The moment she stepped inside, Winter collapsed onto the sofa and could no longer hold back her tears.

This cramped apartment had been home for ten years and every corner of it held pieces of her life with Cassian.

The framed photo on the wall, the stubborn oil stains on the kitchen backsplash, the sagging couch, the blueberry plant they had once tended together.

One by one, the memories replayed in her mind like an old slide reel.

By the time the sky outside had gone dark, her tears had finally run dry.

She sat in silence, eyes roaming over the room. But her thoughts kept drifting back to the spacious villa she had seen earlier that day.

It was a home filled with Cassian’s presence, too, but it showed two completely different worlds.

And suddenly, she knew—she was the only one still clinging to the past.

Perhaps this apartment was nothing but a reminder to Cassian of the years he would rather erase.

After all, this room was a reminder of his lowest point—when he was more used to taking orders than giving them and the best meal he could afford was instant noodles with a single sausage.

The ceiling sagged under layers of makeshift waterproof sheeting, slapped on after leaks had ruined important papers more than once.

There was still a patched hole in the door—left from the time the landlord kicked it in, shouting for rent.

Back then, he covered her ears and hummed quietly, telling her she didn’t need to be afraid.

On the nightstand sat a glass jar filled with tiny folded paper stars.

They had written wishes on each one years ago. Supposedly, those wishes had all come true by now, so the jar no longer served a real purpose.

She thought about tossing it straight into the trash, but instead, she began unfolding one star open.

Back then, neither of them had shared what they had wished for, so she was curious to see if any of his wishes had been about her.

One by one, the paper stars were unfolded, revealing his wishes, but not a single one mentioned her name.

 By the time she reached the last star, she did not even want to look. A laugh burst from her, sharp and wet with tears.

She crumpled the star in her fist, then tore every scrap of unfolded paper into pieces and dumped it all in the trash.

The bedroom walls were plastered with photos of them. She ripped them down, cut them into shreds and flushed them away.

When she came across an old photo of them together, she froze. She couldn’t bring herself to destroy it, so she shoved it into an old cardboard box instead.

The more she cleared, the emptier the apartment became. By the time she was done, the 600-square-foot space felt so hollow.

She carried all the discarded things to the hallway, where the junk collectors would pick them up in the morning.

When she finally sat back down, a strange numbness settled over her. She sat on the sofa, staring at nothing.

Until her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Winter? This is Yvonne.”

Winter stayed silent, waiting for her to continue.

Yvonne’s voice was light, almost teasing. “You saw what happened today. So, are you going to walk away on your own, or do I need to push you?”

It took a moment for the words to sink in. And then, like a delayed punch, she realized that the kind middle-aged ex-coworker who had asked for help earlier had deceived her.

Yvonne had been looking for her the whole time. And because Winter had quit her cleaning job, she used someone Winter trusted to lure her into the villa.

All of this suddenly felt ridiculous.

Ten years in this city and she didn’t even have one single real friend.

When she still didn’t answer, Yvonne’s tone sharpened. “You know I’m not letting go of Cassian. But as long as you’re around, he won’t leave you. I’ll give you half a million dollars to disappear.”

“If you don’t, his company will be finished before long. I’ll give you a week to think about it.”

Winter spoke before the line could go dead. “No need for a week. I’ll tell you right now—I’m leaving.”

She did still love Cassian and she couldn’t stand the thought of watching him lose everything again. But this time, she was saying yes for herself, not for him.

He had once saved her life and she had repaid him with ten years of hers. That was enough.

Yvonne arched a brow. “Fine. Just make sure you mean it. Don’t play games with me.”

A faint, bitter smile tugged at Winter’s lips. Play games?

That would only work if Cassian loved her too. And he didn’t.

That night, she tossed and turned. Her dreams played the same scene over and over.

In there, Cassian was standing beside Yvonne at their wedding. Not once did his eyes find her.

She wept in every dream until her eyes throbbed, trying to wake, but her body wouldn’t move.

And then—through the blur—Cassian began walking toward her.

“Winter? What’s wrong? Wake up.”

She woke to the warmth of a palm against her cheek. Blinking her eyes open, she saw Cassian.

For a moment, she thought she was still dreaming—her vision still hazy.

