Yes. Jacob was right. I had to let the police take care of this.When we arrived at the police station, the horizon was turning bright.I took out the security footage and showed it to the police. As I cradled Cotton, I waited for the police to call me in for questioning. Nancy was detained, but it would not bring Cotton back.With Cotton’s tiny body in my arms, I headed out. Zephyr followed closely behind me. When I opened my car door, he hesitantly grabbed my arm. “Dew, I didn’t know that Cotton died. Nancy tricked me and said that Cotton bit her…”But he immediately let go of my arm when I glared at him. The hate in my eyes must have shocked him.I turned around, and through the fog in my head, I remembered our past together.The day he confessed to me, the weather was nice, and the sun’s rays shone on him so perfectly that he seemed to have a halo.With a bouquet of flowers in hand, he timidly asked, “Dew, will you be my girlfriend?”That halo was gone.Jacob buried Cott
When he looked up, his eyes were bright. “Dew, will you forgive me now? I’ve already set aside my pride to do this.”I stared at him with gloomy eyes, but I felt shocked. Perhaps the Zephyr in the past was long dead. All he cared about at present was my status, and he wanted to rise to the top in one shot.“I never said that I was going to forgive you. You’re the one who assumed.”“What the…?” Zephyr’s face turned red, but he did not manage to complete his sentence even as he stared at me for a long time.At some point, Nancy was released from the police station. When she saw Zephyr acting like that, she wanted to pull him away.“Zephyr, Dew doesn’t want you anymore. Why won’t you be with me?”This time, Zephyr flung Nancy’s hand away without hesitation. “What would you know? You can never give me what Dew could! Get lost!”As I watched these two fight even though they loved each other dearly in the past, I thought how fake their whole relationship was.Some bystanders uploaded
My assistant, Patrin Xenia, was shocked. “Dew, didn’t you say that you didn’t want your boyfriend to know? Why did you change your mind?”To spare Zephyr’s pride, I attended the competition and art exhibition as a normal visitor. No one knew that I was the organizer.On that day, I was supposed to attend the adjudicators’ gathering at the international art festival so that I could support Zephyr during future competitions.But Zephyr had told me that he wanted me to see his work today and be the sole viewer of his art, so I changed my plans.I drew in a deep breath and said in forced relaxation, “I need to clean up some trash.”Patrin remained silent for a long while before she said, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow on time.”I knew she must think I was doing this because I was being a lovesick fool again.After I made my call, I saw the visitors still staring at the painting.I felt my skin crawl. My heart hurt as if I was being stabbed multiple times.When I turned around, I saw Z
Zephyr asked stiffly, “You’ve just only arrived. Why are you leaving? Didn’t we agree that you’d visit my art exhibition?“I was just talking about more professional things with Nancy. We weren’t talking down on you.”Was he offering me an explanation? But when it came to art professionalism, they could not hope to compare to me, who had built a foundation in art since I was young.I composed myself, even though I was on the verge of a breakdown. After squashing down all of my emotions, I turned around aloofly. “You’re professionals, alright. I won’t be bothering you now. Have fun with your discussion.”I met Zephyr’s eyes just now; they had no emotions.The teenager who once spoke about his art passionately during art exhibitions was gone.When he looked at me, his eyes were no longer gentle and affectionate. Instead, they were full of impatience and complicated emotions.Even though we were just a few feet apart, I felt as if worlds separated us.At the sight of my aloofness,
I grabbed the invitation. “This is mine. You have no right to give it to someone else.”When Nancy saw the increasingly tense atmosphere between us, she hurried over to play the mediator. “Zephyr, I can wait for you outside. I don’t have to come in. I’ll be happy if you just go out and tell me about it. Don’t fight because of me, okay?”She swung his arm like she was acting all cutesy.Just as I expected, Zephyr calmed down. He gave me a cold look. “I suppose I’ve finally come to realize you’re this sort of person, Dew.”I did not have the energy to continue arguing with him. I just went upstairs, but when I reached the second floor, my tears fell.I knew it; the one who fell in love harder always lost.I was already twenty-seven years old. I should stop clinging to certain delusions.I lay in bed and sank into my thoughts. Just when I was about to fall asleep, I heard someone knocking on my door. “Dew, can I borrow one of your pajamas? I came in a hurry and forgot to bring it.”
