Chapter 4

Days passed quickly. By the time I realized it, there were only a few days left before I left the country.

Although I no longer had anything to do with him, I still heard a little about his and Alice's recent situation from Sophia.

Apparently, he and Alice had a huge fight, and he even stormed out of the banquet Alice hosted.

There were also rumors that their argument was because of me.

After hearing that, I only smiled indifferently.

I was no longer the Rachel who once had no room in her heart for anyone but Andre.

I was no longer the Rachel who would rush to his side the moment there was even the slightest crack in their relationship, .

I was no longer the Rachel who would desperate to tell him that she was the one who loved him the most.

Whether it was because of me or not, I no longer cared.

However, after that, the number of times Andre called me started increasing day by day.

Unfortunately for him, I either hung up immediately or refused to meet him with one excuse after another.

Until the day before I was leaving the country, when Andre asked me to go to an art exhibition with him.

"Today is the anniversary of the first time we got married. You won't refuse me again, will you?"

"Just consider it giving me a chance to make things up to you, okay?"

He had never lowered himself like this to ask me for anything.

In the past, he was always the one who casually started a conversation, and I would rush toward him like a moth flying into a flame.

But this time, I genuinely didn't know what to say.

Because today was not our wedding anniversary.

It was the day he remarried me after divorcing me for the first time because of Alice.

He had always been like this.

He remembered everything about me vaguely, as if nothing was ever important enough to truly stay in his mind.

But in the end, I still agreed.

After all, an original Picasso was truly a rare treasure.

Yet on that day, I waited outside the exhibition hall for a full three hours.

And Andre never appeared.

Heavy rain poured down from the sky.

I called him again and again, but he never answered.

Finally, he sent me a voice message.

His apologetic voice came through the phone together with the sound of an auction hammer falling, mixed with Alice's soft laughter in the background.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. Alice suddenly felt pain in her chest again, so I took her to the hospital."

"When Alice leaves tomorrow, I'll accompany you no matter what you want to do, okay?"

At that moment, Instagram notified me of Alice's latest post.

The photo of her and Andre at the art exhibition appeared before my eyes.

Along with it was the painting Andre had bought for her, an original Picasso.

The woman in the painting covered her face as tears streamed down.

She looked just like me at that moment, standing outside the exhibition hall, soaked through by the rain like a stray dog.

I couldn't help but laugh.

I laughed at myself for still holding on to the last trace of hope I had for Andre.

And now, that final bit of hope was completely shattered.

Without a single trace of attachment left, I turned around and went to the airport.

I sat there through the entire night and became the first person to board the plane.

I ignored Andre's messages and calls about remarriage, blocking all of his contact information.

Until right before takeoff, I received a call from Sophia.

Andre's anxious voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Rachel, where are you?"