Chapter 6

I pulled myself together and shot back: [Right now, your top priority should be uninstalling all those novel apps from your phone.]

After that, I blocked Sophia for good.

But the very next second, I saw Charles pause as he was walking toward me, looked down and pulled out his phone.

He turned his back and took the call.

I quietly counted the seconds in my head.

At fifteen seconds, he glanced back at me.

Another ten seconds or so later, Charles hung up and walked over, his eyes saying everything he couldn't bring himself to say.

What else was there for me to figure out?

My heart felt like it had been thrown into Coralmere, sinking to the very bottom, never to surface again.

I thought about throwing Sophia's provocation right in his face, about making a scene and warning him not to leave, even about using the divorce agreement as a threat.

But none of it would make any difference.

I forced myself to steady my breathing and asked, "What's wrong? Who called you?"

Charles hesitated for a moment, then shook his head like he'd made up his mind. "It's nothing. Doesn't matter."

Finally able to breathe again in the thin air, I let out a deep breath and, deep down, couldn't help but mock myself for being so pathetic.

I pretended nothing had happened and said, "Let's go. I've booked a hotel in town.

"We still have a full day ahead tomorrow."

Charles nodded, not saying anything more.

Once we got to town, he bought me a brand new shawl and a bright red knitted scarf.

That night, we lay side by side in the same bed, but neither of us reached out to touch the other.

In the darkness, Charles suddenly spoke up, "Emily, can we try to get along for the rest of the trip? No more arguments, alright?"

A simple, peaceful request like that, I'd been waiting forever to hear it.

I felt my nose start to tingle, and quietly whispered, "yeah."

Charles kept his word. On the third day of our trip, he started planning the route himself, taking care of everything, including where we'd eat, where we'd stay, and what we'd do.

Besides going back to the places we'd visited before, he also took me to unlock new adventures.

But that night, he was out on the terrace at the far end of the hotel, talking on the phone for hours.

Every word sounded like a lover's whisper, as if he was sweet-talking the girl at the center of his world.

I couldn't sleep because of my illness, so I ended up listening to him the whole night.

On the fourth morning, we both ended up sleeping in, and didn't check out until well past noon.

As we got in the car, Charles saw me fixing my makeup and asked, "Emily, did you not sleep well either?"

He paused, then, sounding a bit unsure, said:

"Something happened in Riverside City last night, so I went outside to take a call. Did I keep you up?"

My hand froze mid-air as I was applying powder, and I turned to look at him.

He'd never been good at hiding his feelings, and right now, the worry in his eyes was plain as day.

My heart gave a little jolt, but I didn't ask what had happened. I just shook my head.

"No, it's just that the pillows at that hotel were really uncomfortable."

Charles didn't say anything more.

We headed to a village nestled at the foot of the mountains.

When we came here together five years ago, the place was still pretty run-down.

But in just five years, the village had changed beyond recognition.

We happened to arrive during the local horse racing festival, and with so many tourists around, the whole place was buzzing with excitement.

We settled into our guesthouse, and when I heard there was going to be a bonfire party that night, I rented a traditional outfit and braided colorful ribbons into my hair.

Charles changed into a traditional robe as well and came over to the dressing room to wait for me.

I watched him in the mirror, dressed in a black traditional robe, and only one line came to mind:

"Proud as a lone pine standing in the snow..."

"What?" Charles didn't catch my whispered words. He came over, handed me a fragrant sachet, and said, "This is for you.

"It's made specially here. Should help with insomnia and migraines."

My hand tightened around the sachet for a moment.

Then I shook my head and smiled. "I'm complimenting you, saying you're like a pine tree, strong and resilient."

The first time I ever laid eyes on him, I thought he was just like a pine, especially up here at over thirteen thousand feet, he stands out even more, tall and unwavering.

Charles paused, then a smile tugged at his lips, his eyes lighting up.

"Really?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah. So...