Chapter 1
At the new product launch, my fiancé, Norton Solomon, publicly accused me of plagiarizing his lover's work.
After that day, I was blacklisted by the entire profession.
*****
We met again three years after we broke off. It was at someone else's wedding.
As the assigned photographer, I was snapping photos when I accidentally bumped into him. "Sorry..."
When our eyes met, a flicker of delight flashed across his eyes.
But I had no desire to reminisce about the old times with him.
After the ceremony, he stopped me as I prepared to leave early.
"Nadie, how are you? I have been waiting for you these past three years. I still owed you a wedding ceremony..."
I stared at him in bewilderment for some time before I suddenly remembered.
But, I was already married now…
The ballroom was full of people, and many servers were weaving through the crowd.
The two of us were standing in the midst of this crowd, getting in the way of many guests and staff.
Just as I was about to remind Norton to stand to one side and not block anyone, someone shouted his name.
"Norton, everyone's waiting for you to toast the couple! Why are you taking so long?"
Norton gave me a long, lingering look before going back to his friends.
I took this opportunity to quickly pack up my stuff.
Norton didn't appear again, not even after the event ended.
I sighed with relief when everything was finally over.
Zanil, my assistant, hurriedly handed me two takeout meal boxes.
"Nadie, you'd better go now. I'll take over from here," she said.
I gratefully took the carrier bag, left some instructions on what photos to touch up, and rushed off.
When I reached the hotel lobby downstairs, I was lucky enough to see that a rental electric scooter was still available.
Just as I was trying to unlock it with my phone app, a familiar, slender hand covered the QR code I was trying to scan.
I froze for a couple of seconds. Even after three years, I was still able to recognize that hand instantly.
"Can you move your hand? I'm in a hurry," I said loudly.
Norton didn't budge. I finally turned to look at him. Then, I turned abruptly to leave, but he blocked my way.
"Nadie, where are you going?" he asked.
"What business is it of yours?” I retorted.
“Of course it's my business!” Realizing he was getting too worked up, Norton then tried to rein in his emotions.
"I've been searching for you all this time, yet I never heard a word from you. You have no idea how difficult these past three years have been for me…" Norton began his sorry tale.
If it were in the past, hearing these words would have made me hold him close with much heartache.
But now, I truly didn't want to know.
When I stayed silent, Norton appeared somewhat aggrieved.
"Now that I've finally found you, will you come home with me?" He reached out to touch my face, but I evaded his touch.
His slender fingers froze in the air, then dropped helplessly.
Following this, he tried to break the awkward silence by gesturing at the takeout bags I was holding. "What's that? Are you bringing snacks back for your pet?"
"It's my lunch," I answered flatly.
My answer seemed to have struck a raw nerve. Norton looked at me like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Is this really what you're eating now?
"Come on, you're joking, right? You used to eat only at Michelin-starred restaurants..." Norton said in disbelief.
He didn't know there was no way I could afford Michelin meals now.
Only after enduring hardship would one realize that filling one's stomach was what truly mattered.
Besides, the hotel food wasn't bad at all.
"If there's nothing else, I'm leaving," I said.
As soon as I tried to walk away, he snatched the takeout bag right out of my hand.
"What the hell are you doing?" I snapped.
I instinctively tried to snatch it back, but he tossed the bag directly into the trash can.
"You deserve better than this. Let me take you out for your favorite French food," Norton offered.
My heart ached terribly when I saw my spilled-out lunch sitting in the heap of garbage.
Zanil had taken pains to pack an extra box of beef meatballs for me before we parted ways. Now all the food had gone to waste.
Now I would have to buy lunch again.
I could have saved this sum of money if it weren't for this guy.
A crushing sense of helpless infuriation washed over me.
I closed my eyes to calm myself down before reminding Norton, "It's been three years. I'm no longer the woman you used to know. I'm just another salaried worker now.
"Mr. Solomon, if you still care about what we once had, then don't look for me anymore. Take it that I'm asking you for a favor."
While he was still digesting my words, I hurriedly jumped into a cab to go home.
In the rearview mirror, his lanky silhouette remained in a daze in the same spot.
Long-forgotten memories came flooding back to me all of a sudden.
Three years ago, everyone in our circle envied us. We were the couple everyone talked about.
We grew up together like two innocent, carefree kids.
The night before the launch event, he secretly prepared to propose to me.
He arranged tens of thousands of Pink Floyd roses into the shape of a castle. Along the floral path leading to the castle, he hung photographs documenting our journey together.