I started having frequent nightmares.

In them, Leonardo held Katrina close, speaking to me with disgust. “Violet, don’t come looking for me anymore.”

Gradually, I became anxious and insecure.

After graduation, I decided to leave Hill Valley and move to Mayruelle to be with Leonardo.

However, more than a month passed, and he was busy every single day. He barely had any time for me.

Eventually, we had a huge argument.

Leonardo promised that once he got through the next few days, he would take me on a trip so I could relax.

A few days earlier, I had accidentally seen notifications about Sicilia on his phone. So I became full of anticipation.

I carefully made travel plans and even packed my luggage in advance.

Then one day, while I was out shopping, I suddenly felt like I was being followed.

I quickened my pace while calling Leonardo for help.

He only picked up on the third call.

“Violet, my phone’s about to die. I’ll call you later.”

Before I could say a word, he hung up.

All that answered my trembling voice was the rapid, empty dial tone.

After I got home, I was still shaken.

Then I suddenly saw a post Katrina had just made.

[Thanks to a certain photographer who drained their phone battery taking pictures for me.]

In the photo, she was smiling brightly.

Behind her was a building that looked just like the Panormus Cathedral, with rosemary lining the streets.

The location was tagged below: Sicilia, Enotria.

Late that night, Leonardo finally called me back.

For every question I asked, he gave a short answer.

“Yes, I’m in Sicilia right now. I’ll be back this weekend.

“How could I be here for vacation? Our family has a joint project here. I came for a few days just to discuss it.

“Of course there are others. Besides me and Katrina, her father and two of her cousins are here too.”

Suddenly, I felt tired.

It was as if all the energy had been drained out of me, and I lost the desire to say anything more.

“If that’s the case, why did you hide it from me?”

“I didn’t want you to overthink it.”

After a long silence, I seemed to hear him sigh.

“Violet, you weren’t this jealous before.”

This wasn’t the first time Leonardo and I had argued.

However, now, separated by 7,412 kilometers and a six-hour time difference, neither of us reached out first.

A few days later, he unexpectedly had someone deliver me sage.

Over the phone, Leonardo’s voice carried a smile.

“So your anger’s gone? Finally decided to contact me?

“I’ve just boarded the plane. I got you a limited-edition Hermès bag, and your favorite tiramisu.

“That tiramisu was really hard to get. I waited in line for hours to buy it.”

Just like that, I was coaxed into feeling better.

But when I went to the airport to pick him up, I saw Katrina sitting on a suitcase, tugging at his sleeve as she acted spoiled.

“Leonardo, my father said you’ve already agreed to let our family establish a new base in Sicilia, and that your focus will shift there too?

“Does that mean you’ll be staying in Sicilia? I’ll go as well to be with you then.”

It was silent the entire way back to the apartment.

I felt absent-minded.

I bumped my knee against the shoe cabinet, and the pain made my eyes tear up.

In the end, I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“You’re going to Sicilia?” I asked Leonardo.

“I’m not certain. It depends on my father’s arrangements.”

He crouched down and gently rubbed my knee, coaxing me softly.

“No matter what, it’s just for a year. It’s not like I’m staying in Enotria and never coming back.

“Violet, we got through four years of long distance, didn’t we?”

Four years of long distance, and Leonardo said it as if it had been easy.

However, my ticket holder was stuffed full, packed with all the tickets from my trips back and forth between Hill Valley and Mayruelle over the years.

What about him?

I could count the number of times he took the initiative to visit me at school on one hand.

When I came to Mayruelle just to be closer to him, he was preparing to go to Sicilia.

While I was buying furniture for our home and planning our future, he was studying the distribution of family powers in Sicilia.

I looked at him, smiling through tears. “You’re already preparing to go to Sicilia with Katrina. What makes you think I’ll wait for you?”

He frowned slightly.

“Violet, I don’t understand why you’ve always held such hostility toward Katrina.

“This is a rare opportunity. I’m going to Sicilia because of family matters, not because of her. Besides, she and I are just friends. I don’t know why you keep thinking I’d cheat with her.

“When we were younger, you even helped others deliver love letters to me. Why are you so sensitive, suspicious, and unreasonable now?”

My emotions ignited instantly.

I shouted at him, almost hysterically, “Back then, I was just your friend. Now I’m your girlfriend. How is that the same?”

Leonardo looked at me calmly for a long time.

“I’ve been thinking these past few days that perhaps we’re not suited to be a couple. Maybe we’re better off as friends.”

His voice grew colder little by little.

“I’ve already been very tired lately with family matters. I don’t want to argue with you over this.

“Let’s take a break. We can both calm down for a while.”

Just like that, Leonardo broke up with me unilaterally.

In the first month after the breakup, every day felt gray.

A physical tightness in my chest and heartache made it hard to eat. It felt like the air was filled with onions, making my nose sting and my eyes want to tear up.

I didn’t dare check social media and avoided all gatherings and parties.

I cut off every channel through which I might hear news about Leonardo.

Until one day, my mom called. “Sweetheart, did you receive the Parma ham and salami I had sent over?”

Looking at the half-meter-tall box by my feet, I felt a headache coming on. “Mom, it’s too much. I can’t finish it. Don’t send so much next time.”

“If you can’t finish it, give some to Leonardo. Don’t you live pretty close to him?”

