Chapter 4

Asher and Vivienne's ski videos went viral one after another, making them the envy of the skiing community as the internet's favorite couple.

They wore matching ski suits and used matching snowboards, gliding down Rainbow Run one after the other.

Even when they fell, they'd cling to each other affectionately.

Vivienne's latest video showed her sitting in Asher's lap, shyly greeting the camera:

"Hey there, fellow skiers! Asher and I will be in Niseko, Hokkaido in a couple of days. Hope to run into you!"

It dawned on me that this was what Asher meant by his business trip.

Bitterness spread from the corners of my mouth to my heart, and what struck me like a bolt from the blue was the doctor's surgery notice.

"Miss Langdon, your heart condition isn't good at the moment. We recommend you undergo stent surgery. The procedure carries some risks, so it's best if you have a family member here for support."

The surgery was urgent. I stumbled out of the hospital room in a daze, not knowing who to contact.

Clinging to my last shred of hope, I dialed Asher's number.

But it was Vivienne's voice on the other end.

"Hello? Asher and I are about to board our flight. If you need anything, call him back later, okay?"

Asher asked, "Who is it?" Vivienne answered, "I don't know. You only put '1' as the contact, and she didn't say anything. How am I supposed to know who it is?"

Asher's voice faltered:

"'1'... Don't know. Hang up, don't bother with her."

Vivienne sweetly agreed and swiftly ended the call.

My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. I could barely breathe. How could he not know what '1' meant?

That was the contact name we saved for each other when we first got our phones, symbolizing that we were each other's first and only.

Now he could casually say he didn't know it.

A notification sound rang out. I instinctively thought it was Asher's belated concern.

When I saw the text message clearly, my blood seemed to freeze in my veins.

The picture showed Asher and Vivienne kissing in deep snow. The world around them was a vast white expanse, as if they were the only two people left on Earth.

Vivienne gloated:

"I know you made that call. Asher told me himself that he doesn't want to see you at all. His heart and eyes are only for me. He promised to go to Seattle with me after we finish skiing in Hokkaido. What do you have that can compare to me?"I deleted and rewrote several times, finally sending only one sentence:

"I need to hear it from Asher himself."

Soon after, Asher's call came through. Hearing that familiar voice, my nose stung with emotion.

"Asher..."

"Vivienne's here, don't call me that."

"...Asher, I'm going to have heart surgery. Can you come see me?"

Asher's voice was cold and direct:

"It's just heart surgery. It's far less important than Vivienne and I pursuing our freedom."

I crouched on the floor, letting my phone slide away, hugging my knees and sobbing uncontrollably.

At that moment, I finally realized that the boy who had been by my side from my first words to my thirties had changed.

The heartstring, laden with emotions from childhood to adulthood, finally broke completely.

As my heart raced to its most intense point, I dialed a number long buried yet strangely familiar -

"I heard you won the skiing championship... I kind of, want to see you..."

Before losing consciousness, memories with Asher flashed through my mind like a flickering montage - the first championship, the first time skipping school, the first time getting drunk...

In all these memories, there was actually a third person present.