From age eighteen to twenty-three, Valerie Garcia slept with her childhood friend, Nicholas Watson, for a whole five years.

They've slept together countless times, but he never agreed to make their relationship official.

This was because he had a nearly impossible standard for a girlfriend—168 cm tall, 48 kg, naturally blonde hair, flawless skin, almond-shaped eyes, and dimples when she smiled... a total of 37 criteria that had to be met.

Nicholas said, "If I still haven't met my dream girl by twenty-three, I'll be with you."

She didn't believe such a girl existed, so she agreed.

She waited year after year until his twenty-third birthday. He tagged everyone in the group chat, "Dinner at seven tonight. You guys are about to meet the woman I'm going to marry."

The group chat exploded instantly. Everyone congratulated her. "Five years! It's official at last!"

"Val's patience finally paid off!"

She put on full makeup, changed into his favorite white dress, and got to the private room a half-hour early.

The moment the door opened, he walked in with his arm around a girl's waist.

168 cm, blonde hair, flawless skin, almond-shaped eyes... she matched his ideal girl standards perfectly.

He looked down at her, eyes soft. "Let me introduce you to my girlfriend, Melanie Rios."

***

The private room suddenly became terribly quiet. Everyone's eyes were focused on Valerie.

Her knuckles were white as she clutched the wine glass, and her throat felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. Even breathing became difficult.

Finally, someone broke the silence.

"Nic, are you serious?"

Nicholas leaned lazily against the couch and lowered his head to kiss the top of Melanie's head, "Yeah, I'm serious. Do you think all 37 criteria for a girlfriend were just for show? I'm announcing that Mel is the only one I will ever marry."

"She's the only one you'll marry? Then what about Valerie?" Someone couldn't help but ask, "She's been with you since she was eighteen..."

Nicholas seemed to smile, raising his eyes slightly to look at Valerie. His eyes were so unfamiliar that her heart trembled, "I never made her wait.

"My girlfriend standards were public a long time ago. Is it my fault that she didn't meet them?"

When she heard that, her heart felt like it had been violently stabbed, hurting so much she almost doubled over.

But she knew everyone's eyes were on her, waiting to see her reaction.

So, she forced herself to raise the wine glass. Her fingertips were so cold she could barely feel the temperature of the glass.

"You're right. You never made me wait. It was a one-sided thing, so I'll accept the result." She forced a smile, "Nicholas, congratulations on getting what you wanted."

Nicholas raised an eyebrow and held up his glass in acknowledgment, "Thanks."

He took a sip of his wine, his Adam's apple bobbing, "There are tons of men in the world. Don't waste your time on me, Val. Try to like someone else."

Valerie closed her eyes, feeling like her heart had been ripped to shreds.

She was only five years old when she first met Nicholas. He was wearing a little suit and playing the piano, just like a prince from a fairy tale.

From then on, she became the little shadow he couldn't shake off.

They were childhood friends. At their high school graduation party when they were eighteen, both of them got drunk and took each other's virginity.

When she woke up the next day, her heart was pounding. She thought her years of liking him had finally paid off, but he just threw a piece of paper at her.

He said this was his list of standards for an ideal girlfriend.

The paper was densely packed with 37 rules, from height and weight to hair color and skin type, even down to the shape of the eye and dimples when she smiled.

"Last night was a mistake." He lit a cigarette and said casually, "Val, I'm giving you two choices."

Valerie's fingers gripped the bedsheet tightly, her heart growing colder bit by bit.

"First, we pretend nothing happened." He blew out a smoke ring, "Second, we both had a good time last night. We can be friends with benefits. If I haven't found my ideal girl by twenty-three, we'll be together."

She took the paper with a trembling hand. The 37 criteria were like 37 knives, each stabbing her heart.

She didn't meet a single one.

"I pick the second option," Valerie heard herself say.

Because she didn't believe a girl like that even existed, let alone that Nicholas would actually meet her.

It was because she liked him too much. So, even if there was only a million-to-one chance, she was willing to bet everything.

For these five years, she made out with him in the back row of the classroom, passionately clung to him on the rooftop, and indulged with him in the locker room.

Everyone knew she was his, but he never admitted it.