No matter how Zephyr shouted or tried to fix the relationship from outside, I never responded.I lost sleep that night. Everything that had happened between us in the past flashed before my eyes.We first met during an art exhibition. Zephyr fell in love with me at first sight, and he created all sorts of “coincidental” meetups with me later on.I thought that he had been sincere toward me. At that point, I had witnessed far too much deceit in my life, and I wanted someone who treated me sincerely, regardless of whether he was rich or not.So, I quietly invested in the competitions he attended and got him partnerships.My friends who knew that I had hidden my identity from him criticized me more than once. “Why are you protecting that stupid pride of his as an artist?”At that time, I had smiled at that, but I no longer felt that he was worthy of my sincere love.After the entire night, I packed up most of my stuff and could leave the next day. Patrin picked me up for an inter
Zephyr’s eyes flew wide open, and his face was drained of color. He was in apparent disbelief. The glass of wine he held fell to the floor and shattered with a loud crash.The reporters did not miss how he had turned pale and asked him questions. After all, he had bashed on Jacob confidently during the interview just then.Some reporters started asking me questions.“Why didn’t you vote for the favorite of the art festival and instead voted for Jacob when he has never participated in any of the competitions in the country before?”In a relaxed manner, I picked up a microphone. While Zephyr glared at me hatefully, I answered, “I believe that the artists themselves are more valuable than their works. If that person is not a virtuous person, then his artwork…”I did not finish my sentence, but the meaning was clear.Everyone cast Zephyr disdainful glances.Once I reached my goal, I left the stage calmly and decided to chat with Jacob. After all, it had been a long time since we las
Jacob gave me a scrutinizing look. “Dew, I don’t remember you being a person who would be hurt by love.”I smiled bitterly. “Just assume I was blind in the past, but it’s not too late for me to start my life anew.”I moved into my new place. That night, I slept soundly. Cotton snored while she slept beside me as well.I slept until the sun was well up in the sky. Patrin sent me my itinerary for the day. Today was the closing ceremony for the art festival, and I had to go.When I stepped into the hall, the hustle and bustle instantly died down.Instead, everyone cast me strange glances while they looked at my collar.When I looked at the center of the hall, I was stunned.I saw an erotic portrait located over there. The model had an alluring figure and held a bold posture in the portrait. The red mole on the chest stood out like a sore thumb on the model’s fair body.When I looked up, I saw that the model had my face.Before I could recover from my shock, nosey reporters came
When he looked up, his eyes were bright. “Dew, will you forgive me now? I’ve already set aside my pride to do this.”I stared at him with gloomy eyes, but I felt shocked. Perhaps the Zephyr in the past was long dead. All he cared about at present was my status, and he wanted to rise to the top in one shot.“I never said that I was going to forgive you. You’re the one who assumed.”“What the…?” Zephyr’s face turned red, but he did not manage to complete his sentence even as he stared at me for a long time.At some point, Nancy was released from the police station. When she saw Zephyr acting like that, she wanted to pull him away.“Zephyr, Dew doesn’t want you anymore. Why won’t you be with me?”This time, Zephyr flung Nancy’s hand away without hesitation. “What would you know? You can never give me what Dew could! Get lost!”As I watched these two fight even though they loved each other dearly in the past, I thought how fake their whole relationship was.Some bystanders uploaded
Yes. Jacob was right. I had to let the police take care of this.When we arrived at the police station, the horizon was turning bright.I took out the security footage and showed it to the police. As I cradled Cotton, I waited for the police to call me in for questioning. Nancy was detained, but it would not bring Cotton back.With Cotton’s tiny body in my arms, I headed out. Zephyr followed closely behind me. When I opened my car door, he hesitantly grabbed my arm. “Dew, I didn’t know that Cotton died. Nancy tricked me and said that Cotton bit her…”But he immediately let go of my arm when I glared at him. The hate in my eyes must have shocked him.I turned around, and through the fog in my head, I remembered our past together.The day he confessed to me, the weather was nice, and the sun’s rays shone on him so perfectly that he seemed to have a halo.With a bouquet of flowers in hand, he timidly asked, “Dew, will you be my girlfriend?”That halo was gone.Jacob buried Cott
Zephyr’s voice turned gentle as well. “Calm down, Dew. I’ll look for Cotton. Don’t do anything stupid.”But how could I possibly listen to him? I shouted, “I’ll look for Cotton and Nancy, and I won’t forgive her!”Zephyr panicked as well, but he kept comforting me. “I’ll look, Dew. Trust me. Cotton will be fine.”His words fell on deaf ears. After I hung up, I called Patrin to have her look up the address Nancy used when she registered at the company. My hands kept shaking, and I called the police.While I was on my way to Nancy’s house, I kept comforting myself that Zephyr would never let Nancy hurt Cotton. After all, he loved Cotton too.I found Nancy’s house, and I kept banging on her door, but no one opened it.Just when I wanted to go to Zephyr’s house to take a look, Patrin called me, and she sounded anxious. “Dew, Zephyr asked you to go to the People’s Hospital to pick Cotton up.”“The hospital? What happened to Cotton?” I asked in panic, but Patrin refused to say anyth
