What Remains Of Love - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Even now, she still did not know why she had chosen to leave while the fire of love in her heart was still burning so fiercely. During the days apart from him, she had nearly collapsed. Clement came into her life with a gentle, warm affection. He showed her a profound kind of love—one that expected nothing and demanded nothing in return.

That was what made her open her heart to Clement. She loved him sincerely. In the quiet process of forgetting, there were moments when she secretly wished that some woman would love him as deeply as she once had, and that woman would stay by his side in her place, because her own heart had not been strong enough to make that choice.

Perhaps she could have found peace with that wish if, one day, he had not appeared before her.

His little family became her neighbors, living on the same floor of the apartment building. She could still vividly remember the feeling of freezing in place the first time she stood motionless in front of his door, when she heard the song Careless Wind drifting from inside.

Since the day we parted, I still haven't forgotten you for a single day.

Since the day we parted, I still remember your image.

Sometimes I try to forget you, just so my heart will stop hurting.

But why do I still see you in every dream…

It was the first song he had ever dedicated to her. It had once given her an intuition that their love would end sadly.

It was only much later, when he shared the story of his first love with her, that she learned that the first time he looked into her eyes, she had reminded him of the pure, innocent love of his youth—with a gentle female student of literature.

Could Careless Wind have been meant for her?

He had come into her life with passionate and tender love. But now, he had a happiness of his own. Watching the way he cherished his little daughter, she knew she had no right to steal that warm happiness away from him.

She continued to come and go wearing brown-tinted glasses and a mask that completely covered her face.

She buried the lingering pain deep inside her heart. On many nights, that pain felt as though it were tearing her apart when she learned that his family was about to move away. Her friend told her that they had already put down a deposit on the apartment.

She would be separated from him once again.

And perhaps, this time, it would be forever.

Clement had no idea that a storm was raging violently inside her heart.

Other than Clement, she had no desire to talk to anyone. But even Clement was someone she did not want to speak to at that moment.

“Why do you keep turning off your phone? Are you shutting yourself away to write?” Clement asked worriedly after his calls to her had been answered only by an automated operator.

“I’m in Nha Trang. I wanted to come back to the sea.”

There was a few seconds of silence before Clement laughed softly on the phone.

“When did you leave? Why didn’t you tell me? Well, stay as long as you like and come home when you’re ready. It’s good to get away and change the scenery once in a while. I support you.”

She quietly hung up.

A small pang of disappointment went through her when Clement supported her trips so readily. She had imagined that he would be startled when he learned that she was no longer in the city. She had imagined that he would anxiously tell her to come back soon. She had imagined that Clement would ask why she wanted to take trips alone.

But all of that was merely what she wished for.

Perhaps Clement truly thought of her because he loved her. Yet at that moment, all she wanted was to have him by her side. She wanted to relive the days when the two of them had still been in love.

That thought made her feel guilty toward Clement to some extent, but it tormented her far more because of him.

She wanted to have him, yet at the same time, she did not want to shatter the peaceful happiness of that little family.

When she learned that he was about to move away, the desire to be close to him suddenly flared inside her like a raging fire. Perhaps these would be the last days she could be near him. Soon, he would be far away from her.

She would return to the peaceful life she had with Clement.

What could possibly be wrong with that?

Emma returned to the city after spending two days by the sea in Nha Trang. She had once thought she would stay there until he moved out of the apartment complex. But after two days facing the vast sea and sinking deep into overwhelming loneliness, she realized how cowardly she was for running away even from herself.

She decided to return and face him.

She wanted to find an answer for her poor, conflicted heart.

It was a rainy day at the train station.

It took her thirty minutes to take a taxi home. She stepped out of the car and huddled against the cold rain. The thin, disposable raincoat made her feel a little more protected.

The elevator doors opened. She hurried out, then suddenly froze in the lobby.

The man waiting for the elevator was standing directly opposite her. His eyes widened in surprise.

“You?!”