He gently brushed the tears from her face, his brows knit in concern.

"What were you dreaming about? Why are you crying like that?"

And that was when Winter knew she was awake, because the Cassian in her dreams never wiped her tears. He only looked at her with that same cold detachment.

She turned away from his hand, brushing the tears off herself.

"It’s nothing. I don’t even remember."

Cassian stared at his empty palm for a beat, thrown off.

Then, he unzipped his suitcase and pulled out a scarf.

"You’ve always loved tie-dye from this brand, right? I brought this back for you. Do you like it?"

One glance told her it was a cheap print, not real tie-dye.

There was a time she had believed he simply didn’t know any better—that he didn’t understand her tastes.

Now she knew he just didn’t care enough to try.

In the past, she would have teased him for it, maybe even mock-threatened him to bring the real thing next time.

But that spark was gone. If he couldn’t bring her what she loved, she would go see it for herself.

She took the scarf, offering a small, polite smile. "Thanks."

The word seemed to catch him off guard. A strange, cool distance settled between them, one that made him uneasy.

And if she truly loved tie-dye so much, how could she not notice it was fake?

He had braced himself for her to playfully scold him, maybe even throw a pillow his way, but she did nothing.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, his phone chimed, right as she spoke.

"Why are you back so early?"

He typed a quick reply and then ruffled her hair with a smile.

"Because today’s the end of the cooling-off period. If we miss it, we’ll have to reapply."

"I didn’t want my mistake to hold you up, so I wrapped up work and came back sooner."

Her breath caught. A faint sting burned behind her eyes.

She lowered her head, hiding the flicker of hope she didn’t want him to see. Her half-smile was tinged with ache.

Of course, he hadn’t come back early because he missed her. It was because of the divorce.

Winter took a slow, steady breath before finally lifting her head. "Let’s go."

Cassian’s fingers froze mid-typing. He glanced at her, sensing something was off, though he couldn’t quite name it.

The shrill ring of his phone broke the moment. He silenced it and walked toward the living room.

When Winter emerged, she found him carefully plucking the strawberries off a small cake.

It was a habit he had picked up after marrying Yvonne. Every time he came home to see her, he would bring her one of these little cakes.

Once, she had thought it was a romantic gesture. Now she understood it was a silent apology.

Cassian said apologetically when he saw her coming. "Winter, I was in a rush. All I could grab was a strawberry cake. I picked off the strawberries so you could have it."

She shook her head gently. "Don’t bother. Let’s just go."

The truth was, she had never liked these cakes and she was allergic to strawberries.

Worse still, she had spotted this exact box sitting in the villa’s fridge yesterday.

She wondered how many times she had been handed leftovers from someone else’s table, but now the thought alone made her stomach turn.

Without another glance at Cassian, she walked to the door first.

He felt that strange distance once again. The woman who used to cling to him like a little puppy was suddenly acting cold and indifferent.

As he followed her out, ready to ask what was wrong, he stopped short. A row of cardboard boxes lined the hallway.

At first, he thought they belonged to someone else. But the longer he looked, the more familiar the contents became.

His chest tightened as he turned to her. "You packed all this? Why are you throwing so much away?"

She answered evenly, "Just some things I don’t need anymore. Cassian, I'm actually planning to—"

Before she could finish, her words were cut short by his phone ringing again.

The rest of the sentence—I'm actually planning to leave Melbourne—stayed lodged in her throat.

Watching his back while he answered the call, her eyelashes trembled. She wouldn’t tell him about it, then. Let it be a surprise.

At City Hall, it only took a few questions before the staff slid two divorce decrees across the counter.

Winter stared at the covers, her vision blurring.

Something she had held onto for ten years had popped like a soap bubble in less than one.

The marriage that felt like a dream was officially over.

Cassian was moved by the tears in her eyes so much that he couldn’t bring himself to meet her gaze. He pulled her into a gentle hug.

"Winter, once the company gets through this rough patch, we’ll definitely remarry. Just wait for me, all right?"

For the first time, she didn’t give him the answer he wanted. She buried her face in his shoulder and whispered, "No."

But his phone rang before he could hear her.

He glanced at the screen and quickly declined the call—but not before she caught the caller’s name. My Princess.

