The international director's film suddenly lost its funding, and production came to an abrupt halt. Feeling helpless, I returned home.With no upcoming projects, I ended up spending my days leisurely in the villa that Luke had bought earlier that year. I occupied my time by reading books and contemplating my situation.Luke had joked when he bought the villa, saying that it would be our little getaway in the future. Inside the cottage, we had created countless memories together. We had chosen plants and decorative paintings as a couple, and there was even a Ragdoll cat we had bought together. It would stand on the balcony, meowing away, and Luke would playfully call it our "second princess.""Of course, you're the first princess, my forever little princess," he would tease.During those days, I had naively believed that he could withstand the pressure from his family.After three days of being at home, Luke finally sensed that something was amiss. After some inquiries, he found ou

The day after I left, Luke bombarded me with phone calls, and I eventually decided to change my number. Since I couldn't give him a future, I couldn't stop him from pursuing his own.I have no idea how Luke spent those days, but I could keenly sense his heartache. During that time, I locked myself in my room, clutching our photos, crying until I felt numb, tears leaving my eyes vacant.My mom had to visit me every two hours, fearing I might do something drastic. I lay on my bed, repeatedly scrolling through our chat logs from over nine years. Each time, my heart ached afresh.A month later, word on the street had it that Luke had returned to the country and officially set a wedding date with Julie Blanchet. You see, in the end, there's always compromise. He compromised, and it was time for me to do the same.Before long, I received unexpected news from the international director I had previously worked with. He said the funding was in place and wanted me to return for the film. I n

"But Luke, my child is gone. How do you expect me to forgive? While you have your happy family, am I destined to grow old alone?"Outside the cathedral, cars passed on a pathway blanketed with golden ginkgo leaves. Each passing car stirred up a whirlwind of the withered leaves."You compromised in the end too, didn't you? You're married now. Why come back to waste my time? Does your wife know you're here?" I rubbed my slightly sore arm, thinking that tomorrow would probably be rainy. These past couple of years, due to relentless work, I had acquired some occupational ailments. I couldn't risk exposure to the wind; it made my whole body ache.Luke tried to take off his coat to offer it to me, but I declined, creating a considerable distance between us.Seeing that I wouldn't compromise, he changed the subject. "Today is Max's funeral. I attended and brought a gift on your behalf. The funeral arrangements were impeccably done."The news of Max's sudden demise had caught everyone b

Speaking of which, I had met Julie once before.It was during the second year of my breakup with Luke. I had just left an after-party and was heading home when I saw Julie waiting downstairs.Before that, Julie and I had only briefly bumped into each other at a bar. After a few years, she hadn't changed much and still exuded an air of elegance.She told me her child was sick and asked for my help. In theory, I should have declined. I did initially refuse because I wanted to avoid any connection with their social circle to prevent further emotional turmoil.But when Julie showed me a photo of Misty, my eyes welled up almost involuntarily.In the photo, the little girl had two moles at the corner of her eyebrow – one on the left and one on the right, perfectly symmetrical and quite beautiful. When my own child was born, I had noticed similar moles from a distance.I couldn't believe such a coincidence existed in this world. Furthermore, I couldn't fathom why, when the child fell il