Those past memories were quietly smoothed away by time.
Every detail of my life with Fabian gradually blurred.
The occasional tenderness. Brief moments of warmth.
Long and silent nights. Waiting without an answer.
Everything drifted away with the wind, as if from another lifetime.
After returning from the wedding of my father’s friend’s son, my mother suddenly grabbed my hand, frowned slightly, and asked, “I noticed you were spacing out just now. Were you thinking about Fabian again?”
I froze for a moment, then answered honestly, “I was thinking about how the steamed fish at the banquet was made. It tasted different from yours.”
My mother could not help but laugh. “Tomorrow I will have your father ask about it.”
I wrapped my arm around hers and leaned in, rubbing against her like a spoiled child.
The house was warm and peaceful.
Before the wedding began.
Fabian stood outside Yvette’s room for a long time.
He wanted to explain that this wedding was only meant to make up for the regrets of his youth with Thalia.
Just compensation. Nothing more.
The divorce he mentioned that day had been spoken in the heat of the moment. It had never been his true intention.
Fabian only wanted Yvette to understand that at that moment, she could rely only on him.
At some point, he had begun using the sharpest words to hurt her again and again.
Now, regret surged over him like a tide.
He regretted the cruel words that slipped out so easily, regretted pushing Yvette farther away each time.
There was no response from inside the room. Fabian turned to the butler and asked, “Where is Madam?”
The butler thought he was referring to Thalia and replied, “Madam is getting her makeup done.”
Fabian answered, “Alright.”
Yesterday, Fabian had asked someone to deliver a set of formal attire to Yvette.
It was custom made two months earlier.
Whenever he saw something delicate and beautiful, Fabian would instinctively want to buy it for Yvette.
The pale pink color suited her well.
He could even picture her wearing it, the corners of his mouth lifting unconsciously.
But until the wedding began, Yvette never appeared.
Fabian’s heart jolted. He asked again, “Where is Madam?”
The butler lowered his head, his voice trembling. “Madam went to the airport early this morning to see Chairman Jiang off.”
The wedding time arrived.
Fabian no longer cared about Thalia behind him. He turned and rushed into the guest room of the villa, pushed the door open, and went inside.
The room was so neat it made his heart panic, as if no one had ever lived there.
Only the pale pink dress lay quietly in place, untouched and brand new.
Fabian’s heart plunged into an abyss. A tearing pain spread through his chest.
Yvette was truly leaving.
Fabian rushed into the garage, grabbed a sports car at random, and sped away in full view of the stunned guests.
Thalia stumbled after him, her wedding dress dragging along the ground, tears blurring her makeup.
“Fabian, please do not go…”
Fabian was the groom, the protagonist of this wedding.
How could the protagonist be absent from his own ceremony.
This wedding was something Fabian had longed for over so many years.
Yet Thalia could only watch as the car disappeared from sight.
Her body gave way, and she collapsed onto the steps.
Separated by thousands of miles, perhaps she would never see her again.
Fabian covered his face with both hands. Tears slipped through his fingers, the suppressed sobs breaking the heart.
Chaos erupted around him.
The assistant rushed over. “President Shen, what happened?”
Fabian could not say a single word.
Above the villa, fireworks prepared a day in advance bloomed across the clear blue sky.
