“That's not what I meant.”
I knew what he wanted to ask.
He wanted to ask why I was throwing away that jar of snow from up north, the one I'd insisted on keeping through every move, no matter how much of a hassle it was.
But right then, I didn't want to explain.
Ferris opened his mouth, then closed it.
His eyes flicked to his phone screen, just for a second, and his expression shifted.
He looked up at me, flustered, chest heaving, his voice rough：“Mel, I have to go. I'll see you soon. When I get back from dinner, we'll talk. Really talk.”
He made it to the door and froze, as if some instinct told him that if he walked out now, everything would be over.
The hesitation lasted less than two seconds before he pulled the door open and stepped through.
My heart sank with him, but I forced the corners of my mouth up：“Go ahead. Drive safe.”
A flicker of relief passed through his eyes.
“You……wait for me.”
I walked to the window and watched his car turn in the opposite direction from the office.
It wasn't that I didn't hurt. But my tear ducts, usually so reliable, couldn't produce a single drop.
Back in the bedroom, I finished packing, set the divorce papers and the yellowed, soft paper ring on the bed, and dialed my mother's number.
It barely rang once before she picked up.
“Melody?”
Her voice carried a cautious kind of joy.
“What is it? Isn't today your anniversary with Ferris?”
My throat closed：“Mom, I just……I want to come home.”
Ferris was halfway there when his phone buzzed again.
This time, Hannah had shared her location. She was at the airport.
“I bought two tickets to Japan tonight.”
“There's an hour left. I can't wait anymore. If you don't come, I'm going alone.”
Ferris stared at the message, his knuckles white against the steering wheel.
The airport, or the restaurant.
He thought of the shattered jar. But the image of Hannah standing alone, dragging her suitcase, kept circling through his head.
Three years, five years, Melody had waited all this time. A few more days wouldn't matter.
He clenched his jaw and hit the gas.
At the airport, Hannah threw herself into his arms, tears spilling instantly.
“I'm sorry, Ferris. Every time you say you'll come clean with her, every time you tell me to wait, but the baby in my belly can't wait.”
“I don't want to keep sneaking around. I don't want to drop you off at home and then sit alone imagining you eating dinner with her, talking with her.”
She tilted her face up, eyes red and raw, her voice small and wounded.
“You said the snow on Mount Fuji was the most beautiful in the world. You said that's where you'd give me an answer.”
Ferris looked at her, his mind a tangled mess.
But in the end, he nodded.
“Okay. I'll go too. I can't let you go alone.”
At the check-in counter, dragging Hannah's suitcase, he called me.
Phone off.
He tried again.
Still off.
He frowned and sent a text.
“Mel, something came up at work. I need to travel for a few days. We'll talk when I'm back.”
After hitting send, he dialed Samuel's number.
“Samuel, I have to go out of town for a few days. Keep an eye on Melody for me, will you? She's been off lately. I'm worried.”
Two seconds of silence on the other end.
“Ferris……I'm sorry, man.”
Ferris went still：“What do you mean?”
Samuel's voice was barely above a whisper：“Melody……she knows about Hannah. I told her.”