Just yesterday, he was still gripping her waist and saying, "Val, you're so soft. I wish I could just die on your body."

But now he was casually saying, "Go try liking someone else..."

Just because he was afraid she would pester him.

Her heart felt like it was being tightly squeezed. Valerie tilted her head back and emptied the glass of wine. The burning heat went straight down her throat.

"Don't worry, I won't bother you," she heard herself say, her voice so faint it was barely audible, "I'll keep my word. I'll walk away for good."

Valerie turned to leave but saw Nicholas gently feeding Melanie milk.

The girl had a little milk stain on her lip, and he lowered his head to kiss it off, "You cute little fool."

This sight felt like a knife plunging into her heart. Valerie stumbled out of the private room but was stopped by a few drunk men in the hallway.

"Hey, gorgeous, want to swap WhatsApp numbers?" A strong smell of alcohol hit her face. Someone touched her waist.

Someone in the private room yelled, "Nic! Val is being harassed!"

Valerie looked through the crack in the door and saw Nicholas didn't even lift his head. His voice was lazy, "I have a girlfriend now. What happens to Valerie has nothing to do with me."

As he spoke, he pinched Melanie's cheek, "Would you get mad if I went and helped another girl, sweetie?"

"Of course I would!" Melanie cooed.

Nicholas smiled dotingly, "Then I won't help her."

"After all these years, you really don't like Valerie?" Someone asked, unwilling to give up.

Nicholas chuckled, his voice clearly carrying out, word by word, stabbing Valerie's heart like a knife, "How could I like her when she doesn't meet a single one of my girlfriend standards?"

This sentence shattered Valerie's last shred of dignity completely.

She suddenly pushed away the drunk man in front of her and stumbled out.

The cold wind blew on her face, and her tears finally burst out.

Valerie didn't take a taxi and walked home for two hours against the wind.

When she got home, she looked at her wretched self in the mirror.

Her makeup was smeared, her dress was wrinkled, and her eyes were swollen like peaches.

This wasn't Valerie, and it shouldn't be Valerie.

She mechanically took off the messy white dress and tossed it into the trash can, just as easily as Nicholas had tossed away their five years of a relationship.

Then, she took out her phone and called Mr. Maguire, the person in charge of the London Symphony Orchestra.

"Mr. Maguire, I've made up my mind. I'll accept the offer from the London Symphony Orchestra."

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before Mr. Maguire's surprised and happy voice came through. "Why did you suddenly change your mind? Didn't you say before that you wanted to stay in the country to be with someone you really liked and didn't want to go abroad...?"

"He doesn't need me now." Valerie cut him off, her voice so calm it surprised even herself, "And I don't need him either."

Mr. Maguire was tactful and didn't ask any more questions. "In that case, once you finish the paperwork, come over. The orchestra is always happy to welcome talent like you!"

After hanging up the phone, Valerie looked at the sky outside the window, which was gradually brightening.

A month ago, when she received the much-desired offer, she was so excited she didn't sleep all night.

She had played the violin since she was a child, and getting into the London Symphony Orchestra was almost every music student's dream.

But when she went to the Watson's villa and saw Nicholas sitting alone on the couch, smoking sadly, she couldn't bring herself to say, "I'm going to London."

When Nicholas was sixteen, his parents died in a plane crash.

She was competing in a violin contest in a nearby city and rushed back that night when she heard the news.

In front of the casket, Nicholas stood alone. The first thing he said when he saw her was, "Val, I'm going to be alone from now on."

She cried and hugged him. "No, you have me. As long as you need me, I'll always be by your side."

Since they were children, the girls who liked Nicholas lined up around the block.

But Valerie was the only one who truly grew up with him.

She had seen him hide in the music room with red eyes, and she knew he hated rainy days the most because they reminded him of his parents' funeral...

So, she didn't go anywhere, accompanying him day after day, year after year.

But now, they were each going their own way.

After sunrise, Valerie started sorting out everything related to Nicholas.

They grew up together, drank from the same glass of milk, read the same set of comic books, and slept on the same bed for naps...

She'd treasured everything about him, as if guarding her most precious childhood dream.

Now, she took all of it out and put the items into a cardboard box one by one.

