Five Years Being “Practical,” Then I Made My Dream Pay Off Chapter 05
On the flight to Paris, Walter blinked awake.
He had just dreamed of Aria back in college. Young,
bright–eyed Aria, clinging to his arm and chattering excitedly
about her dreams.
She wanted to be a travel content creator, she’d said. Once.
she made enough money, she would take him traveling all
over the globe. She would earn the money, and he would get to enjoy life.
Walter let out a soft, amused chuckle at the memory.
After graduation, though, Aria had gone to work at a famous
design studio. Why had she made that choice? She had
wanted to make travel content.
Walter thought hard, until he recalled something he had
once told her: he wanted a wife with steady, reliable finances
and a stable career.
That was why Aria had given up her dream and taken the
studio job. A flicker of guilt crossed Walter’s mind.
He remembered Aria bringing up her dream European travel
series many times before. He had forgotten all about it.
Aria rarely lost her temper, especially after graduation, when
long–distance kept them apart. Still, Walter recalled one
incident from college: she’d given him the silent treatment
for two solid months over something trivial.
The memory soured his mood, draining all his excitement for the trip.
Zoe, on the other hand, was thrilled. She took photos
non–stop, chattering away beside him.
Walter suddenly thought Zoe reminded him of old–college Aria.
Back before real–world pressure, Aria had laughed just like
that, carrying her camera everywhere, rambling excitedly
about little things. He missed those moments.
He decided it was time to end the long–distance arrangement
once and for all. Since Aria had lost her job, she could move
to his city. It was time for them to discuss marriage.
Walking along the crowded streets of Paris, he turned toward
Zoe with a soft smile. “Zoe, when Aria and I get married, will
you be her bridesmaid? You’re practically her only friend, after all.”
Zoe’s smile faltered for just a split second, before she
brightened again, excited. “Absolutely! I’ll be her maid of honor!”
Walter nodded, satisfied.
That night back at the hotel, Walter tried messaging Aria.
only to realize he had been fully blocked.
He knocked on Zoe’s hotel room door and borrowed her
phone. Her calls went unanswered.
He grew stubborn and borrowed a stranger’s phone from
another guest staying in the hotel.
The line rang twice before a cold automated message played
The number you have dialed has been permanently disconnected.
Walter’s heart lurched. A terrible premonition settled over
him. Events were slipping out of his control.
Right then, his mother called him from her vacation in New
Zealand. “Walter, is what you texted true? That girl you’ve
been seeing for five years is actually willing to marry you?
Does she know how much of what you told her was made–up?”
Walter sounded irritable, brushing her off. “Just cut your trip
short and fly home as soon as you can.”
The York family was nothing like the story Walter had told
Aria. In reality, they were extremely wealthy, and his parents
shared a loving marriage.
That wealth, which had given them total financial freedom,
made Walter wary of people growing close to him.
Shortly before graduation, when Aria told him she planned
to become a travel creator, he had no doubt she could
succeed. Yet suspicion crept in: what if she had chosen that
volatile career only because she knew about his family fortune?
That was why he had planted his strict standards for a future
wife in her head. When Aria changed career paths to fit those
standards, Walter was genuinely pleased. To him, it proved
she loved him.
But suspicion once planted kept growing. He began
questioning whether her affection was genuine love, or
merely a sacrifice she made to stay with him. He chose never
to reveal the truth about his family wealth.
At a banquet one month earlier, he and Zoe had run into-
Aria’s supervisor. Zoe started making cutting remarks about
Aria. Walter felt a flicker of discomfort but said nothing to
stop her.
Some part of him thought Aria had already proven herself;
those harsh words might be exactly what she needed to
finally come back to him. All those cruel words could serve as
a push to bring her home.
When Aria confronted him later, he had no idea how to
explain himself, so he hid behind lectures and logic, hoping
to brush it all aside.
But everything had spiraled far worse than he intended.
Walter stood by the hotel window and sighed. The trip no
longer held any joy for him.
He booked the earliest return flight home, traveling back alone.