Never Getting Her Back novel Chapter 3

Three days later was the reunion for the Computer Science Department's Class of 2021.

Clara walked in and immediately spotted Damon. He was right in the middle of a crowd, but the second he saw her, he made his way over and sat down next to her.

The whole mood in the private room shifted the moment they sat together. Everything was awkward and tense.

Clara knew she was the reason. To her former classmates, she had only married Damon to climb the social ladder. None of them had ever thought much of her.

But she didn't bother correcting their assumptions. She just sat there and stayed quiet and unreadable.

The class representative showed up late and walked in carrying a big cardboard box. Addressing everyone, the class representative said, "I wanted to get everyone together today partly to catch up and partly because it's finally time to open those 'letters to our future selves in five years' we wrote. I thought it'd be fun to read them together."

In an instant, the room buzzed with excitement as everyone crowded around.

"Let's make this interesting. Let's have everyone pick a random letter and read it out loud!"

"Great idea! I'm going first!" One of the most outgoing guys in the class elbowed his way into the crowd and grabbed an envelope.

Egged on by a few curious classmates who had no idea what he was about to read, he ripped it open, cleared his throat, and began, "'Clara, how are you five years from now? I'm writing this under the sunlight.

"Though I have no clue where you'll be or how you'll feel when you finally read this, I want to share what's on my mind right now.'"

The room went quiet the moment they heard the first line. Every eye shifted to Clara. Even Damon, who had been focused on his phone, looked at her in surprise.

Clara, who was usually calm and collected, felt her stomach drop. She knew exactly what she had written in that letter.

The guy reading it shot her a mischievous grin before continuing, "'This year, you're 19, a sophomore, and you've fallen for Damon Croft—even though he has no clue. And even if he did, it wouldn't make a difference, because he likes someone else.

"Your feelings were never going to lead anywhere. You might wonder why not move on if it was hopeless. Well, here's why.

"I love him for that fire in his eyes when the crowd cheers him on, for the small but unthinking kindness he showed me one night when he shielded me from a stray basketball, and for the way he's always unfailingly polite, even when turning someone down.

"I was the one craning my neck every week at the morning assembly just to sneak a glance at him. I was the one who heard he got hurt playing basketball and, despite the storm, slipped medicine into his desk. I was the one who filled an entire page in my diary with his name.

"He might never remember me for the rest of his life, but that's fine. A crush is chaos, but only in one person's head.'"