Rainwater kept beating against the car windows.


    Looking out through the window, the outside world seemed like a bizarre, alternate reality.


    I smiled lightly. "When is the expert you found arriving in Jeswood?"


    Ryan replied, "The day after tomorrow.


    "Alright." I nodded and reached for the car door handle. "Then I''ll be on my way."


    "I''ll see you off."


    "No need. My car is just parked nearby."


    "Still, I''ll see you off."


    I was momentarily taken aback by his insistence. Seeing him reach for the passenger seat''s umbre, I understood his intention.


    He held the ck long-handled umbre, walked around the car, and opened the door for me, "Let''s go."


    There was a bit of standing water on both sides of the road, making our footsteps particrly clear.


    As we walked side by side to the car, I opened the door and got in, only then realizing that half of him was


    wet.


    But I didn''t say much, "Thank you."


    With that, I firmly closed the car door with a dull thud, started the engine, and pressed the gas pedal.


    In the rearview mirror, the man stood with the umbre, watching the direction of my car.


    My speed, however, showed no signs of slowing down,


    Perhaps, in a way, I was someone who was both deeply affectionate and decisively indifferent.


    When in love, I wanted it to be unforgettable and earth-shattering.


    When fate ended, even a single word or nce would be superfluous.


    Ryan stood in the rain, watching the car disappear for a long time.


    He thought he might understand how Charlotte felt every time he left her.


    His heart felt unbearably suffocated.


    Pedestrians on bicycles passed by, sshing him with mud.


    He seemed unaware.


    In his eyes, only reluctance remained.


    It wasn''t until the car was out of sight that Ryan finally walked back to his car.


    He made a call, his voice hoarse. "Want to go for a drink?"


    #


    "Sure, still heading to Nightshade?"


    "Okay."


    "Got it."


    On the other end of the line, Tom left the party he was at and called for a designated driver to head towards Nightshade. Actually, he wasn''t surprised,


    Over the past two years, Ryan, who usually had no bad habits, had started drinking and smoking in private.


    He would take medication for bipr disorder while smoking and drinking.


    It was to ease the pain of Charlotte''s death.


    But he dared not mention this. When a childhood friend brought it up once, Ryan had angrily beaten him


    1. up.


    Without a body, Ryan refused to ept that Charlotte was dead.


    Just as he used to, he prepared extravagant gifts for every wedding anniversary and Valentine''s Day.


    He visited the cemetery every memorial day to pay respects to Charlotte''s adoptive parents.


    Even when drunk, he insisted on being taken back to Moon Lake Bay, the house he shared with Charlotte.


    Some media joked that the mighty Mr. Frost was controlled by his wife.


    Only Tom knew that Ryan couldn''t move on.


    When Tom arrived at Nightshade, the table in the private room was already piled high with various drinks.


    There were wines, beers, and spirits.


    Ryan lifted his ss and signaled to him, "You''re here?"


    Then he drank it all in one gulp.Owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Tom sat down beside him, clicking his tongue, "You invited me here hoping to drink yourself into a stomach bleed and need someone to take you to the hospital?" Ryan smirked, poured himself another drink, and said, "When you and Jane broke up, who took you to the hospital?"


    "Bro, bringing that up is pointless."


    Tom didn''t expect Ryan to start digging into his past, so he quickly changed the subject. "So, what''s the matter? The doctor you found for your wife, does she not need him?"


    "No." Ryan held his ss, his fingers clearly defined as he tapped the rim of the ss. "It''s hard to say. Everything just feels off."


    In short, it was different from before.


    She seemedpletely indifferent.


    There


    was no emotion, not even aversion or disgust.


    Only when he mentioned the doctor who could cure Madam did she see some emotion and a smile on


    her face.


    At other times, it was as if she wore a mask, creating a distance between them.


    Tom casually picked up a ss, poured some liquor into it, and dropped an ice cube in, saying nonchntly, "Not to say I told you so, but I did say this method wouldn''t work. What''s up with the respect and obedience?"


    "Man, are you some priest wanting to help someone change?"


    Tom strongly disagreed, "In my opinion, rtionships are about pursue and escape. When it reaches the point of mutual respect andpliance, that''s when it''s really over. There''s no spark left." "That''s a theory." Ryan sneered and said, "So how did you and Jane break up?"


    Tom lifted his ss and drank arge gulp.


    The liquor was sharp, but he swallowed it without much reaction and nced at Ryan, "Can youpare You, me to you? Who am I? Just a spoiled rich kid. To have a worry-free life, I had to sacrifice something on the other hand, have the Frost family backing you up. You can make decisions as you wish. There aren''t as many obstacles between you and your wife."


    Ryan''s dark eyes were momentarily stunned by those words.


    Tom was right.


    The only obstacle between him and Charlotte was hisck of consideration for her feelings.


    Ryan pursed his lips. "The obstacles between her and me are even moreplicated than those you had with Jane."


    "What obstacles?" asked Tom.


    Ryan''s Adam''s apple moved, his eyes tinged with redness. "She doesn''t love me anymore."