"I didn't make it to Hutton's party today. Please apologize to him for me. I promise to make it up to him when I'm back," Brian said.

Rosalynn reassured him.

“Don't worry, he won't mind."

There was a moment of silence on Brian's end.

Rosalynn clutched the phone tightly, listening to his faint breaths.

A swirl of inexplicable emotions washed over her.

"Is there anything else? If not, I'll hang up now.”

To her disappointment, Brian simply responded with a flat “Okay.”

Was this just a perfunctory call?

Had their relationship deteriorated to the point where only such brief exchanges remained?

Her heart ached as if it had been scratched again, and the pain was almost unbearable.

Outside, the sun was hidden behind dark clouds, mirroring her mood with its absence of Light.

Behind her, Sanford's magnetic voice broke the silence.

"Rosalynn, I know what has been going on between you and Brian. Don't blame him too much. I've had a conversation with him. He is just jealous."

Rosalynn's heart skipped a beat, and she turned to look at Sanford, her curiosity piqued.

Sanford continued, “When something happened to your best friend, Karina, the first person you called was Barlow. Brian believes that you care more about Barlow and trust him more."

She trusted Barlow more?

Rosalynn pursed her lips as she struggled to find words to explain herself.

“I was..."

She stopped after realizing that there was no need to explain further.