This included the hair clip he gave her when she was eighteen, the cake mold he personally made for her twentieth birthday, and the hand warmer he bought last winter because he thought her hands were cold...

Everything, along with her love for him, was packed up, ready to be returned to him.

When she arrived at the Watson's villa, Benjamin, the old butler, opened the door. When he saw the box in Valerie's hand, his eyes immediately dimmed.

"Ms. Garcia, Mr. Watson took Ms. Rios shopping."

Valerie was stunned for a moment, then gave a relieved smile. "Please give this to him for me."

Benjamin took the box, looking like he wanted to say more. "Ms. Garcia, are you and Mr. Watson truly over? After all these years..."

"It's over." Valerie said softly, "He's found his true love, and I will find mine too."

After saying that, she turned and left without a trace of lingering attachment.

After finishing her visa paperwork, Valerie remembered London's damp climate and prepared to go to the mall to buy some thick clothes.

She walked into a high-end clothing store and spotted a beige trench coat. Just as she was about to ask the sales assistant to wrap it up, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her—

"I like this one too, Val. Guess we have similar tastes. We've both set our sights on the same coat and the same person."

Valerie turned around and saw Melanie standing behind her, smiling sweetly.

Before she could speak, Nicholas's voice came from beside them. "So what if you have the same taste? Whether it's the coat or the person, they only belong to you."

He walked over and immediately took out his black card, telling the sales assistant, "I'll pay ten times the price for this coat. Also, wrap up all the new arrivals in the store in my girlfriend's size."

The sales assistant was overjoyed and quickly agreed, no longer caring that Valerie had seen the coat first. She turned to get everything ready.

"Nic, you shouldn't have!" Melanie clutched Nicholas's arm and pouted.

Nicholas looked down at her, his eyes full of affection. "How a man spends his money shows where his heart is. It makes me happy to watch you spend it."

Melanie looked up and asked, "Will you treat me this well forever?"

Nicholas pinched her cheek. "Of course, not just this life, but the next life, and the life after that."

Valerie quietly watched the scene, her heart twinging slightly.

This was the first time she had seen Nicholas like this. It looked like he really loved this girl who was 100% his ideal type.

She knew Melanie deliberately tried to snatch the coat. She also knew that as long as Melanie was around, whatever coat Valerie looked at, Nicholas would buy it for Melanie at a high price.

So, she didn't want to fight with them or watch them being intimate. She turned to leave.

But just then, the shrill fire alarm suddenly echoed throughout the entire mall.

"Fire! Run!"

Thick smoke spread instantly, and chaos erupted as screams filled the air.

Valerie was pushed and shoved by the crowd and couldn't stand steadily at all.

She looked up and saw Nicholas instinctively shielding Melanie in his arms, running toward the emergency exit without looking back.

He didn't spare her a single glance. He didn't even check to see if she was safe.

"Ah—!"

Valerie was pushed to the ground. Her elbow hit the marble floor hard, and the pain made her vision go black.

Before she could get up, the panicked crowd stomped on her several times. A sharp crack came from her right wrist, and pain shot through her so hard she nearly passed out.

Worse still, she was pushed near the escalator. She lost her balance and tumbled down the escalator!

Bang!

The back of her head hit a step hard, and warm fluid flowed down her forehead, blurring her vision.

She curled up on the ground in pain. All she could hear were the loud screams and footsteps, but no one stopped to help her.

In a daze, she saw Nicholas holding Melanie at the emergency exit, comforting her quietly.

Melanie seemed to have said something. Nicholas shook his head, and his voice clearly carried over. "I'm your boyfriend. Whether something happens to Valerie or not has nothing to do with me. Now that I have you, I have to keep my distance from other girls."

After speaking, he lifted Melanie into his arms and left without looking back.

Valerie looked at their retreating figures, her vision gradually blurring.

Her last thought before losing consciousness was that he had never lied.

He really had never felt anything for her.

When she woke up again, Valerie found herself in a hospital.

She was lying in a hospital bed with her left arm in a cast and her right arm hooked up to an IV drip.

The chaos at the mall had resulted in a broken right wrist, a mild concussion, and multiple bruises.

The doctor said she'd need at least two weeks of rest.

