Chapter 4Gone in the Snow

'We're not that close anyway'—the sentence couldn't have been simpler, but it was a sword that sliced through Lisa's heart right then.

Suddenly, Lisa laughed.

That was true—she and James weren't close at all.

They were just strangers who had kept each other company for ten years and once promised to stay with each other forever.

However, it was an answer that delighted Tina, her eyes glowing with a maidenly shyness and affection.

Standing on her toes, her sweet lips pressed toward James.

Lisa had a clear view of that moment—James just had to turn slightly without even taking a step to stop her.

But he didn't, and her lips met his chiseled jawline flirtatiously.

At that moment, she felt like she was thrown into a meat grinder, leaving her in tiny pieces.

She forgot when she left the building, only coming to her senses when she got a call from James.

"Have you arrived?" he asked, his voice dry for once. "Did you see anything?"

"What? What is it that you're worried I'd see?" Lisa asked softly.

At the same time, her tears trickled down to her lips.

It tasted salty—the exact flavor she hated.

She couldn't understand why James would worry about anything at this point.

If he did, then why did he cheat on her?

"Of course not," James replied, clearly relieved and too nervous to hear how flat Lisa's voice was, instead asking quickly, "You have something to discuss with me, right? Come on up."

"No, I won't be coming," Lisa said, breathing out a puff of vapor in self-deprecation. "It doesn't matter to you anyway."

Ignoring his prompt, surprised, and very angry retort, she hung up.

-

It was a ten-year relationship, so cleaning up still took some effort—the jewelry, couple clothing, and photos alone took two huge chests.

All the things she had brought home from abroad with high expectations would now be donated to charity.

After seeing off the beaming charity worker, she opened the glass shelf.

There was not a single speck of dust on it or in it—the sign of how precious it was to the owner.

Now, Lisa was slowly taking the plane tickets on display, one after the other.

The first was dated March 6, 2023.

It was their first meeting after she went abroad and it was that night when she and James had first made love in her foreign apartment.

His body was hot, and he was sweating all over, but he restrained his lust as he whispered tender words of assurance.

The tenth was dated April 7, 2023.

James had flown over to her many times in just a month. However, he insisted on making all the trips just because she had trouble adapting to the new environment and had caught a cold.

She still remembered how his eyes looked so bloodshot, and he had stubble all over his chin, but he never complained about how tired he was.

The 450th was dated January 1, 2024.

It was the first new year they had spent abroad—it was snowing outside, and they lit up a hearth indoors.

Then, they held each other in sweet embrace, watching as the dazzling fireworks erupted outside the window…

She even remembered the exact details of James' every trip, realizing she had never forgotten a single moment of their time together.

Those ten years were ingrained to her very soul, and it was like bits of her flesh being cut and removed.

As the slips that symbolized memories were thrown into the fire, everything was burned to ashes before long, and the warmth faded with the flames.

Still, Lisa could still make out the destinations from some of the ashes scattered around the floor.

Arondight and Maxton.

Two different corners of the earth.

Feeling like half her heart was cut off, her throat felt dry as if stuffed full of cotton.

There were so many different feelings that she wanted to scream out of her lungs, but she couldn't make a sound.

But one way or another, it was truly over between her and James Sachs now.