Chapter 4

Vivian’s POV

For days afterward, Henry didn't come home. Where he was spending his time was clearer to me than anything.

My visa arrived during that stretch. A thin envelope sat waiting on the entryway console. I glanced at it once and slid it straight into my purse.

Once the bruising on my wrist faded to a faint shadow of green, I headed out to run some errands and made a detour through the campus of the university we both attended years ago.

It was mid-afternoon. The walkways were quiet, covered in fallen autumn leaves.

When Henry courted me, it was during an autumn just like this. He would wait outside my dorm every single day, bringing hot lattes and fresh croissants, refusing to leave even when the biting cold turned his ears bright red.

I took this detour today just to reassure myself that the man who once loved me truly had existed.

Laughter drifted from the tree-lined path ahead. I looked up, and my steps ground to a halt.

Henry was riding a white bicycle. Chloe sat on the rack behind him, arms wrapped around his waist, her face pressed against his back, laughing brightly.

The bike coasted to an easy stop outside the dining hall.

Henry reached back and swung Chloe down from the seat with effortless familiarity.

He carried her backpack, squeezing into the queue at the counter alongside her.

Chloe stood on her tiptoes pointing at the menu items, telling him what she wanted, while he tilted his head to listen, smiling nonstop.

"Being with you is the only time I actually feel young again, like I've found the person I used to be."

Those words drifted on the breeze, landing squarely in my ears.

All those years with me, he had been steady, careful, and flawlessly responsible.

I always thought that just meant he had grown up.

Turns out, in his eyes, that was just growing old. That was losing himself.

Now he was jostling through a crowd of college kids, smiling just like them—except the person beside him wasn't me anymore.

The years we spent together had been dismissed by his single comment into a life he never truly wanted.

I didn't want to watch another second. I turned to walk away, only to come face-to-face with Chloe heading back from the drink cooler.

Holding two bottles of water, her face instantly went white. "Vivian? What are you doing here?"

"Am I not allowed to be here?"

"No... Henry just happened to drop by to see how I was settling in. He was worried I wouldn't be used to campus life alone. Please don't get the wrong idea..."

"I don't have the wrong idea."

"Really, he's only staying for a little bit. He's leaving right after lunch..."

"Go ahead and eat. I just came back to take a walk."

Suddenly, frantic bicycle bells rang out from behind, accompanied by a delivery courier's panicked shout: "Look out! Brakes failed! Look out!"

I turned around just as an electric scooter came barreling down the incline, veering erratically straight toward me.

Before I could react, Chloe grabbed my arm and yanked violently to the side.

I stumbled hard onto the roadside grass.

When I looked up, Chloe was down on the pavement, her forehead slammed against the curb. Blood streamed down her face, soaking the front of her white dress.

"Chloe!"

Henry came charging over from nearby, shoving past the gathering crowd of students. His furious eyes landed instantly on me standing to the side.

Without a word, he swung his arm and slapped me across the face.

The sharp crack echoed in the air. The surrounding students froze, dead silent.

The force threw my head to the side, splitting my lip. The metallic tang of blood spread across my tongue.

Slowly, I turned my head back to look at the man before me, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

"Vivian, how can you be so vicious! Why do you have to target her?!"

"She pulled me."

"She pulled you?! Then why is she the one lying on the concrete bleeding? Do you think I'm blind?! If anything happens to her, I will never forgive you!"

He scooped Chloe up off the asphalt and sprinted toward the campus gates, never sparing me another glance.

I stood there in the quiet, the blood from my lip dripping onto the pavement, spreading into a small crimson stain.

He never asked if I was hurt. He never asked what really happened.

To him, there was no need to investigate. I was guilty by default.

I hailed a cab and followed Henry's car from behind.

He sped and blew through red lights the entire drive. By the time he reached the emergency bay, the car slammed directly into the guardrail.

He kicked the door open and rushed into the ER carrying Chloe, blood dripping down from a cut on his own forehead without him even bothering to wipe it away.

Nurses came to tell him six times to get his own wound dressed, but he ignored every single one. He stood vigil outside the trauma room, staring relentlessly at the glowing red light above the doors.I stood at the other end of the hallway, watching his silhouette for a long time.

So, he actually was capable of panicking.

He truly did have someone he would protect without any regard for his own life.

All these years, he had never lost his temper with me. I used to think he was just naturally composed, but now I knew how wrong I was.

By the time Chloe was out of danger, dawn was breaking.

The moment Henry heard the news, he swayed on his feet and collapsed to the floor.

The gash on his forehead had gone untreated, and his chest was badly bruised from slamming against the steering wheel. He had held on through sheer willpower all night.

I called the doctor over to dress his wounds, then pulled up a chair to sit beside his bed.

I treated this night as my final goodbye to him.

From here on out, he would have nothing to do with me.

Just as morning broke, my phone rang. It was the agent helping me find an apartment in Germany, asking for my exact arrival date so they could have the place cleaned and ready.

Afraid of waking Henry, I kept my voice down: "I haven't set the exact date yet. Once it's confirmed, I'll head over and message you."

When I hung up and turned around, I met Henry's open eyes.

He had heard every word.