Chapter 4

He looked at me for a moment, his gaze thoughtful, before asking, "Rachel, did you come here just for this?"

I nodded, and his expression shifted, darkening.

Within seconds, he pulled his hand away from mine as if he'd been shocked. He must have noticed the blisters on my hand from the boiling sugar.

I could see the revulsion flicker across his face.

Just then, Olivia piped up, clearly noticing something. "Sister Rachel, that red string on your wrist looks so familiar. Oh, wait! I remember now, I saw an identical one in my trash can a few days ago."

I saw Alexander's quick motion to cover his wrist, but I didn't react. Calmly, I said, "Red strings like this are pretty common. If you like it, I can give you the one on my wrist."

Olivia didn't take me up on the offer.

As I stepped out of the private room, I immediately found a trash can and threw away the red string I'd been wearing for seven years.

While waiting for the elevator, my phone rang. It was my mom.

"Did you book your ticket home yet?"

"I'll do it in a few days," I replied.

Just as I finished speaking, I heard Alexander's voice behind me, puzzled. "What are you booking?"

I hung up quickly, then lied smoothly, "There's this popular restaurant that needs reservations."

Alexander didn't press the issue. He just took my hand and led me to a nearby hotel, where he booked a suite. He pulled out his laptop and got to work on urgent business matters.

We worked side by side in silence until dawn, waiting for feedback from overseas clients. Finally, exhaustion caught up with me, and I fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up to find myself lying on the bed. Alexander was leaning against the headboard, reading a financial daily. When he saw I was awake, he ordered room service and brought me breakfast.

Halfway through the meal, he asked, "Why did you change your phone password?"

"I just felt like it," I answered easily.

The old password had been a combination of our birthdays. Now that I'd made up my mind to move on, there was no reason to keep using it.

He set his fork down, studying me. "You used to nag me about going to the movies together. There's a theater nearby."

With the boss taking the lead in playing hooky, I had no choice but to follow along.

Cuddling up in a near-empty cinema, holding popcorn, and watching a comedy with your boyfriend, it was the sweet scene I'd once dreamed of.

But now, I couldn't focus. I kept yawning, my mind drifting.

Noticing my distractedness, Alexander frowned. "You picked this movie. Don't you like it?"

"It's fine," I muttered, not really paying attention.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but his phone buzzed. Without a word, he stood up and walked out.

By the time the movie ended, Alexander still hadn't returned.

I was about to call him when I heard a familiar voice.

"Brother Alexander, you're really, really amazing!"

I turned to see Olivia, grinning and clutching a huge stuffed animal, jumping into Alexander's arms and planting a kiss on his cheek.

He caught her by the thighs, his smile vanishing the instant he saw me.

"Sister Rachel, you're here too?" Olivia asked, surprised. A few seconds later, she squeaked in embarrassment, quickly stepping down from him. "Sister Rachel, please don't misunderstand! I got too excited, that's all…"

Alexander lightly tapped her nose, speaking in a tone full of affection. "No need to apologize."

Then, he turned to me, casually saying, "The movie ended that quickly?"

Before I could reply, a loud fire alarm blared through the mall, sending people scattering in a panic.

Before I could process what was happening, Alexander had already grabbed Olivia's hand and was guiding her toward the emergency exit.

Five minutes later, the false alarm was cleared. Alexander returned to the spot where we'd been, but after scanning the area, he couldn't find me.

Two hours later, I stood at the train station with my luggage, having already completed my resignation procedures.

While I waited for the train, my phone kept buzzing, Alexander was calling.

I didn't bother answering. I just set the phone to silent.

Before boarding the train, I sent him a message:

[Let's break up.]

I paused for a moment, then took out the SIM card and tossed it in the trash.