Chapter 3

I turned off my phone, wiped the tears from my face, and prepared to go home first.

The streets were empty. The subway had long since stopped running, and the buses had suspended service for New Year's.

I stood on the roadside for nearly half an hour, frozen until my hands and feet were numb, before finally flagging down a taxi.

The driver rolled down his window and held up three fingers,

"New Year's rates. Three hundred extra."

Cold wind poured down my collar. I gritted my teeth and got in anyway.

The warm air conditioning inside the car brought me back to life a little.

I instinctively reached for my phone, wanting to message Johnson and complain like I'd done countless times before.

But my fingers stopped mid-air.

This had happened before.

Getting price-gouged for rides, rudely cut in line, receiving the wrong flavor in food delivery.

I'd always complained to him feeling wronged.

He'd always brush it off with one casual sentence,

"Just make do if you can. Live and let live."

Back then I always thought he was magnanimous by nature, didn't like to fuss.

Until I saw that woman's profile.

When she complained about difficulty getting rides, Johnson immediately bought her a car and hired a dedicated driver.

When she casually mentioned the queue at a trendy restaurant was too long, Johnson directly paid everyone in line five hundred dollars each so she could go in first.

As for food delivery...

She never had to eat takeout at all.

Johnson thought outside food was unhealthy, so he specifically learned to cook and personally made her three meals a day.

All the grievances he told me to "just make do with" were "major issues" that required immediate resolution for the person he truly loved.

Love versus lack of love—turns out they're so distinctly different.

I turned to look out the window at the thousands of lights, each home warm.

Only I was adrift.

Tears could no longer be held back and fell silently.

Later I cried louder and louder, my whole body trembling.

The driver glanced at me several times through the rearview mirror. Finally, when we stopped at my apartment complex entrance, he sighed,

"Forget it, miss. I won't charge the extra three hundred. Get home quickly."

Pity from a complete stranger.

Yet the man I'd loved wholeheartedly for five years, whom I'd considered my entire future,

Watched me like a fool, exhausting my youth to build happiness for him and another woman.

After getting home and washing up carelessly, I collapsed on the sofa exhausted and fell asleep.

Near dawn, urgent phone ringing yanked me from a nightmare.

I groggily answered, but the moment I heard the voice on the other end, I was instantly awake.

It was Grandma's neighbor Kingsley, his voice trembling with urgency,

"Your grandmother got up early to use the bathroom, but there's still ice in the yard that hasn't melted—she slipped and fell! We just sent her to the hospital!"

My mind went "buzz," instantly freezing me to the core.

Without time to think, I threw on my coat, grabbed a few belongings, and rushed to the airport.

Inside, crowds surged. I squeezed to the gate entrance but couldn't get my ticket to scan through the turnstile no matter what.

After trying repeatedly, the machine only coldly repeated its error message.

I hurriedly turned to the service counter,

"Excuse me, could you please check my ticket?"

The staff member took my ID, typed on the keyboard a few times, then looked up at me,

"I'm sorry, ma'am. There's no booking under your name."

I froze, then anxiously leaned forward,

"How is that possible?"

"Please look again carefully. I just changed my booking a few days ago! The earliest flight today!"

She checked again and still shook her head,

"There really isn't one."

My throat tightened as I asked with a sob in my voice,

"Can I still buy a ticket now? Any flight at all!"

"I'm sorry, all flights are fully booked."

People in line behind me began urging impatiently.

I numbly shuffled my feet, pushed around by the crowd.

Suddenly, a thought appeared in my mind.

With trembling hands I pulled out my phone and called Johnson,

"Johnson... did you refund my plane ticket?"