I Erased Our Marriage Timeline Chapter 07
September arrived.
Perla stepped out of London Heathrow pulling her suitcase behind her. She took a deep breath.
The air was crisp and damp, carrying the distinct scent of a foreign land.
She switched on her phone and messaged Bethany to let her know she’d landed safely.
Bethany replied instantly: “Glad you made it! Take good care of yourself.”
A moment later, a string of voice messages came through one after another. “Wrap up warm; London is freezing. If you run short on cash, just tell me — don’t go skimping. And remember to video call me this weekend; I miss you already.”
Perla smiled, listening to them one by one. “Got it,” she typed back. “You too.”
Bethany sent another: “Joseph asked me to check if you’d arrived yet.”
Perla paused for a heartbeat before typing: “I’m here. Tell him not to worry.”
Bethany sent a smirk emoji. “Oh, he’s not worried. Just a casual question. By the way, did your friend Theodore come with you?”
“Yeah, we came together. We’re at different schools, but they aren’t far apart.”
“That’s good. At least you’ve got someone to look out for you.”
Perla tucked her phone away and hailed a cab.
London was a wash of moody grays; the buildings lining the streets looked ancient and dignified.
As she stared out the window, her heart felt remarkably still.
In her past life, she had surrendered every possibility just to stay by Joseph’s side.
This time, she was finally living for herself.
Once settled, her life fell into a steady rhythm.
Her coursework was intense, and she spent nearly every day buried in the library. Only occasionally on weekends would she grab a meal with Theodore.
Theodore was a gentle soul. He knew her situation, and his conduct was always impeccable, never overstepping.
They were like comrades-in-arms, pushing and encouraging each other through the grind.
Bethany video-called her every week.
Sometimes, Bethany would suddenly pout. “Perla, you’ve gotten thinner.”
“I haven’t. I eat a ton.”
“You definitely have. Even Joseph said…”
Bethany trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging.
Perla didn’t press her.
She knew exactly what Bethany wanted to say, but she had no desire to know what Joseph was thinking.
In the blink of an eye, December arrived, bringing London’s first snowfall.
Perla snapped a photo of the white-dusted landscape and posted it to Instagram with the caption: “First snow.”
Bethany liked it immediately, commenting, “So beautiful! Keep warm.”
A few minutes later, Joseph liked the post too, but he left no comment.
Perla spared it a single glance before shutting off her phone.
What she didn’t know was that, far away back home, Joseph stared at that photo for a long, long time.
In the picture, Perla wore a red coat and a gray scarf, standing in the snow with a radiant smile.
Her eyes were bright and alive when she smiled.
She had never smiled at him like that.
Or perhaps she had, once, but he hadn’t bothered to notice back then.
Bethany emerged from the kitchen and saw him dazed, staring at his screen. She leaned in for a look.
“Perla posted on Instagram? Wow, she looks stunning in that coat.”
Joseph locked the screen and placed the phone face down on the table. “Yeah.”
Bethany shot him a look but said nothing.
That night, after Bethany had gone to sleep, Joseph sat alone in the living room.
He opened his phone and scrolled through Perla’s feed.
He looked at her life in London — the libraries, the cafes, the River Thames, Big Ben…
In every shot, she looked genuinely happy.
Occasionally, there would be the back of a tall, lean guy in the frame. He assumed it was Theodore.
Joseph set the phone down and closed his eyes.
Lately, he had been dreaming constantly.
The dreams were chaotic — flashes of Perla, of Bethany, and of a room he didn’t recognize.
He kept reaching out to grasp something, but his hands always came back empty.