Chapter 2

2

I hung up and immediately gave the driver a new destination.

The art exhibition I had been looking forward to for six months was hosting its closing ceremony today.

I couldn’t afford to miss it again.

Eight years ago, Valerie and I graduated from college.

She landed a job as a nurse at a local hospital, while I received an offer from a top design firm overseas.

For Valerie’s sake, I gave up that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I stayed behind in this city and took a regular job I didn’t even like.

From dating to marriage, seven years flew by in a flash.

Gradually, I set aside my passion for art.

Yet deep down, regret always lingered.

Strolling through the gallery and admiring those masterpieces, my mind drifted back to the days when my creativity ran wild.

The year we fell madly in love was during a winter just as bitter as this one.

I had been shivering in the studio, barely able to hold a paintbrush.

Valerie took the bus across dozens of stops during her lunch break every day just to bring me a hot water bottle.

Her cheeks were flushed red from the cold, and she sneezed constantly.

Yet all she cared about was whether I was dressed warmly enough.

Outside, heavy snow blanketed the city in pure white.

Her smile was like a roaring fire in the freezing cold, warming my entire winter.

From that moment on, I resolved to spend the rest of my life with this girl.

I wanted to give her all my love in return.

I thought my endless compromises and patience would earn me the same love in return.

Instead, Valerie only grew colder and more distant.

After leaving the exhibition, I dragged my exhausted body out into the lobby.

Feathery snowflakes had begun to fall, and the biting wind stripped away any remaining warmth.

Checking my phone, I saw Valerie had updated her feed again.

The photo showed her and Corey having a great time at the restaurant. Around Corey’s neck was a knitted scarf.

I recognized it immediately―Valerie had spent a whole month knitting it by hand.

She had stayed up until the early hours, her eyes bloodshot with fatigue.

I had foolishly assumed it was a winter gift for me.

A single snowflake drifted down, landing on my open palm.

It melted into water in an instant.

Oddly enough, it felt like it burned.

The innocent, warm girl from my past had probably died long ago with that distant winter.

And my love for her quietly came to an end in this very moment.

Arriving home, I pulled out my dust-covered easel and paints from the storage room.

Following my memories, I began sketching on the canvas.

After all these years, my hands hadn’t completely lost their touch.

In less than two hours, the painting was nearly finished.

Right at that moment, Valerie unlocked the front door.

Seeing me painting again, she took off her coat and mocked me:

“Still clinging to your great painter dream after all these years? If you really had any talent, why couldn’t you find a decent design job after graduation?”

She kept making sarcastic remarks until her eyes landed on the canvas.

Her expression froze instantly.