Her phone screen suddenly lit up. Nicholas had posted on Instagram.

Before this, his Instagram was completely blank. Even his profile picture was the default gray icon.

But ever since he got together with Melanie, he had changed to a cute couple profile picture. The background was Melanie's selfie, and his posts were flooding the feed.

The latest one was posted ten minutes ago. "Peeled shrimp for my baby, and she complained I was too slow," he'd written, ending it with a sad face emoji to show mock frustration.

The accompanying picture was of Melanie pouting, with a full plate of peeled shrimp on the table. The comment section blew up. "Holy crap, is that Nicholas? Did a ghost possess him?"

"Back then, the school's most popular girl brought you breakfast for a month, and you didn't even remember her name. Now you're peeling shrimp?"

"So he wasn't aloof, he just hadn't met the right person!"

Nicholas replied, "I only do this for her."

Valerie's finger hovered over the screen, but in the end, she didn't tap the like button.

She quietly closed Instagram and locked her phone.

Three days later, Valerie was preparing to be discharged from the hospital.

The sunlight outside the window was beautiful, shining on the white sheets and making her eyes ache.

The nurse pushed the door open. "Ms. Garcia, your discharge paperwork is complete."

Valerie nodded and slowly propped herself up to sit.

She still couldn't use her right hand and had to clumsily use her left hand to pack her things.

As soon as she reached the hallway, she heard a commotion.

Nicholas rushed in, holding a bloodied Melanie, followed by a group of medical staff.

"Save her!" Nicholas's voice was incredibly hoarse, "Quick, save her!"

Valerie had never seen Nicholas like this.

His white shirt was stained with blood. The wound on his forehead was still bleeding, and his eyes were bloodshot.

He was panicked, vulnerable, and hysterical...

Clutching Melanie tightly, as if he were holding the most precious treasure in the world.

"Mr. Watson, please calm down. We'll do everything we can to save her..."

Nicholas's voice trembled as he said sharply, "Call your director—I want the best doctors and equipment! Money is not a problem!"

Soon, the entire floor was cleared, and the top medical team rushed in from all over.

Valerie stood around the corner of the hallway, watching Nicholas pace outside the operating room like a trapped animal.

"Nic, you're hurt too. Take care of your wounds first," one of Nicholas's friends urged.

"Get lost!" Nicholas shook them off, his voice trembling, "I'm not going anywhere until Melanie is out of danger."

"Nic, this car accident was just an accident. If only she hadn't insisted on you speeding on the mountain road..."

"Shut up!" Nicholas punched the wall, "I failed to protect her."

The operating room door suddenly opened. A nurse hurried out. "The patient's kidney is ruptured and requires immediate transplantation, but we currently lack a donor kidney..."

Nicholas rolled up his sleeve without hesitation, "Test me for a kidney match right now."

"Nic! Are you crazy?" His friends stopped him in shock, "You've only been with Melanie for a few days. Is she worth it?"

Nicholas's eyes were terrifyingly cold. "If anything happens to her, I can't live with it. A single kidney is nothing. If it can save her, I'd even give my heart."

The sentence stabbed Valerie's heart like a knife.

She stumbled back and accidentally knocked over a potted plant in the hallway.

With a loud crash, Nicholas turned his head and finally saw her.

The moment their eyes met, Nicholas frowned.

"You... why are you here?"

Valerie raised her right hand, which was in a cast, "The day at the mall, I fell down the escalator."

Nicholas's expression froze for a moment but quickly returned to normal. "Oh. Take care of yourself."

After saying that, he turned and followed the nurse to test for a kidney match, not sparing Valerie another look.

Valerie looked at his retreating back and suddenly remembered when Nicholas had a persistent high fever when he was fifteen. She snuck out of the school grounds that night to buy medicine and ended up breaking her leg.

At the time, Nicholas held her and said, "Val, it'll be my turn to protect you from now on."

But now, he couldn't even bother to ask if she was hurting.

The test results came out quickly. It was a perfect match.

Nicholas signed the consent form without a word and went into the operating room that afternoon.

Valerie looked through the glass window at the two people lying side-by-side on the operating tables.

Nicholas turned his head and gently kissed Melanie's forehead as she lay unconscious.

