Chapter 17
The ait was so cold that it felt like frost was about to crystallize in the atmosphere. It wasn’t until the taste of blood spread across his tongue that Ezra realized he had bitten through his lip.
He had torn through 12 months of dawns and dusks for this reunion, scouring every corner of the city, letting his studies fall into complete neglect. Daniel was unwilling to watch a once–brilliant student waste away in a daze and had finally told him where Gianna was.
The moment he got the information, he booked the earliest flight, not even stopping for a sip of water. He had rushed here, breathless, with only one thought in mind. That was to see the person who had haunted his dreams.
Yet, after finally standing before her again, he was forced to face the cruel truth that Gianna was no longer the girl he remembered.
Gone was the childhood sweetheart who had once endured everything with endless patience and who had always treated him with warmth.
No matter how desperately he searched her cold, dark eyes, there wasn’t even a flicker of emotion left for him. They had become like the mountains and the moon that were eternally apart. They were able to see each other, yet never able to touch.
He would rather she hated him, yelled at him, or cursed him. Anything but this suffocating indifference, as if he were a stranger.
On the other hand, Gianna couldn’t calm down either. She was certain she no longer harbored any feelings for Ezra.
Yet seeing him again and hearing his desperate, broken cries stirred something within her. No matter how ruthless she forced herself to be, she was still human. Her heart was not a machine, incapable of being stirred.
After losing her mother as a child, it was Ezra who had held her hand and pulled her out of that cold, dark world. He had once been the warmest light in her life, yet he was also the blade that had cut her the deepest.
How could letting go of someone like that ever be easy?
In the lab, the fluorescent screen glowed as brightly as daylight. The boiling liquid inside the beaker reflected the tight line of Gianna’s lips.
Suddenly, the glass shattered in her palm. Shards scattered, slicing open old wounds.
This was just like the boy who had once led her out of her darkest days. Now, he had returned with an even sharper blade to rip open the scars she had fought so hard to heal.
The next day, the security guard told her that Ezra was still waiting at the gate. He had refused to eat and refused to leave no matter how much they tried to persuade him. It was as if he was willing to wait there until he died–unless he saw Gianna.
On the third night, as heavy rain poured relentlessly, the guard pushed open her dormitory door. “That man is still there. I offered him an umbrella, but he wouldn’t take it. If this keeps up, he’s going to die.”
Outside the medical academy, the floodwaters had risen past Ezra’s ankles. His faded trench coat, which was drenched in rain, clung to his frail body, dragging him down like a weight.
Days without food, water, or sleep had left him so weak that it seemed he might collapse at any moment, never to rise again. His vision blurred, and his body swayed.
just as he was about to fall, a black umbrella suddenly cut through the torrential downpour, shielding him from the rain.
“You finally came…”
The moment a warm coat wrapped around him, the dam holding back three days of grief burst. He fell to his knees at Gianna’s feet with a choked sob, abandoning all pride and dignity. He wept like a child under the raging storm.
“Gianna, please come home with me. I can’t go on without you. As long as you come back, I’ll do anything—anything.”
Gianna knelt down, her fingers brushing away the tears on his face. Her voice was barely more than a sigh.
“Thank you. For once bringing me home, for staying by my side through that bitter winter night. This is the last time we will see each other. Don’t make me hate you can you do that for me!
“You’re wasting this on someone who isn’t worth it ”
Ezra stared at her in a daze. So, this was what the most painful goodbye felt like. There was no screaming, no anger, not even hatred.
The moment she wiped away his tears, he saw only farewell in her eyes. A farewell that meant forever.
