A couple sat on the steps at the entrance.

The girl was leaning on the boy's shoulder, holding their red marriage certificates in her hands, flipping through them over and over again.

The boy held her, lowering his head to kiss her hair.

Five years ago, I thought the same way.

Once I got the marriage certificate, I would lean on Liam's shoulder, and we would flip through it over and over again, for a lifetime.

But there was no "us," and in the end, it was just him waiting here for me for ten hours alone.

I stood there for a while, and then I left.

The night before Liam's wedding, just as it was getting dark, I went out.

The night wind in Linwood was very chilly.

I walked slowly, all by myself, along the road I had walked countless times before.

I walked past the school Liam and I used to attend.

The steamed bun shop at the school gate was closed.

The bus stop where he waited for me countless times was still there, though the sign had been changed.

I stood under the bus stop sign, the wind blowing my hair all over my face.

The last bus had long since departed.

The final stop was the old city wall.

The bookstore we loved to visit on weekends was long gone; the walls were covered in vines, and the windows were boarded up with wood.

I stood at the base of the wall, looking at the closed door.

There were footsteps behind me, carrying the familiar woody scent on the wind.

I turned to look; it was Liam.

I didn't know why he appeared here at this hour.

But I didn't ask, and he didn't speak.

We stood side by side; the wind was strong, but it couldn't blow away the silence.

Then, with a tacit understanding, we brushed past each other.

I didn't look back. Neither did he.

On the day of the wedding, I went.

I stood at the very back of the crowd, watching Joanne walk toward him in her white wedding dress.

Lace sleeves, a satin skirt, and tiny pearls embroidered at the waist. It was beautiful.

He stood on the stage, in a black suit, his hair combed back, revealing his forehead.

He watched her walk over, a faint curve on his lips.

I watched him. I took every detail into my eyes.

The way he lowered his head to let her put on the ring, his fingers as he took the wine glass, the silhouette of his profile illuminated by the lights.

From today on, none of this belongs to me.

During the toasts, I stood in a corner, holding that glass of untouched champagne.

He walked from table to table, occasionally stopping, occasionally smiling.

At one moment, his gaze swept over the crowd and paused.

I didn't know what he was looking at; perhaps he wasn't looking at anything at all, just habit.

In my heart, I said to him: Liam, five years ago I couldn't make it, but today I am here.

Today, watching you marry someone else, watching you happy—I won't wait for you anymore.

I put down the champagne and turned toward the door.

I handed the gift envelope to the receptionist; inside was a bank card and a note—"Wishing you happiness. Clara."

Walking out the hotel entrance, the wind hit me—it was strong.

I hailed a taxi and said to the driver, "To the airport, international terminal."

……

At the wedding banquet.

Liam finished his rounds of toasting and stood by the window.

"Liam." A woman stood before him. She was wearing a black trench coat, her hair dry and yellow.

Liam found her somewhat familiar, but he didn't recognize her.

He asked, "Who are you?"

The woman said, "Clara's sister, Su Wanqing."

His fingers paused—the sister whose husband had been seduced by Clara.

"It was you who backed Clara up, wasn't it?" Su Wanqing spoke quickly, and her eyes began to slowly turn bloodshot.

"My sister was obedient since she was young; she listened to everything I said."

"But then she met you. You backed her up, you taught her that women don't have to have children, and you taught her that when she marries, she doesn't have to bow to her in-laws. You are the one who corrupted her!!"

Liam gripped his wine glass tightly, a buzzing sound ringing in his brain.

The woman before him was filled with hatred, her voice shrill.

"If it weren't for you, she would have been willing to have a child for my husband! She wouldn't have gone to the police! I wouldn't have gone to jail! My husband wouldn't be in for rape! It’s all because of you!"

"Why did you let her get pregnant back then, why did you let her ruin her womb so she could never have my husband's child again—give her womb back to me—!"

Chapter 8

Su Wanqing's voice was like a red-hot blade, cutting through Liam's eardrums and straight into his heart.

He stood frozen as the wine glass slipped from his hand.

It shattered on the carpet, and the red wine splashed onto his pant legs. He didn't look down.

He just watched Su Wanqing, watching her mouth open and close, watching her say those words he couldn't even begin to understand.

Clara? Rape? Pregnant? Ruined womb?

He recognized every single word, but together, they made no sense.

He turned to look at Joanne. Joanne's face was a bit pale, but she calmly raised a hand to call security to drag the woman away.

Su Wanqing didn't stop as she was dragged off; those vicious curses stabbed in like needles.

"Everything she resisted me for was because of you. I curse you to have no descendants..."

It felt like ten thousand bees were buzzing in Liam's brain.

He remembered Clara's words at the coffee shop: "There's nothing to say."

It wasn't that she had nothing to say; it was that she couldn't say it.

He remembered her saying at the bridal shop, "We have no past."

It wasn't that they had no past; it was that the past was too painful for her to swallow alone.

He remembered her hair blowing in the wind under the old city wall and the way she didn't look at him.

It wasn't that she didn't want to look at him; it was that she didn't dare. She was afraid that if she looked once, she would never be able to leave.

He had hated her for five years.

She had carried it all alone for five years.

Liam pushed through the crowd and rushed out.

Someone called him, but he didn't look back.

People behind him were exclaiming, others were shouting his name, but he couldn't hear a thing.

There was only one thought in his mind—where is she? Has she left?

The car sped away.

Linwood's night scene flashed past the window, stretching into blurred ribbons of light.

His hands were trembling; he couldn't hold the steering wheel steady.

He ran several red lights, but he didn't know, and he didn't care.

Arriving at the hotel where Clara stayed, the front desk responded politely.

"Ms. Su checked out this morning."

Liam's voice was hoarse. "Did she leave anything behind?"

"No. The room has already been cleaned."

Liam, unwilling to give up, rushed upstairs.

The room door was open; the sheets had been changed, the curtains were pulled back, and the lights shone in, empty and vacant.

She left nothing behind. It was as if she had never been here.

He stood there, just like he had stood outside the civil affairs bureau five years ago—lonely.

He dialed the number of the hospital where they did the pre-marital checkup.

The director said Dr. Su had resigned and was going abroad, but didn't say where.

He hung up, his hands trembling.

He dialed another number.

"Help me look up someone. Clara, current name Su Qing, female, left Linwood today. Where did she go?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment, followed by the sound of typing.

Immediately afterward, the voice replied, "Oslo, Norway."

Oslo.

Liam booked a flight immediately.

The flight was at dawn, two hours away.

It was very late when he walked out of the hotel, and the wind was very cold.

He stood on the steps and looked up; the sky was gray.

Five years ago, she disappeared from here; five years later, she disappeared from here again. The same city, the same person, the same feeling of helplessness.

While waiting in the VIP lounge, Liam remembered Clara standing under the old city wall, her hair blowing in the wind, not looking at him.

Just leaving behind a very soft, very light "Happy wedding" as they brushed past each other.

He remembered the glimmer of water in her eyes when she said she would come to his wedding.

Boarding, taking off. The city outside the window grew more distant, the lights growing smaller and smaller until they disappeared beneath the clouds.