The Distance between us

Episode two:Goodbyes are never easy

The flight to London felt longer than Chloe had expected.

She sat beside the window, watching the clouds drift beneath the airplane as the familiar landscape of home disappeared from sight. Around her, passengers settled into their seats, watched movies, or slept peacefully.

Chloe could do none of those things.

Her mind kept returning to Daniel.

She remembered the way he held her hand when they crossed busy roads, how he always stole the last bite of her food, and how he could tell when something was wrong even when she insisted she was fine.

She remembered the evening he had taken her to the beach after she received her job offer.

They had walked barefoot along the shore while the waves washed over their feet.

"You know what I think?" Daniel had asked.

"What?"

"I think one day you're going to become so successful that you'll forget about the poor man who used to buy you roadside suya."

Chloe had laughed. "You? Poor? Please."

"I'm serious."

She had stopped walking and faced him.

"Daniel, success isn't going to make me forget the people who loved me before I had anything."

He had looked at her for a long moment before pulling her into his arms.

"Then promise you'll never forget me."

She had promised without hesitation.

Now, sitting thousands of feet above the Atlantic Ocean, Chloe wondered whether promises could survive the things people couldn't control.

She pulled out her phone and scrolled through their photographs.

There was one of Daniel holding an umbrella over her during a rainstorm while his own shirt became completely soaked. Another showed them laughing at a restaurant after he accidentally ordered a dish neither of them could pronounce.

Her favorite was a photograph taken on her birthday.

Daniel stood behind her, his chin resting on her shoulder, while she held a small cake with one candle.

The caption he had written beneath it read, My favorite person in the entire world.

Chloe touched the screen.

"Don't forget me," she whispered.

A flight attendant approached and asked whether she wanted something to drink.

"Water, please."

As the attendant walked away, Chloe's phone vibrated with a message.

Daniel: Have you eaten anything?

She smiled.

Chloe: I'm on a plane, Daniel. I'm not going to starve.

Daniel: You say that now. Then you'll arrive in London and forget that food exists because you'll be busy conquering the world.

Chloe: Someone has to make us rich.

Daniel: I was planning to marry you before you became a billionaire.

Her smile slowly faded.

She read the message twice.

Before she could reply, another message arrived.

Daniel: Sorry. I didn't mean to make you emotional. Just teasing you.

Chloe stared at the screen.

For months, they had joked about marriage. Daniel had never hidden the fact that he wanted a future with her, but they had agreed to take their time until they were both ready.

Now, with an ocean separating them, she wondered whether waiting had been a mistake.

What if London changed her priorities?

What if Daniel met someone who could be beside him every day?

What if love wasn't enough?

She typed carefully.

Chloe: When I come back, we'll talk about our future properly.

His reply was simple.

Daniel: I'll be waiting.

Chloe placed the phone against her chest and closed her eyes.

She wanted to believe him.

She needed to believe him.

But deep inside, an unfamiliar fear had begun to grow.

Love had always seemed simple when they shared the same city, the same streets, and the same evenings.

Now she was learning that loving someone from far away meant trusting them when you couldn't see what they were doing, forgiving the silence when conversations became difficult, and holding on to memories when loneliness made the future feel uncertain.

As the plane continued toward London, Chloe whispered the words she hoped would become their promise.

"Whatever happens, we'll find our way back to each other."

She didn't know that Daniel was sitting alone in his apartment, staring at the ring he had intended to give her.

And she certainly didn't know that the following morning, a woman from his past would arrive at his office carrying news that could destroy the future he had imagined with Chloe.