Love and Emptiness

The sound of footsteps from upstairs pulled me out of my painful memories.I looked up instinctively and saw Zoey coming down the stairs, beautifully dressed with exquisite makeup.Even after being rejected so many times, whenever I saw her again, my heart still leapt out of habit.But when I raised my head and met her indifferent, scrutinizing gaze, my heart trembled and my voice caught on the spot.Her eyes were as cold as those of a stranger...She only glanced at me, ignored me, and was about to leave the house.But it was already close to midnight.My chest felt unbearably tight, and I couldn’t help calling out to her.“Zoey, it’s late. Where are you going?”Without stopping, Zoey replied coldly, “Cameron asked me out for a late-night meal. I won’t be coming back tonight.”Her casual words struck my heart like thunder.The Zoey of the past would never have spoken to me like that.She knew I had lost my entire family overnight and didn’t like being left alone at home, s

During the days I spent alone in the hotel, I completely emptied my mind and no longer thought about Zoey.I thought I had finally let go of that absurd affection.Until seven days later, when I ran into Zoey again at the hotel’s riding arena—along with Cameron.“Sam, why are you here too?”It was Cameron who called out to me. He looked surprised and then lifted his wrist as if showing off.That diamond watch was dazzling, and the glint of it stung my heart once again.I was right—this watch still ended up on Cameron’s wrist.If that was the case, then what had Zoey wanted to explain to me back then?I looked at Zoey. She was dressed elegantly and beautifully, holding Cameron’s arm as she spoke coolly.“Cameron asked you a question. Why aren’t you answering?”When Zoey asked me that question, my heart trembled, and I stared at her as if she were a stranger.It took me a long moment to recover before I forced a smile. “Oh, my friend brought me here. I’m just wandering around.

Someone online had exposed an alleged plagiarism incident.And the protagonists of the scandal were Cameron and me—claiming that I had stolen his jewelry design.Netizens compared our works side by side—from the concept to craftsmanship, details, and creative vision—declaring everything identical.The post had somehow climbed into the top 10 trending topics, and the comments were a tsunami of hatred directed at me.I read in silence while my friends grew more anxious.“This is obviously a setup! This was his high school work!”“Sam explained his design to us before! This necklace was for his sister-in-law, and the engraving of the little boy represents him!”“Exactly! Clearly Cameron is the one who plagiarized. Where did he even come from?”I kept calm in my silence. Without caring about the exhibition, I dropped everything and rushed home, wanting to retrieve my original sketches to prove my innocence.On the way, my thoughts tangled into knots. Countless possibilities flashe

After finishing all the handover matters with the owner of the place, I changed into my own clothes and walked out.I was just about to hail a taxi back to the hotel when Zoey actually chased after me from inside.She called out to stop me.“Stop. Why did you come to work in a place like this? If you need money, you could have just asked me.”I paused for a moment, and I explained in a calm tone, “I don’t need money. I just wanted to experience a different kind of life.”After a long silence, Zoey spoke again. Her previous anger had faded, but her voice remained indifferent.“Now that you’ve experienced it, you’re not allowed to come here again.”“Okay.”I truly didn’t need to come again. Everything had already ended.For the next two days, I stayed in the hotel, and Zoey didn’t contact me.But Cameron sent me all kinds of things every day—wedding venue decorations, wedding dresses, rings, and even the wedding invitation.He asked me for my opinion, every word filled with th

The only thing out of place was a delivery package sitting on the coffee table in the living room.Zoey remembered that earlier tonight the housekeeper had mentioned that a gift Sam prepared for her had been delivered to the house.“His phone was off, he vanished without a trace, and he even sent me a gift... Sam, what annoying trick are you trying to pull this time?”Frowning, Zoey opened the package.Inside were only three items. a bank card and a wedding gift wishing her “Congratulations on your marriage, may you always be happy!”Her gaze did not linger on the first two items at all; instead, she picked up the third.It was a small note, the handwriting bold and elegant—she recognized it as mine at a glance.“I’ve given up, Zoey. I wish you all the best.”That single sentence turned Zoey’s face deathly pale.‘He left? Did he really leave without saying goodbye?’ she wondered.At that moment, panic surged uncontrollably inside her, and she ran out of the house without hesi