A prince belonged with a princess. She… she was just a Cinderella without the magic.

She turned her face away to force her tears back and lift her head to calm the storm within.

Cassian slipped on the suit jacket draped over his arm and ordered a taxi for her.

"Go home and wait for me. I have to run by the office."

After saying that, he gave the driver a string of instructions to drop her off close to the entrance so she wouldn’t have to walk far and to drive slowly so she wouldn’t get carsick.

He spent ten whole minutes making sure every detail was right before getting into his own car.

Winter kept her head bowed, catching her tears before they could fall. Her throat ached as she swallowed them down before she spoke to the driver.

"Let’s go."

She didn’t care where Cassian was going… until the roads began to overlap.

At a fork, she found herself quietly telling the driver to follow him.

She wasn’t prepared for where he stopped. City Hall, again.

From the backseat of the taxi, she watched Cassian stride up to Yvonne with arms wide open. Then, he pulled her close in a full embrace.

The wedding ring that had once matched Winter’s was gone from his hand. A bright red tie replaced the one he had worn earlier, all to make himself completely belong to Yvonne Harris alone.

She had known he had divorced her to marry Yvonne, but she hadn’t expected it to be the same day.

The ink on the divorce papers had barely dried and the next moment, he and Yvonne had already obtained their marriage certificate.

Seriously, Cassian couldn’t wait even one day?

The clerk’s office had been cleared just for them. In less than five minutes, they walked out holding a fresh marriage certificate.

Cassian took out a bouquet as if from thin air, then bent and scooped Yvonne up in his arms, carrying her bridal-style to the car.

This was how he loved someone. It was the first time Winter had ever seen that light in his eyes.

Her fingers tightened around the divorce certificate in her lap as she rolled up the window.

"Drive."

As the car pulled away from City Hall, she kept her gaze fixed on the blur outside, her eyes heavy with tears that refused to fall.

She didn’t go home. Instead, she headed straight to the office.

The moment she stepped inside, Yohan, one of the senior staff, spotted her and came over with a grin.

"Winter, I thought you were off today. What brings you in?"

Winter offered a faint smile. "I’m here to hand in my resignation."

Since Cassian's divorce with Yvonne, she had come back to work, though her role as Yohan’s assistant was more honorary than anything, so there was never much for her to do.

His smile faltered upon hearing her reason. "Why resign? Does Cassian know about this? He’s not going to agree to this."

Her eyes welled up. She first slid a signed contract and uploaded the digital version to the company system.

"You’re my direct supervisor. I only need your approval."

Yohan could clearly guess she knew something, but was not daring to ask.

He tried to talk her out of it, but she didn’t budge. In the end, he pulled out his phone and dialed Cassian.

The line rang and rang. When Cassian finally picked up, all he said was, "Whatever it is, you decide."

His expression turned awkward as he hung up.

A dull ache spread in Winter’s chest, but she forced a graceful smile.

"Don’t feel bad. I already talked about this to him and he’s fine with it. I just need a break. Planning to take a trip, clear my head. I’ll be back before you know it."

Yohan felt slightly relieved upon hearing she was planning to take a trip.

He told himself that only a handful of people knew the truth and there was no way it could have reached her ears. So, he didn't even think twice before agreeing.

She said her goodbyes, but still didn’t want to return home.

On the way home, she walked the entire way, as if she wanted to take in the entire city where the man he loved was.

She ended up by the river. Sitting down on a bench, she realized she had been here before—with him.

Back then, the land across the water was nothing but weeds and dirt, with rumors that luxury villas would be built on it.

Back then, Cassian had been wearing an old, faded shirt, picking at a flimsy takeout box. When she had taken his hand, the tips of his ears went red and he had covered his shyness with words.

"When this place is developed, I’m buying you the sunniest villa there."

At that time, she had just laughed and called him a liar.

Now, the promise had come true, just not for her.

The villa where Yvonne lived was exactly as he had described, flooded with golden light.

A breeze brushed her cheek, snapping her out of the memory.

She looked down and found her face was already wet with tears.

Her chest ached. She pressed a hand to it, head bowed, breathing heavily. But the tears kept coming, harder now.

Her phone suddenly rang. She swallowed the sobs threatening to escape and answered.