C4

After the charity auction, nothing seemed to have changed between them. They continued to eat at home in silence, and they even went out for a walk, arm in arm. However, there was something different in the atmosphere–like the calm before the storm.

Xia Yuli didn't bring up the pictures, keeping them to herself like she always had. And He Yao'an never bothered to explain, like he always did. Instead, the two stood side by side, pretending that their problems had never even existed.

The wind howled across the night, blowing the bright green leaves across the lawn. The bushes whistled and sighed, and the two of them slowed to a stop. As she looked around, she suddenly glanced up at him.

"I want to hold your hand while we walk."

There was a short pause before he finally met her gaze. "Why bother?"

Her heart cracked as soon as she heard his words. Was her luck really that bad that she had to fall in love with a man as ruthless as an assassin? Even as he gazed into her eyes, there was nothing but indifference for her to dig out. Her heart clenched, but she remained calm as they walked–the wind being the only thing that's keeping her sane.

She had fallen in love with him, and that love came with a price. But for how long could she stand him hanging around with these women as if he wasn't taken? As if he wasn't hers? How much of her heart was he willing to take before he'd shatter it completely?

A week had passed, and it felt as if something inside her had finally snapped.

"Let's break up," Xia Yuli later proposed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't love you anymore, so we shouldn't be together."

"What did you just say?" Even He Yao'an couldn't believe his ears.

"I said I don't love you anymore, so we should go our separate ways." Xia Yuli didn't look him in the eye, afraid that he'd see right through her lies. Her hands trembled as she clutched the corners of her seat.

What she didn't expect was for him to stand up and pinch her chin. He forced her to look directly into his eyes. "Well, I don't agree."

"Sir, I feel like you've forgotten what love is. It's an emotion–an essence you could hope and wish for, but it could never be forced." Her eyes flashed as she slowly pulled away from his hold, keeping her distance from him. "You can't force me to stay."

"Xia Yuli!" He Yao'an called her full name, suddenly feeling a bit anxious. Artists had lived for love and beauty, perhaps, they had even chased it. It was only today when he realized how fleeting that love could be.

Upon seeing the determined look on her face, the grip he had on his chair tightened. "Fine, you want it, you get it. Since you're so set in your ways, then I'll let you go, but I'll tell you this–once you leave, you better not come back."

His eyes turned sharp.

"I'll give you two hours. Pack up your things and leave."

"I've already packed up. I'll be leaving now."

He Yao'an glanced at the two suitcases in the corner of the living room. She had really packed everything up. Had she been planning this, this entire time? His chest twisted at the sight, but he didn't say a word. "Fine."

The squeaky wheels echoed across the silent room as Xia Yuli left the villa. She didn't even bother turning back as she headed into the taxi. From that point, she had already made up her mind–that this love wasn't meant to last.

Now, she finally realized the irony behind her drawings.

She had drawn the sky far too much, wishing that she could be a part of it all. However, it had taken her three years for her to be slapped by reality–that she wasn't as high and might as she had seemed. And the clouds that had once caressed her had thrown her back onto the mud.

He Yao'an was different, with his head far up into the clouds for her to reach. They were in two different worlds, she thought, turning away. And perhaps, they were meant to stay that way forever.