This scene finally broke Valerie's last line of defense.

The difference between being loved and not being loved was painfully obvious.

She spent eighteen years trying to win Nicholas's heart to no avail, but Melanie did it in a few days.

She laughed at herself. The very last bit of affection in her heart finally disappeared completely.

When Valerie got home, she called the real estate agent.

"I want to sell the villa in Beverly Hills. The sooner, the better."

That was the house her parents left her.

Her whole family immigrated to Canada when she was in college, but she insisted on staying behind.

Her father was so angry that he smashed his teacup. "You're giving up your parents for that Watson boy?"

She was so naive back then, thinking that as long as she stayed by Nicholas's side, she would eventually win his heart.

Now that Nicholas had found the love of his life, it was time for her to let go completely.

A buyer for the house was found quickly.

The day she signed the contract, Valerie received a phone call from an unknown number.

"Ms. Garcia, I'm Melanie." The voice on the other end of the line was soft and sweet, "Can we meet?"

At the cafe, Melanie was bundled up in thick gauze. She was pale but still looked delicate.

She got straight to the point. "Nic was injured, and he donated a kidney to me. Lately, he hasn't had much of an appetite, causing his wounds to heal slowly. I want to make him something to eat..."

"So?" Valerie stirred her coffee without looking up.

"I heard he used to love the chicken broth you made the most." Melanie bit her lip, "Could you... teach me how to make it?"

Valerie's hand paused. She remembered that whenever Nicholas was sick, he would only drink the chicken broth she made.

Once, she had a high fever but still forced herself to cook chicken broth for him, only to collapse in the kitchen afterward.

"He likes you so much now, he'd be happy to drink anything you buy for him," Valerie said flatly.

Melanie shook her head. "I just want him to taste his favorite flavor."

She clasped her hands together, her eyes watery, "Please, I know it was wrong of me to snatch the coat from you earlier. Please don't hold it against me and teach me."

In the end, Valerie agreed.

She stood at the kitchen doorway, watching Melanie fumble with the ingredients.

She cut her finger while cutting the chicken and scalded the back of her hand while pouring hot water, yet she stubbornly tried again and again.

"Why are you so persistent?" Valerie couldn't help but ask.

Melanie wiped the sweat from her forehead, a sweet blush spreading across her face. "Because he's worth it."

She started recounting the good things Nicholas had done for her.

He drove out at three in the morning to buy the strawberry cake she suddenly craved. He planted twenty magnolia trees in the yard because she casually mentioned she liked them. When she had a fever, he stayed up all night with her, checking her temperature every half hour. When she woke up groggily, she saw his eyes were red from lack of sleep.

"Compared to how good he is to me, what's cooking chicken broth for him?" Melanie's eyes were sparkling. "He told me I'm the ideal girl he waited twenty-three years for, the only person he wants to marry in this life."

Valerie listened quietly, her heart felt like it was being slowly sliced open by a dull knife.

She remembered how she had poured her heart out for Nicholas too.

When he had a high fever, she went out in the rain to buy medicine.

When he was in a bad mood, she stayed up all night drinking with him.

On his birthday, she ran all over the city just to buy the limited edition sneakers he liked.

But Nicholas was always indifferent toward her. He wouldn't even thank her.

She'd thought it was just his nature and foolishly believed time would warm his heart.

Now she finally understood.

It wasn't that Nicholas didn't know how to love.

He just didn't love her.

When he met his true ideal girl, he loved her more passionately and deeply than anyone.

When the broth was ready, Melanie looked at the scalds on her hand and bit her lip in annoyance. "I need to take care of my wounds first, or Nic will be heartbroken for ages when he sees them."

She handed the thermos to Valerie, "Could you please take the broth over for me?"

The chicken broth was still steaming in the thermos. Valerie stood at the door of the hospital room and heard Nicholas's gentle voice inside. "Mel? Where did you go? Why didn't you come in?"

The moment she pushed the door open, the smile on Nicholas's face froze instantly.

The expectation in his eyes turned to surprise, and finally settled into an icy coldness.

"What are you doing here?!"

Valerie lowered her eyes, trying to maintain a calm expression, and placed the chicken broth on the bedside table. "This is..."

