---- Chapter 5 When the plane landed, a warm sea breeze brushed against my cheeks. Seagulls flew in the sky, and there was greenery everywhere. I put all the rumors and hearsay behind me. My new life without Scarlett and Hayden in the picture was about to begin. Clusters of tropical plants flashed past the cab window, contrasting sharply with one particular snowy night in my memories. There had been a heavy snowstorm on the day Hayden confessed to me. His breath had come out in white clouds, his eyelashes and hair had been frozen, and his face had been completely red from the cold. "Be my girlfriend, Lucy," he had declared. "I'll definitely give you the best life I possibly can!" ---- Iunlocked my phone and saw 20 unread messages ina row. The newest one was from three minutes ago. "T've been waiting for you at the city hall fora long time, Lucy. When will you be here?" I stared at the screen and laughed bitterly. 57 days of pleading with him, only for him to constantly put off his agreement by saying, "I'll marry you after a few more days." But now that he had finally shown up at the city hall, I was tired. As I gazed at the most familiar name in my contact list, seven years' worth of memories seemed to flash before my eyes. There was the memory of Hayden confessing to me as he shivered amid a snowstorm, us squeezing onto a single bed in a basement back when we first started the company together, and ---- us crying tears of joy when we received our first order. In the end, the last memory I recalled was one of Scarlett pulling on Hayden's arm and whining like a spoiled princess while wearing my nightclothes. Hayden had tied me down for a whole seven years, but now I felt completely relaxed. It took but a few seconds to experience emotional relief. "We're here, ma'am," the cab driver called out to me, bringing me back to the present. Ihad almost lost myself over the years. I had left even my dreams and dignity behind, wanting only to help Hayden carve a niche for himself in the world. Seven years of waiting and 57 days of bitter pleading were nothing in the face of Scarlett's trivial personal matters.