Fractured [SHAWN MENDES]

~Prologue~

As tears rolled down his cheeks, he looked down the long sloping driveway at the beautiful oceanfront house near Dume Cove in Malibu. It had never officially been his home in the legal sense, but he'd lived in it for over two years. There were no lights on, but that was expected. It was empty. Empty and cold. Less than a month ago they'd been dancing around the kitchen after splitting a bottle of the red wine she'd bought four cases of the weekend he'd proposed in Sonoma.

He absentmindedly ran his hand over the hood of the antique car that he loved so much. She wanted it back, so here he was dutifully returning it. Pulling his phone from his jeans pocket, he looked to see if a text had come in while he was lost in his thoughts. Nope.

The car was running and the sounds of the playlist- their playlist- wafted through the cracked window. "If our song comes on, that's it; I'm doing it," he murmured to himself.

His eyes traveled past the house to the ocean. The view was due west, so he watched as the sun slowly sank into the water. How many times had they curled up on the gigantic deck watching the sunset? A hundred? And how many times had the beauty of that moment inspired him to confess his undying love and adoration? Probably also a hundred.

You're just too good to be true
Can't take my eyes off of you

"Jesus Christ...what are the odds?" he said as the next song began to play.

You'd be like Heaven to touch
I wanna hold you so much
At long last, love has arrived
And I thank God I'm alive
You're just too good to be true
Can't take my eyes off of you

He'd said he do it if their song came on, and if nothing else, he was a man of his word. "Goodbye," he whispered before fulfilling his promise.