"I sensed your fatigue and asked you why. You’re the one who hid it from me, saying you didn't want me to worry, and changed the subject!"

She questioned him like a madwoman, but the dream ended just like reality—in a bitter fallout.

When she woke the next day, Jolene had a splitting headache. She looked up to find Xavier watching her. After a tense silence, seeing her pale, bloodless face, Xavier finally sighed.

"Let’s just be okay. Stop acting out, alright?" He wore a floor-length black coat over his white shirt, looking every bit the refined gentleman. He knelt down to help her put on her warm boots.

His sharp, handsome profile overlapped with the memory of the innocent boy she once knew, but Jolene felt no fluttering in her heart—only bitterness and cold.

"Chloe and I are just superior and subordinate. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to the hospital today to see for yourself."

"Fine," Jolene agreed. She paused, her voice airy. "I have something to tell you later, too."

Last night, she had decided to continue her studies. She had chosen a distant university and decisively booked a flight departing in one week. It wasn't out of spite. On the contrary, she had thought long and hard. Regardless of whether Xavier’s words were spoken in anger, they were like jagged stones rubbed into her flesh—the pain was dull but impossible to ignore.

What she wanted had always been a pure love. If it wasn't that, she would rather discard it, even if it broke her heart. Out of respect for Xavier, she wanted to tell him, to at least end things with some dignity.

They drove to the hospital in silence. As he was parking, Xavier received a call. Jolene could faintly hear a tearful female voice. Whatever was said made him turn to her and say he had an urgent matter to handle, telling Jolene to wait in his office.

Jolene wanted to say she didn't know the way, but Xavier slammed the car door in a hurry, leaving her with only the sight of his rushing back.

The hauntingly empty parking lot left Jolene alone. The hospital was massive, and it took her quite a while just to find her bearings.

Taking the elevator to the tenth floor, Jolene walked toward the nurses' station to ask for directions to the office. Instead, she heard the young nurses chatting excitedly.

"I told you! Chloe just felt a bit wronged because a patient complained, but with one phone call, Director Xavier came rushing over!"

Jolene’s footsteps froze.

So this was the "urgent matter" Xavier spoke of—leaving her behind without a second thought.

"If you ask me, the Director is pampering Chloe like she’s his little girlfriend!"

"Whether it’s consultations or surgeries, he teaches her step-by-step. He’s practically a textbook devoted boyfriend! Last time, a patient’s family even teased them about when they were getting married!"

One nurse whispered, "But doesn't the Director have a fiancée?"

Another snorted. "A girlfriend abroad is someone you can't see or touch. How can she compete with our sweet Chloe? When Chloe gives him that sugary smile, the Director’s heart just melts!"

Jolene stood there for a moment as self-mockery slowly consumed her.

She turned around only to find Xavier and Chloe standing at the end of the hallway.

The oversized coat the girl was wearing looked hauntingly familiar—it was the anniversary gift Jolene had given Xavier.

She had once asked him why she never saw him wear it, and his answer had been that it was too precious, so he had tucked it away.

It turned out to be just another lie.

She wondered how many gentle lies he had woven over the past three years, to the point where every moment of exposure felt like a dense, suffocating net, leaving Jolene scarred and bound.

Chloe was crying piteously, her face drenched in tears.

Xavier was gently wiping them away, his eyes overflowing with a level of indulgence that was almost unbearable to watch. "Stop crying. Didn't I just stand up for you?"

"As long as I'm here, no one is allowed to bully you."

Being coaxed so softly by a man of his stature, Chloe finally broke into a smile through her tears. She then pouted and asked coquettishly, "Then can you tell me... who was that woman who called you last night?"

Xavier went silent.

It was likely only a few seconds, but in Jolene’s eyes, it felt as long as the changing seasons.

After what felt like a century, she heard Xavier’s deep voice: "Just a friend. We aren't close."

Not close.

Those two short words were like a sharp blade striking Jolene right between the eyes, leaving her bloodied and broken.

She suddenly laughed.

Right, they weren't close.

Just two strangers who had been by each other's side for ten years and promised to grow old together.

However, Chloe, having received her answer, was overjoyed. Deep affection and maidenly shyness hid within her bright eyes.

She gently stood on her tiptoes, her fragrant red lips moving toward Xavier.

Jolene saw it clearly.

Xavier didn't even need to step back; a slight turn of his head would have been enough to politely stop her.

But he didn't.

The girl’s lips pressed against the man’s sharp jawline.

It was lingering and suggestive.

Like a meat grinder shredding Jolene’s flesh, it left her utterly destroyed, falling into hell.

She forgot how she managed to make it downstairs.

It wasn't until she received a call from Xavier, his voice uncharacteristically dry. "Are you here? You... didn't see anything just now, did you?"

"Are you afraid of what I might have seen?"

Jolene asked quietly as tears slid into the corners of her mouth.

Salty and bitter. It was a taste she loathed.

She truly didn't understand—did Xavier actually care? If so, why did he choose to betray her?

"Of course not."

Xavier let out a sigh of relief. Because of his guilt and panic, he failed to hear the dead silence in her voice. He said cheerfully, "Then come up quickly. Didn't you have something to discuss with me?"

"I’m not coming." Jolene’s breath formed a white mist in the air as she murmured dazedly, "It seems that matter isn't important to you anymore."

With that, ignoring the man’s stunned and angry voice, she hung up.

A relationship spanning ten years took a great deal of effort to clear away.

Just the priceless jewelry, couple's clothing, and cameras filled two large boxes.

The things she had brought back from abroad with such high hopes were now all donated to charity.

After seeing off the smiling recycling staff, Jolene opened the glass display case.

The glass was spotless, showing the owner’s extreme care.

She slowly took out the boarding passes inside.

The first one: March 6, 2023.

Their first reunion after a short separation. It was that night, in an exotic apartment, that she and Xavier first tasted the forbidden fruit.

The young man’s body had been burning hot; though he was sweating from restraint, he carefully controlled his desire, constantly soothing her with a gentle voice.

The tenth one: April 7, 2023.

In a gap of just one month, Xavier had flown ten times. Because she had fallen ill upon arriving in a new environment, Xavier had been frantic, swapping shifts with colleagues just to fly out frequently.

During that time, the man who was usually obsessed with cleanliness had stubble on his chin and bloodshot eyes, yet he never uttered a word of exhaustion.

The 450th one: February 1, 2024.

Their first New Year’s Eve spent abroad.

Outside, it was snowing; inside, the fire roared. Fireworks lit up the sky outside the window, while they remained inseparable inside.

The 700th one...

As the memories flickered before her eyes, Jolene realized she hadn't forgotten a single detail.

Ten years—it was etched into her bones and heart. Yet now, she had to forcibly tear that flesh away, inch by inch.

The papers symbolizing their time together were tossed into the fire.

Soon, the flames died out, and the warmth vanished with them.

Staring at the pile of ashes, she could vaguely see the names of the two cities on the scorched scraps.

Everton, London.

The distance between heaven and earth.

Jolene’s heart felt as if half of it had been gouged out. Her throat felt blocked by expanding cotton; she wanted to scream out her sorrow a thousand times over, but she couldn't make a sound.

Xavier.

Everything between us is severed. We owe each other nothing.

"How could this happen?!"

After Jolene finished her story in a flat voice, her best friend slammed her hand onto the table in indignation. She then leaned in with worry to comfort Jolene. "Jolene, don't be sad anymore."

There is no sorrow greater than the death of the heart. Jolene shook her head and whispered that she wouldn't be.

Instead, it was her friend who wailed as she poured wine into her mouth. "Where does Xavier get the confidence that you won't leave?"