Chapter 5
Chapter 9
When he once again rise to stay by Son’s ide
1 dragged my entrase onto the plane to Smith Africa.
Traveling with me w*** * few leagues.
When they saw the scars on my face and my haggard appearshes, they were stom
After all, not long ago, I had invited them to my wedding with Enzo Carson, beaming, with happinen.
ty exchanged uneasy glances but said nothing
Finally, Owen Shawn, a colleague I was done with, hesitated before quietly slipping a phace of candy into my palm.
“Don’t be sad. A new place means a new beginning,”
I had endured all the harm Enzo inflicted on me with gritted teeth.
Yet this small act of kindness broke me, and tears began to stream uncontrollably.
Jcried for myself and for the six years I had lost.
If Enzo had never shown me even a sliver of genuine affection, I wouldn’t have been so devastated.
But over the past six years,
He had been so good to me, giving me warmth and joy I had never known before.
Only to shatter all my illusions when I loved him the most.
Unable to hold back any longer, I leaned into Owen’s arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
My colleagues sighed in sympathy.
“Ah, when Enzo proposed to you, it was so romantic. We were all envious, thinking you two were the perfect couple destined for a lifetime together. Who could’ve imagined it would end like this…”
A proposal atop a snow-capped mountain might seem romantic.
But during my recovery, Sonia told me the truth.
It had been their promise from years ago-
A gesture of romance Enzo had promised her.
I had merely been lucky enough to bask in Sonia’s shadow.
Enzo’s love wasn’t mine; neither was his kindness.
Once Sonia, his shining first love, returned, I, the substitute, became nothing more than a joke.
Owen listened to my sobbing and gently patted my back.
With silence and patience, he comforted me with his quiet kindness.
After arriving at our destination, our new colleagues enthusiastically helped us set up our new identities.
Handing over my phone and ID, I glanced at my updated documents and felt an unexpected sense of rebirth.
At this fork in the road of life,
I hadn’t become a parasitic vine clinging to Enzo Carson.
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Fading Love, Sorrowful Yeaterday
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Chapter 5
Instead, I chose a vast, open path of my own.
Owen smiled and patted my shoulder.
“What a coincidence–we’ve been assigned to the same team.”
“Let’s support each other moving forward. I’m sure we’ll achieve great things together!”
I didn’t respond but found myself infected by his optimism.
South Africa was hot, with the sun shining brightly all day long.
Standing under the sun, Owen’s eyes sparkled with hope and determination.
my frozen heart gradually melt and begin to beat again-
This time, for my career and my bright future.
In the days that followed, Owen and I became an excellent team.
We interviewed soldiers on the front lines and spoke with children who had lost everything.
I witnessed a side of the world I had never seen before, experiencing lives I had never imagined.
Amid the countless stories of joy and sorrow,
The trivial love and heartbreak between Enzo and me began to feel insignificant.
My days were filled with work and purpose, leaving no time to grieve over the past.
Unbeknownst to me, across the vast ocean,
Enzo Carson was searching for me–on the verge of losing his mind.
Sonia Fenella’s condition wasn’t serious, but she stubbornly refused to leave the hospital, dragging Enzo Carson along to care for her.
Upon learning that Enzo frequently visited Mandy Tamatha, she pulled every trick in the book to keep them apart.
She would throw tantrums over trivial matters or run Enzo ragged with her demands.
The day Enzo jumped into the lake, he caught a cold from the chilly wind.
Coupled with days of stress and exhaustion, he soon developed a low–grade fever.
Drained and disoriented, he could barely manage to collapse into bed at the end of the day.
Half–asleep, Enzo felt an overwhelming discomfort.
Instinctively, he reached out to the other side of the bed, only to find it cold and empty.
In that instant, he snapped awake.
He remembered how Mandy had always been by his side when he was sick.
She would brew warm ginger tea.
She’d stay up all night changing cold compresses.
No matter how terrible he felt, the faint scent of gardenias on her made him feel at ease.
But now, there was no ginger tea, no towels, no familiar gardenia fragrance.
Frantically, Enzo grabbed his phone and called Mandy.
“Sorry, the number you dialed has been disconnected.”
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The icy mechanical voice echoed in the empty room, sending a chill down Enzo’s spine.
He immediately called a colleague at the hospital.
“Mandy? She was discharged a while ago. Didn’t you know?”
“Enzo, if you ask me, you went too far. Even if you don’t love her, she’s still your fiancée in name.”
“She just had a miscarriage, and instead of being there for her, you spent all your time with your ex. Anyone in her position would’ve been devastated.”
Enzo stood frozen, as if struck by lightning.
The words barely registered; only two thoughts echoed in his mind:
Mandy had a miscarriage?
Did he really not care about Mandy?
If he didn’t care, why did his chest hurt so much right now?
Clutching his heart, Enzo slowly crouched down, staring blankly at the empty room.
No wonder it had felt so desolate lately.
Everything that belonged to Mandy had disappeared.
What was once a cozy and warm home now felt cold and lifeless after her departure.
The chill of the night breeze carried an unbearable loneliness, enveloping him in an instant.