“A con man sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme; but I felt a hole like this—never before, and ever since.”

https://open.spotify.com/track/3YkNIrAvbKNrrwwEd7NVLl?si=088BOp6nRp6fp8sZ8R4olg

Jakarta, March 2024

“You’re kidding me.”

June stares at the man in front of him; but he doesn’t reciprocate her. Years of knowing this person suddenly goes in the drain, since she barely knows him anymore.

A mere con man who once sold her a true love that turned out to be fakes. The worst thing was, she wasn’t even looking for one; until he convinced her that he was the one.

The one who would bury her six feet under, maybe.

“June, I don’t know what else to say other than I’m sorry—”

“Sorry? You’re sorry?” June fights hard the tears but she fails. “Nan, our apartment in London is already set up. You found a job in London. All I need to do is just finishing my internship and then we’re good to go… They already approved my exchange program. What happened? What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing, June. It’s all on me. I’m too coward to settle down—and I can’t leave my job now that they promoted me. If I let it go and start over in London, I would start from zero.”

“I don’t ask you to fucking marry me now. We’re just moving in together for my magister year and we can always come back to Indo later. And how about adventures? The bucket lists we’ve made?”

“Isn’t it all just child’s play? You’re older now, you need to be more invested in your future rather than crossing out silly bucket list.”

It feels like her whole heart has been struck with a meteorite so big it destroys almost everything. Keenan still avoids her eyes as she’s trying to pick up pieces of her after that goddamn blow. All of her dreams suddenly sound so silly to her, now. She used to map them out one by one, and he’s in every one of them. She makes sure he’s always in every part of her life—but apparently in his case, she’s never in one.

The person she’s known for years turns into a stranger she doesn’t recognize.

“I’m really sorry, I just can’t, June. I cannot move to London with you. Call me whatever names you like, I’m fine by that, I’m indeed the villain in this story of yours and I apologize for that. But please believe me that I will always cherish the love you’ve showed me—no one could ever love me in the way that you did.”

Men always say that you‘re the love of his life and still leaves you at the end of the day. But this wasn’t just any men—he was the love of her life, too.