Chapter 7
“Jane, I’ve fallen in love again.”
The other end of the phone fell silent once more.
“If Caleb finds out, he’ll really blow up.”
The corners of my mouth instantly dropped.
Why did she have to bring up such an unlucky thing on such a festive day?
“How has he been bothering you?”
“It’s not too bad, actually. He’s just been trying to find out where you are in various ways, wanting to see you.”
“What does he want with me? Does he want to see me being intimate with another man? So annoying. I already helped him revive his idealized love, and now he’s thinking about his real–life love again.”
“Natalie, running away won’t solve the problem. If you want to be completely free of him, I suggest you meet him once.
་་
After hanging up, I playfully rolled around a couple of times on the goose down blanket.
Then I dialed that number.
Chapter 7
That night, I lay in Zachary’s arms as we gazed through the floor–to–ceiling windows at the snow falling like goose feathers outside.
The firewood in the fireplace burned vigorously.
“I’m going to see him tomorrow.”
Zachary’s hand, which had been stroking my hair, paused for a
moment.
Okay.”
“It should be over by four. Can you pick me up? I want to eat those little cakes you bought me last time.”
“Whatever you want.”
I sat up and knelt on Zachary’s lap, looking into his eyes. “Once all these issues are resolved, you won’t be so tired anymore. I don’t want him disrupting our life.”
On the third day, snow covered the entire city.
I had chosen a café near the school as our meeting place.
When I arrived, Caleb had already been waiting for some time. He asked, “Would you like something to drink?”
“Thanks, but I don’t like coffee.”
Chapter 7
Caleb opened his mouth, hesitated, but ultimately just said, “I’m
sorry.”
Sorry for what? Sorry that after six years together, he still didn’t know what I liked to drink?
Seeing someone I once knew suddenly irritated me. I took out a cigarette and lit it.
“When did you start smoking? After you left me?”
I shook my head. “I always have.”
“You weren’t… like this before.”
I sighed and said, “I’ve always been like this, but you didn’t know. You always wanted me to play the role of Scarlett.”
Caleb’s eyes revealed immense pain as he said, “Natalie, I know you gave me many chances before. Could you give me one last chance?”
“Caleb, on the day of the car accident, I felt incredibly hurt.”
“I gave you six years of my youth, and you gave me what I wanted back then. Ours was a transactional relationship. I was the one who first coveted something that wasn’t mine, so I paid the price.”
“It wasn’t coveting—I just didn’t understand my own heart. Natalie, the fact that you agreed to see me, doesn’t that mean there’s still a possibility between us?”
3/4
Chapter 7
I glanced at my watch and saw it was almost time.
“It’s absolutely impossible. I came here to make you give up completely.”
With that, I stood up and left.
As I pushed open the café door, I immediately spotted the man standing under the streetlight. Snowflakes had begun falling again from the sky, and a thin layer of snow had already settled on him. In his hand was the bag from the cake shop I wanted.
A smile spread across my face as I ran toward him.
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