Leaving the courthouse felt liberating. Before I could say goodbye to Adrian, Matthew burst out. He rushed down the steps toward where I was standing.

Everyone instinctively shielded me in the middle.

He appeared sad and resentful. Some of his friends held him back. He stared at me with sorrow.

"Hon…" He couldn't say it.

My heart dropped as well.

"Chlo, don't go... Please, Chlo, give me a chance. I just want to talk to you for a few minutes!" He tried to get away from the people holding him, and his eyes begged me.

"Chlo, give me another chance to talk to you! Even if these are our parting words, honey, we still haven’t said a lot. I'm begging you!"

"Don't call me that. You've lost that privilege. Besides, I don't believe there's anything left for us to discuss," I replied.

"No, Chlo, there's something I need to say. Please, don't hold me back! What's going on?" Matthew begged, looking at me and the surrounding crowd.

I asked them to release him. "Go ahead."

He glanced at t