Jacob gave me a scrutinizing look. “Dew, I don’t remember you being a person who would be hurt by love.”I smiled bitterly. “Just assume I was blind in the past, but it’s not too late for me to start my life anew.”I moved into my new place. That night, I slept soundly. Cotton snored while she slept beside me as well.I slept until the sun was well up in the sky. Patrin sent me my itinerary for the day. Today was the closing ceremony for the art festival, and I had to go.When I stepped into the hall, the hustle and bustle instantly died down.Instead, everyone cast me strange glances while they looked at my collar.When I looked at the center of the hall, I was stunned.I saw an erotic portrait located over there. The model had an alluring figure and held a bold posture in the portrait. The red mole on the chest stood out like a sore thumb on the model’s fair body.When I looked up, I saw that the model had my face.Before I could recover from my shock, nosey reporters came
Zephyr’s eyes flew wide open, and his face was drained of color. He was in apparent disbelief. The glass of wine he held fell to the floor and shattered with a loud crash.The reporters did not miss how he had turned pale and asked him questions. After all, he had bashed on Jacob confidently during the interview just then.Some reporters started asking me questions.“Why didn’t you vote for the favorite of the art festival and instead voted for Jacob when he has never participated in any of the competitions in the country before?”In a relaxed manner, I picked up a microphone. While Zephyr glared at me hatefully, I answered, “I believe that the artists themselves are more valuable than their works. If that person is not a virtuous person, then his artwork…”I did not finish my sentence, but the meaning was clear.Everyone cast Zephyr disdainful glances.Once I reached my goal, I left the stage calmly and decided to chat with Jacob. After all, it had been a long time since we las
No matter how Zephyr shouted or tried to fix the relationship from outside, I never responded.I lost sleep that night. Everything that had happened between us in the past flashed before my eyes.We first met during an art exhibition. Zephyr fell in love with me at first sight, and he created all sorts of “coincidental” meetups with me later on.I thought that he had been sincere toward me. At that point, I had witnessed far too much deceit in my life, and I wanted someone who treated me sincerely, regardless of whether he was rich or not.So, I quietly invested in the competitions he attended and got him partnerships.My friends who knew that I had hidden my identity from him criticized me more than once. “Why are you protecting that stupid pride of his as an artist?”At that time, I had smiled at that, but I no longer felt that he was worthy of my sincere love.After the entire night, I packed up most of my stuff and could leave the next day. Patrin picked me up for an inter
I grabbed the invitation. “This is mine. You have no right to give it to someone else.”When Nancy saw the increasingly tense atmosphere between us, she hurried over to play the mediator. “Zephyr, I can wait for you outside. I don’t have to come in. I’ll be happy if you just go out and tell me about it. Don’t fight because of me, okay?”She swung his arm like she was acting all cutesy.Just as I expected, Zephyr calmed down. He gave me a cold look. “I suppose I’ve finally come to realize you’re this sort of person, Dew.”I did not have the energy to continue arguing with him. I just went upstairs, but when I reached the second floor, my tears fell.I knew it; the one who fell in love harder always lost.I was already twenty-seven years old. I should stop clinging to certain delusions.I lay in bed and sank into my thoughts. Just when I was about to fall asleep, I heard someone knocking on my door. “Dew, can I borrow one of your pajamas? I came in a hurry and forgot to bring it.”
Zephyr asked stiffly, “You’ve just only arrived. Why are you leaving? Didn’t we agree that you’d visit my art exhibition?“I was just talking about more professional things with Nancy. We weren’t talking down on you.”Was he offering me an explanation? But when it came to art professionalism, they could not hope to compare to me, who had built a foundation in art since I was young.I composed myself, even though I was on the verge of a breakdown. After squashing down all of my emotions, I turned around aloofly. “You’re professionals, alright. I won’t be bothering you now. Have fun with your discussion.”I met Zephyr’s eyes just now; they had no emotions.The teenager who once spoke about his art passionately during art exhibitions was gone.When he looked at me, his eyes were no longer gentle and affectionate. Instead, they were full of impatience and complicated emotions.Even though we were just a few feet apart, I felt as if worlds separated us.At the sight of my aloofness,
My assistant, Patrin Xenia, was shocked. “Dew, didn’t you say that you didn’t want your boyfriend to know? Why did you change your mind?”To spare Zephyr’s pride, I attended the competition and art exhibition as a normal visitor. No one knew that I was the organizer.On that day, I was supposed to attend the adjudicators’ gathering at the international art festival so that I could support Zephyr during future competitions.But Zephyr had told me that he wanted me to see his work today and be the sole viewer of his art, so I changed my plans.I drew in a deep breath and said in forced relaxation, “I need to clean up some trash.”Patrin remained silent for a long while before she said, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow on time.”I knew she must think I was doing this because I was being a lovesick fool again.After I made my call, I saw the visitors still staring at the painting.I felt my skin crawl. My heart hurt as if I was being stabbed multiple times.When I turned around, I saw Z