Chapter 3

I yawned, wanting to crawl back into bed.

Caelan put down his half-eaten noodles and grabbed the hem of my shirt.

"Do you still have the jade bracelet I gave you? I'd like to take it for maintenance and give it back to you in a few days."

I lowered my gaze and replied coolly, "No need. It's too valuable. You should keep it."

Keep it and give it to someone you truly care about.

Caelan was taken aback, not expecting me to agree so readily.

He felt a bit awkward about asking for a gift back.

Scratching his head, he added another sentence.

"I'll buy you an even better one tomorrow."

He said it earnestly, but once he got the bracelet back, he forgot everything else.

His mind was solely focused on giving the bracelet to Vivienne as soon as possible.

As I watched Caelan's retreating figure, tears suddenly fell.

I was heartbroken not just by his lies and betrayal.

But also by the sadness and regret of realizing my childhood love was no longer the same person.

After crying, I couldn't sleep at all.

I dug out the thousands of sketches I'd drawn of Caelan.

Every stroke on these pages chronicled my decade-long secret crush.

I had shown them to him when he was at his lowest, abandoned by everyone.

"Caelan, please cheer up, okay?Even if everyone in the world abandons you, I'll still be by your side. I love you and will never leave you."

For the first time, he hysterically tore the painting to shreds.

He grabbed everything around him and hurled it at me.

Eventually, he held the painting and silently wept.

Resting his head on my chest, he whispered over and over, "Goldie, what am I supposed to do without you?"

Now everything's fine.

Caelan's legs have recovered.

He's still that universally adored Mr. Harrington, the CEO.

Without me, he'll only live a better life.

I wiped away my tears and threw all the paintings into the fire pit.

Let them turn to ashes along with our youthful love.

As the flames rose, I saw Caelan's face.

I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but the next second, he really did rush over and salvaged the remaining paintings.

"Goldie, why are you burning these paintings!"

Caelan's hands were blistered from the burns, but he seemed not to feel it, wiping the ashes off the paintings with a pained expression.

I was a bit surprised, "Why are you back? Don't you need to... Don't you have company business to attend to?"

Caelan slowly looked up, his expression unreadable.

"It's snowing."I promised you that I'd watch the first snowfall with you every year."

My heart skipped a beat.

I had said that back then, worried that the cold would make Caelan's leg hurt, so I made up an excuse to stay by his side.

Now, that promise had long since lost all meaning.

Seeing my silence, Caelan felt a twinge of heartache.

He crouched in front of me, "I know you're sad about losing the baby, but you still have me."

"It's okay that those old paintings were burned. Why don't you paint a new one for me? Paint the two of us together."

I clenched my fist slightly and shook my head gently.

"I'm tired. I don't want to paint anymore."

After taking care of Caelan for seven whole years, I developed incurable tendonitis from overwork.

My hand would shake uncontrollably whenever I held a paintbrush.

I couldn't paint now, nor would I ever be able to again.

Besides, without love, even the most exquisite artistic skill couldn't recreate what we once had.

Caelan's eyes darkened slightly, then he reached out to ruffle my hair.

"Then you should rest well. When you're feeling better, let me know. I have a friend who wants to ask you to paint something for them."

A whiff of jasmine fragrance drifted over with Caelan's movement.

I lowered my head and smiled self-mockingly.

I knew it.

Caelan never remembered any promises.He left and came back, but only for Vivienne.

I sighed and pulled out my phone, hoping to distract myself.

To my surprise, the top trending story was an interview video of the two of them.