LOGINWhen I arrived, Bianca still lay on the hospital bed with her eyes closed.Her face was very pale.In the five years we had been together, I had never seen Bianca like this.But I only glanced at her briefly. I simply hoped she would not die. That would have been a real headache to deal with.I was about to leave when she opened her eyes in a daze.“Benedict...”I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at her. My calm gaze met her regretful one.“Do you hate me that much?”Her eyes became teary. In the past, whenever she got sick or her stomach issues acted up, I would have been there by her side and taken care of her. Over the years, I had always cooked for her. Gradually, her stomach pain became less frequent.She would often wake up to find me dozing off by her bedside. My hand would still be tightly holding hers.She fell for me even more every time she saw that. But she always felt that she should not show her emotions so openly.So, whenever I woke up, she w
Benedict's POVSpring turned to autumn, and another year passed. To me, time was just the sun rising and setting, and the tide coming in and going out.A year went by in the blink of an eye.I had long since gotten used to my life and work in Clairvaux.I knew nothing about what had happened back home. I had cut off everyone connected to the Milas family.I never thought I would see Bianca again. Honestly, honestly, I did not want to.But fate had other plans.One day, I spotted a lone figure under the dim yellow streetlamp in the distance as I walked home from work.My footsteps halted.Bianca spotted me, but I could not tell what she was feeling.I was about to leave when she rushed toward me and pulled me into her trembling arms. “I’m sorry...”I was somewhat surprised to hear that. I had assumed she had come to confront me, not to apologize.I simply pushed her away gently and said, “Alright.”After that, I turned and walked off. As I brushed past her, she grabbe
Bianca was stunned when she read that messageBenedict had called off the wedding?That was impossible.They had been discussing wedding ring styles just last night.Her hand trembled as she clicked on Benedict’s post, scared and confused.His feed had only one pinned post, and it announced the wedding was canceled.[To everyone who received our wedding invitations, we’re no longer engaged. The wedding is off. Wishing you all the best going forward.]It was true, after all.She panicked as she stared at the three short sentences in the caption for a whole five minutes. Her students who saw these exchanged puzzled glances. “What happened to Professor Milas? She looks like she just saw a ghost. Did something happen?”“No clue. Honestly, if it weren’t for the credits, I wouldn’t even come to her class. Such a fake, ugh.”Amid their murmurs, Bianca bolted out of the lecture hall and left a group of bewildered students behind.The news of her leaving her class halfway blew up
Third-Person POVAt the same time, Bianca, who had been accompanying Derek in his dorm, felt her heart clench up.Derek swiftly looked at her and asked, “Bianca, are you alright? You look pale.”Bianca took a deep breath. Slowly, her heart relaxed again.She fetched some pills and handed them to Derek with water.“I’m fine.”She thought about it for a while but could not figure out why her heart had clenched all of a sudden, so she let it go.“My adrenaline must still be racing a little from the incident earlier. Good thing it has settled down.” Derek subconsciously flushed. He was still shaken as he thought about what had happened.“Thank you. “Without you, I probably wouldn’t have survived tonight.”He then remembered something and added, “Please don’t tell Mrs. Milas about this. She’d worry herself sick.”Bianca nodded. Seeing that he still looked too frightened to sleep alone, she pursed her lips and said, “Get some rest. I’ll stay here with you tonight. I’m not lea
On the way home, Derek took the passenger seat again.Bianca drove him home first. I sat in the back, communicating with my landlord in Clairvaux about the apartment.Bianca said, “Come sit in the front.”Without looking up, I briefly replied, “No, thanks.”“Suit yourself.”All I cared about at the moment was the sunlit apartment I had seen online. Satisfied with it, I immediately paid the deposit.After we got home, she took a catalog out of her briefcase and walked over to me.“Take a look.”Confused, I looked over and realized it was a catalog of wedding rings.“Go ahead and pick one soon. The wedding is in a month. The jewelers will need time to prepare.”She pointed at a ring engraved with willow branches.“This one is nice.”I looked at it in disdain. Derek liked willows.She really did think of him in every way. In the past, I would have lost my temper. But I just nodded calmly and said, “Sure. Let’s go with that one.”After all, I would be leaving the next day
When we arrived at Bianca’s family home, her mother, Jenny Milas, was already outside, eagerly waiting for our arrival.Derek got out and rushed over to her, all smiles and flattery.“Mrs. Milas, it’s windy out here. You didn’t have to come all the way out here. Please, get inside.”Jenny smiled warmly and responded, “I was waiting for you. I felt bad making you work for Bianca.“She’s a peculiar one.”He glanced at her and blushed as he said, “She’s wonderful.”The two of them turned to head inside. After walking about sixteen feet, Jenny remembered something and looked back. Her gaze toward me had grown noticeably more distant.“Oh, Benedict, you came as well. Come in. Don’t let the cold get you,” she said briefly.Bianca walked up beside me, lowered her gaze, and frowned.“Are you upset about something?”“No.”I only felt relief. She pursed her lips and said, “If your work isn’t going well, leave it at the door. I don’t want to live with someone who mopes around all







