Chapter 3Wedding Eve Thunderstorm

The next day, I got up early, planning to tidy up the house and pack the large luggage that needed to be shipped.

I didn't expect Charlie to suddenly come home.

The photo of us at 27 crashed to the ground.

I hurriedly bent down to pick it up, but cut my finger on the glass, blood covering my hand.

Seeing this, Charlie immediately ran over to stop the bleeding.

His face full of distress, he said, "If you're not feeling well, just lie down obediently. Let the housekeeper clean up the house."

As he spoke, he angrily kicked the photo frame away.

I was stunned, staring at the shattered glass on the floor as tears fell.

That was... our engagement photo...

When Charlie earned his first bucket of gold, he excitedly bought me a little white dress.

And a small 0.5 carat diamond ring.

He took me to take a set of engagement photos.

He also said he wanted to treat me to a rotating buffet at the rooftop garden restaurant of the Empire State Building.

"Wouldn't that cost thousands?" I felt a bit pained.

Charlie put his arm around my shoulders and waved his hand grandly, "I earn the money, you spend it. Isn't that the natural order of things?"

I shook my head, pretending to be angry, "I hate eating things like sashimi. It upsets my stomach."

"How about... you treat me to a bowl of rice noodles with double fried eggs instead... Save the rest of the money... When I want to eat there someday, you can take me then..."

Charlie rubbed my forehead and said, "Okay."

But after that, we never ate rice noodles again.

The wedding he promised me was delayed for seven years.

Seven years had passed already.

Seeing me cry, Charlie became a bit flustered, asking if my hand hurt.

I shook my head, but the tears wouldn't stop.

"Don't cry, Rachel." He gently wiped my tears, "We still have to go try on wedding dresses today. If your eyes are swollen from crying, you won't look good in the dress..."

I was stunned.

"Didn't we already choose a wedding dress?"

Charlie's eyes flashed with guilt for a moment, "We did choose one... but the store just called me... They said a more luxurious, more expensive handmade wedding dress just came in..."

"I want to give you the best."

His gaze was fervent. For a moment, I couldn't tell if it was true or false.

But Charlie, I never wanted a more luxurious or expensive wedding.

None of this compares to the little white dress you gave me on our engagement day.

But I didn't resist, obediently following Charlie to the bridal shop.

As soon as we entered, the staff recognized him.

They only glanced at me before awkwardly averting their gaze.

I had a rough idea of what was going on.

Following Charlie's instructions, the store manager took me to the luxury section to choose a wedding dress.

Passing by the warehouse, I saw two staff members moving a wedding dress inside.

It was the one I had chosen before.

I smiled, not exposing anything.

After trying on a few, Charlie wasn't very satisfied, until I came out wearing a pure white satin strapless wedding dress.

Charlie's lowered head suddenly lifted.

He stared at me, speechless for a long time.

At that moment, I saw many emotions in his eyes.

Amazement, reminiscence, surprise, doubt, disgust, and impatience.

Finally, he frowned.

"Who told you to pick such a pure white fitted wedding dress for her!"

My heart sank.

Did he think I had tainted the pure and innocent Rachel in his heart?

Or was he convinced that I had used my body to earn money to help him through the economic crisis?

"I said! I want the most luxurious, the most sparkly, the most elaborate wedding dress! Don't try to fob me off with this kind of thing!"

The disgust in Charlie's eyes hurt me.

I didn't wait for the staff to bring a new wedding dress. I turned and went back into the fitting room, leaning my back against the wall, my eyes stinging.

Soon after, I heard Charlie talking to someone through the curtain.

"Why are you calling me... You know I'm with her trying on wedding dresses..."

"If you hadn't secretly run to the bridal shop and used my black card to buy the one she had ordered, would I need to come again?"

"Seeing her in pure white... I can't help but think of what you said..."

"Forget it, as long as I have you with me in the future, it's enough if she can just stay at home properly."

All the way until Charlie sent me home.

Those words he said kept lingering in my mind, refusing to go away.

When I came to my senses, I realized he had left again at some point.

I opened the wardrobe and started packing my luggage.

The white dress Charlie gave me when I was 27 was still hanging there.

I pulled it out and wrapped it up.

I stuffed it into a huge bag, planning to have someone come pick it up for recycling later.

I cleared out the few boxes from the attic storage room.

They contained many things we had moved over when we relocated.

There were several photo albums.

All filled with memories of Charlie and me.

I pulled them out one by one, throwing them into a fire pit to burn to ashes.

The empty albums, along with the boxes, were pushed outside the door waiting to be recycled.

Finally, I found a notebook.

It was piled together with the photo albums, its pages yellowed and covered in dust.

Opening it, I saw Charlie's handwriting densely filling the pages.

It was the account book he had used to keep track of his business since he started.

How much he borrowed, how much he repaid, how much he spent, how much he earned - all recorded clearly.

In my memory, Charlie always carried it with him wherever he went, never letting it out of his sight.

I don't know how it ended up stuffed in an old cardboard box, placed together with our memories.

I picked at the imprints on it.

They were stains from years of accumulated bread crumbs and vegetable soup, perhaps mixed with Charlie's tears when he felt life was hopeless.

Every page was filled with amounts.

"June 10, 2018, owe Mr. Zhao $20,000, to be repaid within one year."

"October 31, 2018, owe Mr. Hu $10,000, to be repaid within one year."

"December 31, 2018, year-end summary, owe Rachel a wedding, to be fulfilled in a lifetime."

I was stunned.

Flipping through page by page, my name would appear once every year that passed.

On the last page of the notebook, Charlie had written a line in big red letters.

"Charlie, don't forget to marry your girl."

"Remind yourself once every year, hoping that one day you can fulfill your promise!"

I didn't know how to react.

I could only smile weakly, hesitating before stuffing the notebook into a compartment of my suitcase.

Then I dragged my suitcase, preparing to fly my last flight before leaving.

Flying to Denver.

After landing, I would transfer to a flight to Canada to directly start my job at Atlantic Airways.

I just didn't expect to encounter Charlie on the flight.