"Take it away." Nicholas interrupted her coldly, "I won't drink anything you cook."

He leaned back against the hospital bed, his face still pale, but his eyes were sharp like knives. "Val, I have a girlfriend now, and I don't want to have anything to do with other girls, especially since we used to have that kind of relationship.

"You can say I wronged you, or that I'm heartless. I just want Melanie to feel secure."

Valerie closed her eyes. "You misunderstood. I didn't cook this. I just..."

Before she could finish, Nicholas cut her off, his gaze falling on the familiar thermos. "I made myself very clear. I only have Melanie in my heart. I won't even look at other girls' attempts to be nice."

He reached out, grabbed the thermos, and threw it into the nearby trash can without even looking.

A muffled "thud" sounded, as if it had struck Valerie's heart.

"Nic, what on earth are you doing?!"

Melanie's voice suddenly came from the doorway.

She quickly walked in, her hand still wrapped in gauze, "That's the chicken broth I begged Valerie to teach me how to make all day!"

Nicholas's expression instantly changed. "What?"

"I don't know how to cook. I wanted to make you better, so I asked Valerie to teach me." Melanie's eyes were red with grievance. "I even cut my hand slicing the chicken..."

Nicholas immediately sat up from the bed, ignoring the pain of his wound, and bent over to retrieve the thermos from the trash can.

He fumbled to open the lid, scooped out a bowl, and was about to drink it.

"Don't drink that! It's all dirty!" Melanie quickly tried to stop him.

"It's not dirty." Nicholas shook his head, his eyes unbelievably gentle, "How could it be dirty if you made it yourself?"

He drank the broth in big gulps, praising the taste—as if he hadn't been disgusted by it moments ago.

Valerie stood to the side, watching Nicholas drink it with such contentment. She suddenly remembered the time when she had a fever and still managed to cook pasta for Nicholas who was up all night playing video games.

But because she was so hungry, she took a bite herself. He then threw the pasta into the trash can right in front of her.

Back then, Nicholas had severe germophobia. He would be disgusted by anything she touched.

But now, he could actually retrieve and eat something from the trash can.

Simply because Melanie had made it herself.

Valerie gave a self-mocking smile, unsure if she was laughing at him or herself.

As she turned to leave, she heard Nicholas's gentle voice from the ward. "Sweetie, don't do these things anymore. Your injury hurts me more than my own..."

She closed her eyes and quickly left the hospital.

In the following days, Valerie stayed home to pack her luggage.

She folded her clothes one by one and placed them into the suitcase. With each item she organized, it was like sealing away a memory of the past.

The screen of her phone would light up from time to time with notifications from their mutual group chat.

He took Melanie to various parties and introduced her to family and friends, eager to announce to the world that he had found his ideal girl.

The photos in the group chat showed how close they were.

Nicholas had his arm around Melanie's waist, his eyes full of tenderness. Nicholas was leaning down to adjust the hem of Melanie's skirt, his movements careful. Nicholas publicly kissed Melanie's forehead at the party, drawing a round of cheers.

Everyone said that Nicholas had truly fallen in love this time.

Valerie quietly swiped through the photos. The strange thing was that the pain in her heart was gradually becoming weaker.

It was like a wound that had scabbed over. Although it still ached faintly, at least it was no longer bleeding.

Two days before her departure, Valerie met up with a few girlfriends for a farewell dinner.

"Val, are you really leaving?" Her best friend, Evelyn Torres, held her hand. "Not coming back after this?"

"Yeah, I won't be coming back." Valerie took a sip of wine, "The London Symphony Orchestra is the place I've always dreamed of. From now on, I'll focus on my career."

The private room suddenly fell silent. Her friends exchanged glances, wanting to say something but stopping themselves.

"That's good," Evelyn finally broke the silence, "A change of environment, a fresh start."

Valerie smiled and raised her wine glass. "Here's to a new life."

After a few rounds of drinks, she got up to go to the restroom.

As she passed the next private room, a familiar voice made her pause.

"Nic, are you crazy? You've only known her for less than a month and you want to propose? Didn't you say before that people who rush into marriage are fools?"

