To the Love of My Life

The four of them stepped into the elevator and went down ten floors in silence. It wasn’t until they were about to approach the underground parking lot that Edward Woods finally said: “Do you think it’s really over between Steve and Ruby?”

“It seems like this situation is worse than the one three years ago. Steve has always been calm and composed, but today his voice was trembling when he spoke to us.”

“Why did they have to argue on their engagement day?”

“Maybe Steve is just angry now, and in a few days, he’ll start looking for Ruby.”

Rusell, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly spoke when he heard the last words: “I think this time, Steve is truly serious. Maybe there won’t be a future between him and Ruby.”

Edward Woods disagreed: “Rusell, don’t talk nonsense. Steve has been in love for so many years; he must be reluctant to let go.”

Rusell didn’t respond. As the elevator door opened, and the four of them walked out one by one, Edward Woods reached for his car keys. Rusell spoke again: “If Steve didn’t want to give up, Ruby couldn’t leave him. Think about it, what has Steve given up on all these years? Has he ever given up on Ruby?”

After a pause, Rusell continued: “I was the last one out the door earlier. Before leaving, I glanced at Steve. You guys don’t know, but Steve was leaning against the railing like he was crying.”

Rusell said these words softly, and his tone was not high, but Edward Woods, Howard Coleman, and Madeleine heard it clearly. The three of them immediately fell silent.

It took a while, but Madeleine was the first one to speak: “I can’t compare to Steve.”

It was common knowledge that Madeleine was no match for Steve, so Edward Woods laughed when he heard this: “Madeleine, when could you ever compare to Steve?”

Madeleine glanced at Howard standing beside her, smiled faintly, and didn’t say anything.

How deep is the love to let go?

She always felt that she loved Howard so much that it was incurable, but deep down, she had never thought of letting him go.

–

After telling Rusell and the others to leave, Steve’s eyes were immediately filled with unspeakable sour heat. He pretended to be calm, leaning against the railing, and his eyes grew wet. He tried his best to steady his emotions, making himself look unaffected, but his shoulders trembled slightly. He waited for the apartment door to close completely, then lost control of his emotions, weakly gripping the railing, falling to his knees, his head pressed against the railing, tears dropping one by one.

From childhood until now, in his memory, he never knew what it felt like to cry.

But now, he had fully experienced this feeling.

He originally thought that crying would make him feel better, but instead, the more tears flowed, the more painful his heart became.