Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After the dinner, I was going to take Alex home, but he said he wanted to go to "our house"—the apartment we shared. In the elevator, he did what he always used to do: he held the door open for me to go in first. I reached out to press the floor button, but he'd already pressed 18. I froze. I didn't know if he'd remembered, or if it was just muscle memory. But he didn't seem to notice my confusion.

When we got inside, I went to get him slippers, but he was already walking around the apartment—staring at every piece of furniture, every little detail. Our wedding photos hung on the living room wall; on the shelf were the hand-painted ceramic dolls we'd made together. The apartment looked exactly the same as before—except it felt empty, without the warmth of daily life. I hadn't cooked here much since Alex had been gone.

I didn't know if he was just here to look around, or if he planned to stay the night.

"We must have been really happy here, right?" Alex said, standing in front of the wall covered with our photos. He sounded uncertain.

"I've dreamed about this," he added, pointing to a photo of us kissing at the top of a Ferris wheel. It was true—back then, we'd gone to check out every "couple spot" we saw online.

"Let's go again," he said, turning to me. A small smile tugged at his lips, and his expression was as warm as spring. "On our wedding anniversary."

"Okay," I said, staring at him in a daze. It had been so long since I'd been this close to him. It felt like we were back to the days when we'd stuck together every minute of the day.

That weekend, we went to the amusement park like we'd agreed. When the Ferris wheel reached the top, we took a photo just like the old one—though we didn't kiss this time. We walked around the amusement park like any ordinary couple. Even though it was quiet, I felt happier than I had in a long time.

When midnight came, fireworks started exploding in the sky again. I looked up at Alex—his eyes were filled with the light from the fireworks. Before I knew it, I leaned up and kissed him. He looked down at me, his eyes filled with affection.

"Lisa," he said, saying my name softly. "I think I finally understand why I fell in love with you."

Under the glittering fireworks, his eyes still held a hint of unfamiliarity—but they were just as beautiful, just as captivating as ever. It was easy to get lost in them.

After that night, our relationship grew closer. He started picking me up from work occasionally, and we'd have dinner together. Eventually, he moved back in with me to take care of me.

"I have to go on a business trip tomorrow," he texted me right before I got off work. "There's a project at the company I need to check on in person."

"Okay," I replied. For some reason, I couldn't focus on my work that day. I dropped my teacup twice, and my heart felt uneasy—like something bad was going to happen.

When I got home, Alex still wasn't back. I sat on the living room sofa, unable to calm down. I kept thinking something was wrong. When Alex finally got home, I ran over and hugged him tightly.

"Can you not go?" I asked. "I have a bad feeling—I'm scared something will happen to you."

He kissed my forehead, then took my hand and sat me down. "It's okay," he said. "While I'm gone, I've hired a nanny to take care of you. If anything happens, call Frank Cheng—he'll be here right away."

Hearing him say that, I had no choice but to agree. The next morning, he was already gone—he'd had to catch an early flight.