Aside from Evelyn, everyone had had a few drinks, their faces flushed, clearly a little tipsy.
No one knew who started it, but all of a sudden, the conversation shifted to ex-boyfriends.
Some people doubled over with laughter. Others had tears in their eyes.

A few stories were so ridiculous that Sophie could barely breathe from laughing. She nudged the only sober person next to her.
"Evelyn, what about you?"
For a moment, Evelyn's expression went blank.
Unbidden, memories surfaced in her mind.
For some reason, she found it difficult to speak.
After all this time, she didn't feel sad when Matteo's name came up.

But looking at these young women who were still students and carefree, she just didn't know where to begin.
The mood briefly stalled.
Realizing she might have struck a nerve, Sophie quickly steered the conversation in another direction, not wanting to put Evelyn on the spot.
Once everyone had left, Sophia, now more clear-headed, scooted over with an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry, Evelyn. I drank too much earlier and wasn't thinking before I spoke."

Evelyn, of course, didn't blame her. With a smile, she reached out and ruffled the girl's hair before urging her to get some rest.
When her room was tidied up and she had showered, Evelyn lay in bed and unlocked the new social media account she had created before coming to Algaria.
Only one close friend had her new contact information.
No one else knew where she was. No one else could reach her.
Yet, now, dozens of unread messages had flooded her screen, the notification count still climbing.
Evelyn's eyes widened in surprise.
Clicking into them, she quickly realized that nearly all of them were about Matteo.
"Matteo's seriously messed up. Didn't he get his one true love back? Now that you're gone, he suddenly woke up and realized your worth. Please. What does he think this is, some dramatic novel where the jerk hero gets a second chance?
"He keeps asking me where you went every other day. But don't worry, Eve, I'd never tell him. Oh, right. A month ago, he even got into a screaming match with his mom at some fancy dinner party. I caught bits of it. It seems like he blames her for driving you away.
"This dude is seriously delusional. What does his mom have to do with anything? The real issue is that he was a two-timing liar!
"Lately, he's been drinking nonstop. I heard he drank himself into the ICU the other day and almost gave himself stomach bleeding. The doctor told him he absolutely couldn't drink like that again.
"If you ask me, his luck is just too damn good. How did he not drink himself to death?"
And it went on and on, message after message, all tearing into Matteo.
Evelyn felt nothing when she saw his name and the many updates about him. There wasn't even the slightest ripple in her heart.
It was almost as if everything that happened between them had belonged to a past life.
She reached out and pulled open the curtains.
Outside, the sky was a brilliant, cloudless blue. It was so pure that it looked like a polished sapphire.
Sunlight streamed in, warm and golden, chasing away the last traces of cold lingering on her skin.
"Evelyn, I'm heading to class!" a bright, youthful voice called from outside.
Evelyn smiled.
"Take care!" she called back before glancing at her phone. Her voice was light, free.
"You don't need to update me about Matteo anymore."
The last remnants of illusions that had clung to her finally disappeared.