At the mention of Leonardo, my mom suddenly became talkative.

“I heard from Mrs. Vitale that Leonardo has a girlfriend now. Do you know about this?”

“They say she’s the principessa of the Castellano family. Pretty, tall, and slim, she’s a lively one.

“When are you going to bring a boyfriend home?”

I don’t even remember how I ended the call.

At one in the morning, it was as if I’d lost my mind. I grabbed a bag of salami and went straight to find Leonardo.

After not seeing him for a month, he had a new haircut, still looking polished and handsome as ever.

“Don’t listen to my mom’s nonsense. Katrina just happened to be going to Hill Valley with friends, so I acted as a guide for half a day.”

Leonardo seemed to have expected that this misunderstanding would reach me. He had also expected that I wouldn’t be able to hold back and would come to him, asking to get back together.

When he took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders, I wrapped my arms around his waist and spoke softly in his arms.

“You’re right. It’s only a year.”

As soon as we entered the apartment, Leonardo pushed me against the wall and kissed me impatiently.

By the latter half of the night, we had used up the entire box of protection in the bedside drawer.

After Leonardo fell asleep, I looked at him. The confusion in my eyes gradually faded into calm.

Over the years of long distance, we had argued many times, big and small.

Leonardo seemed used to me being the one to give in first.

However, this time, I wasn’t trying to save our fragile relationship. I was preparing myself to leave him completely.

I quietly got out of bed. Then I replied to the message my dad had sent me.

[Violet, my dear, are you really leaving your mother and me to go to Sampa alone?]

[Yes, Dad.]

After my mom found out I was going to Sampa, she asked in confusion, “You couldn’t even bear to leave home for college, so why are you going somewhere that far after starting work? And why are you keeping your trip to Sampa a secret from Leonardo and his family?”

I smiled. “It’s just a small matter. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

After Christmas, I returned to Mayruelle.

Leonardo was busy with matters in Sicilia and didn’t have time to come to the apartment.

We had originally agreed to meet on the first day of the new year.

However, over the phone, he hesitated. “Violet, I’m sorry, but something came up today at the last minute…”

I switched the phone to my other shoulder and packed the last of my clothes from the closet into a box.

“Oh, then go ahead and take care of it.”

After saying that, he didn’t hang up for a long time.

So I asked, “Is there anything else?”

Leonardo sounded confused. “Why aren’t you asking what came up?”

How strange.

I had stopped asking questions, but Leonardo didn’t seem used to it.

At that moment, Katrina’s voice came faintly through the phone.

“Leonardo, is that Violet?”

“There aren’t any outsiders at today’s party. You should ask her to come too.”

Leonardo replied to her, “Violet doesn’t really like these kinds of gatherings.”

She laughed brightly. “Oh, she wouldn’t refuse you over something like this, would she?”

I smiled as well. “Of course not. I’ll come.”

Of course I’d go.

After all, Leonardo still had a lot of belongings at my apartment. It was time for him to come back and clear them out.

The party was held at Katrina’s villa.

When I arrived, Leonardo was busy in the kitchen.

The familiar smell of pasta made my heart soften for a moment.

On our first anniversary, Leonardo had learned to make this pasta just for me.

Back then, he didn’t know how to cook. He had been clumsy in the kitchen, flustered and awkward. Seeing me eat happily in the end, though, his eyes softened.

He wiped the parsley from the corner of my lips and said gently, “Since you love it so much, I’ll make it for you until we’re eighty.”

I closed my eyes briefly and pushed that moment away.

“Leonardo, your things…”

“What?”

He looked at me and let out a long sigh.

“I know today is the first day of the new year, and I’m sorry I couldn’t spend it with you.

“But I’ll be going to Sicilia for a year. By the time I come back, who knows when our friends will gather again, so we decided to hold a party today. You understand, right?”

I was about to speak, but he cut me off directly.

“Alright, Violet. Don’t ruin the mood. Even if you have something to say to me, can we talk about it after we go back?”

At that moment, someone walked out of Katrina’s walk-in closet.

“Wow, Katrina, that Hermès bag in your closet is so beautiful. Where did you get it?”

Katrina smiled. “Ask Leonardo.”

Leonardo glanced at me instinctively. “When I bought a bag for Violet, I picked up the same one for her.”

Seeing that I didn’t react, he pulled me aside and lowered his voice. “Trust me, it was really just a convenience.”

I nodded. “Oh, I know.”

Then I continued replying to the message my agent had just sent me.

He frowned. “Violet, you’re not jealous?”

My phone rang.

It was the agent calling.

“Hold on, I need to take this.”

It was good news. The apartment had just been listed for sublease, and someone already wanted to view it.

I needed to head back quickly.

As I passed by the kitchen, Leonardo was serving the freshly made pasta to Katrina for her to taste.

My steps paused for a moment, and my heart ached for a second.

When I was leaving, Leonardo came over, frowning. “Why are you leaving now? Violet, what are you upset about this time?”

Katrina spoke up with a sincere expression, “Violet, don’t misunderstand. My hands were oily just now, so Leonardo fed me. It’s my fault for being too greedy.”

My tone was calm. “Someone is coming to view the apartment, so I need to head back.”

Leonardo’s expression changed instantly.

“Why are they viewing the apartment?

“Are you not living there anymore? Where are you moving to?

“Violet, why didn’t you tell me something this important?”