each bent prong felt like a direct message from Kelsey – this is what you did to my heart. 

He staggered backward, colliding with the wall behind him. The physical pain didn’t register at all. 

So Kelsey truly was done with him. So completely done that she’d not only thrown away his expensive gift but had taken the time to destroy it first. 

And she’d graduated early and moved out without telling him a word. 

The realization cut deeper than any physical wound he’d ever experienced. This wasn’t just rejection. This was erasure. She had removed every trace of him from her life, as thoroughly as if he’d never 

16:59 

Chapter 12 

existed at all. 

Jason stood there, feeling a hollowness spread through him that no victory on the ice had ever left. Even when his team had lost championships, he’d never felt this… empty. Meanwhile, the janitor angrily grabbed the box back. 

“What’s your problem? I found it, so it’s mine now! Even if you threw it away, finders keepers!” 

Jason couldn’t even summon the energy to argue. The necklace – once a symbol of his power and certainty – now felt as meaningless as everything else in his carefully constructed world. With numb fingers, he pulled out his phone and called Kelsey again and again, each unanswered ring echoing the growing void inside him. 

But each time, it went straight to voicemail. Her voice – recorded and distant – was the only part of her he could still reach. 

“Hey, this is Kelsey. Leave a message!” 

How had he never noticed the musical quality of her voice before? The slight lift at the end of her sentences? The warmth that somehow came through even in a short recorded message? 

A growing sense of dread consumed him as he rushed out, heading to the dance studio where Kelsey spent most of her time. Maybe there was still a chance. Maybe she had left something there, some clue about where she’d gone or when she’d be back. 

His footsteps echoed in the empty hallways as he ran, oblivious to the curious stares of passing students. Jason Stan – who had always moved through the school like he owned it – now looked wild–eyed and desperate, his perfect appearance disheveled, his usual confident smile nowhere to be seen. 

When he reached the studio, the familiar scent of rosin and polish hit him immediately. How many times had he waited here for Kelsey to finish practice? How many times had he watched her dance – really watched her – when she thought his attention was elsewhere? 

Kelsey was nowhere to be found, but he spotted her roommates Zoe and Mia gathering some items from Kelsey’s locker. His heart leapt with desperate hope as he rushed over, nearly knocking over a rack of costumes in his haste. 

He grabbed Zoe’s arm urgently, his fingers digging in too hard. 

“Do you know where Kelsey is?” The question came out more like a plea than a demand. 

The girls exchanged surprised glances before looking back at Jason. Something in their expressions – a mixture of pity and confusion – made his stomach drop. 

“You don’t know?” Mia asked slowly. “Kelsey left for London today. Her flight’s probably taking off right 

now.” 

16:59 

Chapter 12 

The words hit like a thunderbolt, freezing him in place. London. Halfway across the world. 

“What?” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “London? What’s Kelsey doing in London?” 

His mind raced frantically. This had to be a mistake. A misunderstanding. A cruel joke. Kelsey wouldn’t leave the country without telling him. She wouldn’t just… disappear. 

Kelsey’s roommates stared at him with growing confusion, the realization dawning on their faces that he truly had no idea. 

“You really don’t know?” Zoe said, her voice gentler now. “Kelsey received a full scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London months ago. She’s gone there to study dance.” 

The floor seemed to drop out from beneath him as the truth crashed down. She hadn’t just left him. She had left the country. Started a new life. And she’d been planning it for months, even while he thought he was the one in control. 

“But…” he started, his voice hollow, “what about Juilliard? The Early Admission spot?” 

“Kelsey was never interested in Juilliard,” Mia explained, exchanging another glance with Zoe. “London was always her dream. She only considered staying because…” 

She trailed off, but Jason could finish the sentence himself. Because of him. She had considered giving up her dream for him, while he had been using her all along. 

Or had he? The lines had blurred somewhere along the way, leaving him standing here, feeling like he’d lost something irreplaceable before he’d even recognized its value. 

Too late. He was too late.