"Honestly, I should have walked away a long time ago."

As the words tumbled out, Chloe's eyes grew visibly red, tears welling in her lower lids.

She paused, lifting her brimming gaze to look directly into his eyes.

"Charles, now that we have both reclaimed our freedom, why don't we find our way back to each other?"

Charles stared at her, momentarily paralyzed by her declaration. The moment his brain processed the words, he fired back immediately.

"We ended things years ago, Chloe. A relationship that has already run its course belongs firmly in the past."

But Chloe refused to let it go, the tears finally spilling over as she reached across the table to grasp his hand tightly, her voice laced with intense grievance.

"If it's truly over, then why did you take a detour to building three every single day? Why is it that whenever there was a hostile patient dispute in my department, you were always the very first person to sprint to the front lines, shielding me with your own body?"

"Furthermore, during that recent department social, when the staff used your phone to play music, I saw it—your private library still contains the exact playlist I curated for you. Your vehicle still displays the custom charm I gifted you years ago. Do you honestly expect me to believe your heart is completely empty of my presence?"

"Our bond was so deep, Charles. I know with absolute certainty that even while I was married to someone else, your soul remained anchored to me. Now you are divorced, I am free, and I secured a massive financial payout from the settlement. There are absolutely no barriers left between us."

"Even destiny is clearing the path for us. Let's start over, alright?"

With every sentence she uttered, Charles's frown deepened further.

The moment she finished speaking, he violently wrenched his hand out of her grip, his delivery carrying a freezing, absolute finality.

"Fulfilling my duty to protect a colleague in a workplace dispute is a basic professional courtesy; it carries absolutely no personal significance. Furthermore, whatever transpired between us belongs to the past, and dwelling on it now is entirely meaningless."

"I have absolutely no intention of entering a new relationship. Do not utter such statements ever again, lest it invite unnecessary professional gossip."

With that final word, he stood up and walked straight out of the room.

Chloe stared at his retreating figure, her nails digging viciously into her palms, her face twisted with unyielding resentment.

When Charles finally unlocked the door to his apartment that evening, he was met with total darkness and a heavy, suffocating silence.

Standing in the entryway, a sudden wave of disorientation washed over him.

In the old days, no matter how late his shifts ran, a soft, welcoming light would always be left burning in the living room.

The dining table would always feature a warm, carefully preserved midnight meal waiting for his return.

Now, there was absolutely nothing.

Charles collapsed onto the sofa, staring at Sera's digital profile avatar for an eternity. Eventually, unable to contain the ache in his chest, he typed out a message to her.

"How has your body been feeling lately?"

The exact second he hit send, a bright, searing red exclamation mark popped up next to his bubble.

Sera had blocked his number completely.

Charles let out a hollow, self-deprecating laugh.

After a long pause, he opened her social media profile, scrolling through her gallery over and over again.

Until this exact moment, he had never truly understood how vast the world was.

Every meaningful encounter was a rare, beautiful miracle.

Yet he had carelessly thrown away the one person whose entire world had revolved around him.

He didn't sleep a single wink that night.

The following day.

Sera spent the morning selecting premium mountaineering equipment at an outdoor supplier.

Her next destination was a legendary mountain range famous for its treacherous trails and sea of clouds.

Clutching her shopping bags, she stepped out of the storefront just as her phone buzzed with an incoming call from an unregistered number.

Sera accepted the call, and Charles's raw voice instantly drifted through the receiver.

"It's me. Regarding the asset division from our divorce settlement, when are you available to meet? I'd like to wire you the cash equivalent for your equity in the apartment."

Sera replied evenly, "There's no need. I don't want it."

Charles remained fiercely stubborn. "It is what you are legally owed. Furthermore, you left several personal belongings behind at the apartment—your identification documents, and that custom sculpture you always preserved on your desk..."

Sera considered the matter for a moment before offering a slight nod.

"Fine. I'll stop by tomorrow morning to collect them."

With that, she ended the call cleanly.

On the other end of the line, Charles handed the device back to his colleague, Dr. Blake.

Dr. Blake took his phone, casting a heavily sympathetic look at him as he patted his shoulder.

"Charles, I shouldn't interfere in your personal affairs, but you truly were far too cold to her in the past. When she was hospitalized, your rounds took you right past her room, yet you didn't even bother to step inside to check on her. It's really no wonder she pushed for a divorce."

"If you genuinely want to salvage this and have her forgive you, you need to swallow your pride completely. Learn her preferences, pay attention to her emotional cues, and stop acting like an unyielding brick wall. You have to show her real warmth."

Charles gave a solemn nod, carving each word deeply into his consciousness.

"I am not begging for her forgiveness right now. I only want to stay by her side and look after her for the final stretch of her journey."

Hearing this, Dr. Blake instinctively opened his mouth to reveal that Sera's terminal diagnosis had been an absolute error.

But recalling Sera's explicit, chilling instructions, he forced the words back down and merely let out a heavy sigh. "It's good that you want to step up. She truly loved you with a pure heart; once you win her back, make sure you cherish her."

Charles murmured a quiet affirmation, the resolve in his heart hardening further.

The following morning.

Sera arrived precisely on time at the apartment they had shared as a married couple.

The moment she pressed the bell, the door swung open from the inside.

Charles was wearing a domestic apron. Upon seeing her, his rigid features automatically softened into a warm smile.

"Come on in."

Sera stared at the unfamiliar, gentle curvature of his lips, momentarily taken aback.

Charles stepped to the side to clear the path, his voice carrying a softness she had never heard from him before.

"Go ahead and pack your things first. I prepared some fresh blueberry soufflés, you can try them in a bit."

"No need. I'll leave the moment I collect my things."

Sera walked past him straight into the study, beginning to systematically sort through the remaining items she had left behind.

Halfway through her packing, Charles walked into the room holding a dessert plate.

"Take a short break and have something sweet. I noticed on your page that you order this dessert in every city you visit, so I tried replicating the recipe myself. See how it tastes."

Sera had only had a glass of milk that morning and was indeed feeling a bit hungry. Deciding not to stand on ceremony, she took the plate and took a slow bite.

After a moment, she offered a terse nod. "It's decent."

An instant flash of delight sparked in Charles's eyes, his smile widening perceptibly.

"If you ever want to eat it in the future, just tell me. I can prepare it for you whenever you want, or any other dish you desire."

"There won't be a future. I'll be gone the moment I finish packing."

Sera swallowed the last bite of the dessert, set the empty plate down, and went right back to organizing her boxes.

Seeing the absolute, chilly detachment in her eyes, Charles felt a sharp, physical pang twist his heart.

He rolled up his sleeves, kneeling beside her to help sort through the files.

"Your health is fragile, go sit down and rest. Just tell me what needs to go where, and I'll handle the lifting for you."

As he spoke, he reached out to lift a heavy storage box from the desk.

In doing so, his foot caught the edge of a nearby bin meant for discarded items, causing an old, weathered photo album to tumble out onto the floor.

He leaned down to retrieve it, but the exact moment his eyes fell upon the open pages, he froze entirely.

Every single page of the album was filled with nothing but photographs of him.

Charles's hands began to tremble violently as he picked up the book, flipping through the pages in a blur.

There were snapshots of him in every setting imaginable.