Dominic walked in with a smile as he greeted everyone. His eyes swept across the room and froze the moment he saw Valerie.

“Val? What are you doing here?”

Everyone looked as though they had been struck by lightning.

“Of course she’d be here! We were all high schoolmates, in the same class, weren’t we? Wow, are you really that forgetful?”

Schoolmate? In the same class?

The revelation blew Dominic’s mind.

He stared at Valerie in shock, his thin lips moving slightly.

Was it guilt that he had forgotten her, or confusion as to why she had never told him?

Several girls in the group noticed the strangeness and looked at the two with keen curiosity.

“‘Val’? You called out to her so affectionately! What’s your relationship with her?”

Before Valerie could even open her mouth to say “just a classmate,” Dominic cut her off, his voice steady and resolute.

“Valerie is my girlfriend. We’ve been together for six years.”

The entire room erupted at his words.

Everyone buzzed with excitement as they dove into the story of their romance.

Dominic hadn’t known that she had been his classmate all along, and Valerie hadn’t anticipated that he would so openly admit their relationship.

A group of people surrounded the two of them, firing questions without pause. Neither of them was comfortable with the attention.

Dominic kept drinking to steer the conversation elsewhere, while Valerie took the opportunity to slip away to the restroom.

After three drinks, the class president who was slightly drunk, grabbed Dominic’s hand and began rambling.

“I’m so happy to see you two together. Valerie finally got her wish, you know? She’s liked you for a very long time. There was a time during PE class when you were asleep in the classroom.

“I came back to grab something and saw her shielding you from the sun. That’s when I found out.

“There were so many girls who liked you back then, but only Valerie left the deepest impression on me.

“When you twisted your leg playing basketball and had your duty shift, she was the one who always covered for you.

“When you got caught in a fight with a gang and were cornered in an alley, she skipped class to rush to your rescue.

“When you were being gossiped about by a group of people outside the school, despite being timid, she threw herself into the situation to defend you and even managed to argue with them until her face turned red...

“You know, that kind of young love is so pure. Seeing you two end up together makes me genuinely happy for her. She’s a good girl, Dominic. You’d better treasure her, or you’ll regret it.”

Dominic froze.

He had always assumed that they were just casual acquaintances from university, not classmates since high school. And she had secretly harbored feelings for him for an entire decade.

He remembered the promise that had led him to hastily start a relationship with her six years ago. She still didn’t know the truth.

A strange, bittersweet emotion welled in his chest, disorienting and painful.

He no longer had the courage to meet her gaze, so he simply kept drinking, one glass after another, burying his unease in liquor.

After the party broke up, Valerie supported the drunken Dominic as they made their way home.

She took a warm towel and approached him, intending to wipe his face. However, he grasped her hand and wouldn’t let go, his face full of sorrow and concern.

“Are you a fool? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Valerie knew he must have heard something at the gathering, but she no longer cared. She gently pulled her hand free.

“Liking you is my own business. It has nothing to do with you.”

Dominic, still slightly coherent, heard her words, and an indescribable unease swelled in his chest. He wanted to say something to her but didn’t know where to begin. In the end, he stayed silent.

The room fell into stillness. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring light and accidentally exposed the tattoo on his side. It was the initials “C.B.”

Every night, when passion brought them close, she would lie in his arms, gaze at the tattoo, and ask him what it meant.

He had hesitated, as feelings of fondness and longing washed over him.

“It’s faith. A faith more important to me than my own life.”

Back then, Valerie didn’t know that the letters represented Camilla Baldwin.

Valerie had naively believed his words, accepting them without question.

She saw his dreams as her own and adopted his faith, even going as far as to get an identical tattoo.

Now, looking back on those memories, Valerie didn’t feel pain anymore—only a kind of bittersweet humor.

Who hadn’t dreamed of being in sync with their beloved, growing old together, hand in hand?

But only after getting burned over and over again could she see the truth: some connections were destined to part from the very beginning.

She and Dominic had already reached a fork in the road.

Perhaps, it was time to say goodbye.

The morning after a heavy night of drinking, Dominic’s head felt clouded and heavy.

He struggled to sit up, washed his face, and followed the enticing aroma drifting from the dining room.

When he walked in, he found that Valerie had prepared a table full of food.

He glanced at the calendar, noting that it was an ordinary day, which left him slightly puzzled.

"Why did you suddenly cook so much?"

"Just to celebrate," Valerie said as she set the table, her voice soft and casual.

Celebrate?

Was she celebrating his recovery?

Dominic could only think of that as the reason.

But as he looked at the array of fragrant and spicy dishes, he recalled the doctor’s advice about a light diet.

His initial excitement waned, and a flicker of doubt crept into his mind.

He didn’t dwell on it, though. As he pulled out a chair to sit, his phone suddenly rang.

It was Camilla.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he set down the utensils he had just picked up and answered the call.

A few minutes later, the call ended. He stood slowly, his gaze drifting back toward Valerie.

She had already taken her seat, peeling the shell off a shrimp, her attention focused on her task. It appeared she wasn’t particularly concerned about whether he joined her for the meal.

But the fact that she had prepared the feast to celebrate gnawed at his conscience. Unable to shake the unease, he cooked up an excuse.

"I have something to take care of. You have something to eat first. I’ll take you out to celebrate later."

"There’s no need for that. Just focus on your business," Valerie said, shaking her head. She looked calm and yet it was hard to read her expression.

For some inexplicable reason, the moment he met her eyes, his heartbeat quickened, and a strange sense of unease rose in his chest—like an unspoken warning.

But what it meant, he couldn’t quite figure it out.

They stared at each other across the table. Eventually, Dominic turned, breaking the gaze, and left the room.

As the door clicked shut, Valerie looked at the empty chair across from her and smiled to herself.

What she wanted to celebrate was her freedom—learning to love herself, independent of anyone else. No one else needed to be a part of it.

After finishing her meal, she cleaned up the kitchen, gathered the last bit of trash, and took it downstairs to throw it out.

She then pulled out her suitcase from the cabinet and left the apartment.

She flagged down a cab and headed to the tattoo shop—the same one she had visited years ago.

The tattooist recognized her immediately and asked what she wanted this time.

She looked at the familiar little shop, her voice soft but resolute.

"I want to remove the one I got last time."

The tattooist studied her expression and nodded in understanding.

He looked slightly regretful at her request.

"Removing a tattoo is very painful, Miss. Perhaps you’d like to reconsider?"

Pain?

Valerie had already experienced the most desperate, unbearable pain the world could offer.

Why would she fear such a slight torment to the skin?

She knew that the tattoo carried the weight of her past—a constant reminder. Its removal would be painful, would scar, would tear at her body, but that was part of the healing process.

She kept silent and sat in the same spot she had occupied years ago. She lifted her shirt and exposed the tattoo on her side.

A sharp, fiery pain shot through her as the process began, searing its way into her mind. She couldn’t stop the tears—raw, involuntary, mixing with the sweat on her smiling face.

It felt as though a century passed in those moments, but in reality, only seconds had gone by.

The tattooist had finished the procedure and handed her a box of tissues.

Valerie thanked him before wiping her tears and sweat.

She stood, pulling her suitcase with her as she left the small shop.

She hailed a cab, pulled out her phone, and sent a message to Dominic. Then she deleted all contact information related to him.

The cab had pulled to a stop at the station when she finished.

The afternoon sun blazed down on her, hot and unyielding.

She took out the train ticket from her pocket and looked back at the city one last time.

Then she stepped into the station and never looked back.