The first fracture appeared after Jamie’s graduation.

After the ceremony, he returned to his hometown for work, while I still had two years left before finishing my degree.

Long-distance relationships are difficult.

From then on, we could only rely on phone calls, messages, and the internet to prove that we still existed in each other’s lives.

Every morning, I woke up to his messages.

Queenie, are you awake?

Don’t forget to eat breakfast before class.

Queenie, it’s getting cold in Sydney. Remember to take a jacket when you go out.

Through those little messages, I could still feel his love.

I could still feel him.

At first, I hoped Jamie would find a job in Sydney and stay. But in the end, he found work in Melbourne. It was a good job, the kind of opportunity he could not easily give up.

When he told me his decision, insecurity rose inside me almost immediately.

We fought many times over it.

It was also the first time since we got together that Jamie did not compromise with me.

I was afraid that once his job became stable, he would never return to Sydney.

Then what about me?

When I asked him this, he avoided giving me a direct answer. He only said we could talk about it after I graduated.

But graduation was still two years away.

Two years was too long.

I wanted to see him all the time. So every semester break, I could barely wait to take the next flight to Melbourne.

After the two-hour flight, we would stay in a hotel together for several days.

During those days, we talked about the future often.

“When we buy a house, I need a big walk-in wardrobe,” I told him. “It has to fit hundreds of clothes and accessories. I also want those rotating cabinets, the kind that look like they belong in a boutique.”

Jamie laughed and said he wanted a large study, with a top-performance computer and the world’s most comfortable gaming chair.

“If we ever fight,” he said, “I’ll spend the whole night in there playing games.”

“You dare?”

“Then I’ll play quietly.”

We talked about everything.

Wedding venues.

The kind of home we wanted.

How many children we might have.

Even what their names would be.

Once, lying beside him in the hotel room, I suddenly asked, “What if we break up one day?”

Jamie did not even think about it.

“That’s impossible.”

I was not satisfied.

“What if I don’t want you anymore one day?”

Jamie turned to look at me. After a moment, he said, “Then I’ll find someone who looks like you and make do for the rest of my life.”

I immediately jumped on him and tickled him until he begged for mercy.

Back then, I thought it was only a joke.

But now, it was starting to come true.