Chapter 4

When I returned to the noodle shop, I taped a printed notice to the front door.

"BUSINESS FOR SALE."

Natalie came downstairs wearing the revealing nightgown that had sat untouched at the bottom of a trunk for years.

I had given it to her as a birthday present long ago.

It had also caused our first serious argument.

"What's this supposed to mean? How am I supposed to wear something this revealing? Is that really how you see me?"

It had only been one item among everything I bought from her online wish list.

After that, she buried the nightgown in storage.

Now, red marks covered the skin above its neckline, and her hair was slightly disheveled.

She seemed not to notice. She stood beside me with a puzzled expression.

"What's going on?

"Why are you selling the shop out of nowhere? Has business been bad lately?

"I have some money saved. I can give it to you if you need it..."

Her eyes looked genuinely concerned, but mine kept drifting toward the marks across her chest.

At last, I spoke.

"Natalie, we're done."

The words struck like thunder.

She stared at me for a long time without reacting.

Finally, as though she had realized what I must be thinking, she tested an explanation.

"You didn't misunderstand, did you? The marks on my neck are mosquito bites.

"And nothing happened between Caleb and me. We're completely innocent.

"He has helped me with a lot of things, but we're only friends. I..."

Natalie seemed to have forgotten that the guiltier she felt, the faster she talked.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Simmerson? I have the birthday cake you ordered."

The delivery driver interrupted her.

Natalie's gaze landed on the cake. A moment later, she smiled and reached for my hand.

"I knew it. That breakup nonsense was just something you said because you were angry.

"You chose a beautiful cake. It's exactly the style I like."

She took the cake from the driver, carried it inside, and opened the box herself.

Then she cut a slice and began eating.

A second later, she noticed something and pulled the ring from the cake.

When she looked at me again, confidence filled her eyes.

"Why threaten me with a breakup when you already prepared a ring?

"Relax. I'll marry you."

Yawning, she turned toward the stairs.

"I need to take care of Caleb tonight. You'll have to find somewhere else to sleep."

There was only one bedroom upstairs.

I sat alone in the darkness through the entire night as the snow deepened outside.

At first light, I finally picked up my phone and booked a flight home.

When I passed the bedroom, I saw that Natalie's version of taking care of Caleb involved curling against his chest.

His hand rested on her waist, and only then did I clearly see the matching tattoos along their sides.

The tattoo on Natalie's waist had once been dedicated to me.

Now a new design had been inked over it.

I took a photograph, turned around, and went downstairs.

By the time Natalie and Caleb came down, I had finished breakfast and was packing up the shop.

"Why didn't you bring breakfast for us?

"Why are you acting so strange this morning?"

She glanced at the empty table and gave me an irritated, sleep-heavy look.

I kept my back to her and continued working. Caleb came closer.

He stopped beside me.

"Daniel, let me help."

"Don't bother, Caleb. I already talked to him last night. I have no idea what he's sulking about now.

"What do you want to eat? I'll make something for you. How about the noodles from last time? I remember how much you liked them."

"Hey, Nat! Look at this post. It suddenly started trending on the Bellmere Community Feed.

"It says someone connected to our noodle shop is cheating and acting intimate with another person. They even posted pictures. This person looks like Daniel..."

Before Caleb could finish, Natalie snatched the phone from his hand.

The next second, she strode toward me and thrust the screen in my face, anger sharpening her features.

"Daniel, don't you owe me an explanation?"

I glanced lazily at the screen and answered in an even voice.

"Look more carefully."

"The evidence is right there. What else is there to examine?"

She instinctively pulled the phone back and looked again.

"What... what is this?"