❥𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 || 𝐌𝐉 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 ❥/𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮𝓽𝓮𝓭/•

💗𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟱: 𝖯𝖺𝗌𝗌𝖺𝗀𝖾 𝖮𝖿 𝖳𝗂𝗆𝖾💗

𝙁𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜
𝙊𝙛 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨.
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After you had walked out that night, you had essentially left your entire life behind. Things were a complete mess, undoubtedly, but that was how you and Michael had left it.

You'd left to start a new life, far enough from where your old life had been, and even though you both could easily have found each other again, you didn't.

Bill had taken you to the airport, where you intended to catch a flight that would take you well away from your old life - even though no amount of distance could ever have truly allowed you to escape.

Leaving was probably the most painful experience you had ever put yourself through, especially because you'd so suddenly disappeared from the lives of those that loved you. Frank, and the others, had been devastated to have learnt that you'd simply left, and the fact that Michael was reluctant to give them answers - as a result of his own grief - only denied them of the closure they needed.

Everyone that had once known you had ended up living miserably - emotionally, at least. It was as if a dark cloud had descended upon what had once been the most beautiful love story on the planet, and as the years went by, people began to realize that it could never be reversed or amended - a shocking reality to adjust to, more so because it genuinely felt like a tragedy that should never have happened.

You weren't proud about leaving the way you did, but you also knew that things could never be the same after the whole truth had been revealed - and making futile attempts to fix that would only have brought more pain.

Whilst you had naturally cut contact with everyone you had once known, you never forgot Carol - sending her a letter every so often. The correspondence was far from regular, but it reassured her that you were alright and that you would never forget her.

Other than that, you and Michael had gone your separate ways, even though you had never gotten over each other.

The public outcry was the biggest problem, because no one understood why you had suddenly separated. Fans were left baffled by the unanticipated announcement that your marriage had run its course - and for the first time in ten years, new pictures of the two of you together were no longer possible.

Strangely enough, neither of you had ever filed for a divorce, even when you had long disunited.

However, the public was led to believe that a divorce had gone through, just to ease suspicion.

See, no one knew the nature of your separation - no one but the people that were close to you. To the rest of the world, your marriage simply hadn't worked out, resulting in a mutual call for a divorce - but of course, that was not the way of it.

So whilst the two of you were soon being touted as divorced individuals, you were actually still married.

Not that it had made any difference anyway, for time and distance had erased all memories of a true marriage.

The truth was that everyone was now much older, and a great deal had changed.

Technology had advanced, culture had grown more diverse, music had blossomed further, and everyone had grown up.

Many memorable faces from your past had passed away, and those painful losses had reminded you that time waited for no one - life went on.

Even when immense sorrow remained stagnant, life pushed forward.