To the Love of My Life

Edric paused for a moment, then took the cigarette out of his mouth without hesitation. He placed it and the lighter on the table and offered a gentle apology: “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Ruby picked up her glass of water and took a sip.

It wasn’t until Ruby put down her glass of water that Edric cracked a soundless smile, his gaze fixated on her. Then his tone turned serious, “Ruby, I heard you were in Costa Luna a few years ago, too?”

Ruby nodded slightly and gave a confirming “Mm.”

“You knew I was there, but why didn’t you contact me during those three years?” After saying that, Edric chuckled to himself: “I just asked a stupid question. Why would you bother to contact me? It must have been just my wishful thinking.”

At this point, Edric’s expression seems somewhat uncomfortable. After a moment, he let out a soft sigh and said in a gentle voice, “We’ve bumped into each other quite a few times, but never managed to have a proper conversation. I didn’t mean to bother you either; I only followed you out of the hospital after seeing your red-rimmed eyes as you ran off. Since we’ve run into each other, I only wanted to tell you that you don’t need to worry, all the things from the past will die with me.”

After saying that, Edric looked at Ruby and smiled, his tone half-serious and half-joking: “You know, Ruby, I’ve always wanted to do something for you.”

Upon hearing this, Ruby felt a little awkward. She lowered her eyes and forced a small smile before saying, “Thank you.”

“You’re always so formal with me.” There was a hint of sadness in Edric’s voice, but Ruby didn’t know how to respond to him.

Once again, a long silence fell between the two. The sunlight outside the window began to fade, and the warm glow of the setting sun entered the café through the large glass window, gently illuminating Ruby and Edric.

After an unknown amount of time had passed and the coffee on the table had turned cold, Edric finally raised his hand to signal a waiter and ordered another cup of coffee. This time, he didn’t add any sugar or creamer, and in one breath, he drank most of the bitter coffee straight. The bitterness spread from his mouth all the way into his heart, even imbuing his voice with a hint of bitterness: “Ruby, your engagement with Steve Burton is in two days, right?”

Ruby nodded slightly in affirmation: “Yes.”

Edric still had a friendly smile on his face, but his eyes no longer lingered on the woman in front of him. Instead, he stared at the remaining half cup of pitch-black bitter coffee in front of him and commented with a lighthearted tone, “After all these years, you’ve finally got what you wanted.”