Valerie instinctively stopped. Through the slightly open door, she saw Nicholas leaning back in his chair, a rarely seen gentle smile on his face.

"That was before I met Melanie. When Val was chasing me, I thought she was crazy too. How could someone need another person so desperately?"

Valerie's fingers suddenly dug into her palm.

"Until I met Melanie." Nicholas's eyes suddenly softened, "The first time I saw her, I knew I wanted to spend my life with her. When she smiles, I'm happy. When she cries, my heart aches. My feelings revolve around her completely. My eyes are always chasing her, and I can't help it..."

He paused, then pulled a velvet box out of his pocket. "I've been planning the proposal since the first day we got together. I'm so afraid she'll belong to someone else. I have to make her my wife as soon as possible."

The private room erupted in gasps.

"It's normal to be caught up in the hormones, but you're falling too deep! At least spend another half a year together..."

"I can't wait another day." Nicholas's voice was very firm, "I've never desired marriage and a family this much."

Valerie stood outside the door, feeling like the blood in her body had frozen.

It turned out that more than ten years of being by his side truly couldn't compare to one month of knowing Melanie.

She turned to leave but accidentally bumped into a waiter carrying a tray.

The sound of the glass shattering startled the people in the private room. Nicholas opened the door, and when he saw her, his expression instantly changed.

"Val? You heard everything?" He asked, frowning.

Valerie nodded honestly.

Nicholas's expression became complicated. "Since you know, you should understand how much I like Melanie.

"Don't try to ruin this proposal—you can't stop it anyway"

"Don't worry." Valerie cut him off, a slight curve lifting her lips, "I won't be at your proposal."

She paused. "Because..."

"That day is also the day I leave the country," She thought to herself.

Before she could finish, Nicholas's phone suddenly rang with Melanie's special ringtone.

He answered the call, his tone instantly becoming gentle. "Baby, I'm with my friends. I'll be right back..."

Valerie took the opportunity to turn and leave while he was on the phone.

Her back was straight, and her steps were steady, as if she had finally let go of a great burden.

After Nicholas hung up the phone, he realized Valerie was gone.

He looked at the empty hallway and vaguely remembered Valerie saying something just now, but his mind was completely focused on Melanie's call, so he hadn't heard clearly.

Never mind, it probably wasn't important.

He didn't think any further and went back into the private room.

The day Nicholas decided to propose to Melanie was also the day Valerie's visa paperwork came through.

Back at the villa, she contacted the agent again, signed the sales contract with the buyer, and after completing all the procedures, got into the car with all her luggage.

As the taxi drove toward the airport, her phone vibrated.

It was a message from the mutual group chat, sharing a live update of Nicholas's proposal.

"Quick! Nic booked the whole amusement park!"

"The fireworks show is so thoughtful, it's Melanie's favorite Disney theme!"

"I heard the ring is custom-made and it weighs five carats!"

She exited the group chat and opened her chat with Nicholas.

The last message was from a month ago when he told her, "Val, I miss you."

Her finger paused on the keyboard for a long time. She slowly typed one final message.

"Nicholas, I wish you a successful proposal. I will do as you wish and never see you again."

The moment the message was sent, his status immediately showed "typing."

"Just don't bother me again. We're bound to run into each other someday. How can we avoid that? I'll treat you to a meal after the proposal is successful."

Valerie looked at the message and suddenly smiled.

So, even now, he still thought she would pester him.

She didn't reply and immediately blocked him.

The boarding announcement sounded. Valerie took out her SIM card, snapped it in half, and tossed it into the trash.

In the cabin, the flight attendant smiled and guided her to her seat.

"This flight is bound for London Heathrow Airport. The estimated flight time is eleven hours."

Valerie nodded and buckled her seatbelt.

The plane glided slowly, sped up, and finally took off.

Outside the window, the city she had lived in for twenty-three years grew smaller and smaller, finally disappearing beneath the clouds.

Valerie suddenly remembered that when she was sixteen, after Nicholas's parents' funeral, he stood in the sunset and told her, "Val, it's just the two of us now."

She slowly closed her eyes and thought, "Nicholas, I won't be accompanying you anymore.

"From this moment, we go our separate ways, never to cross paths again."