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?”

On the way back to the apartment, Leonardo tried to hold my hand.

“Violet, I misunderstood you earlier. I shouldn’t have raised my voice at you.

“But I also didn’t want you to misunderstand me. I was busy in the kitchen just to leave a good impression on my friends.

“Don’t be mad, okay? Didn’t I leave the party early and agree to spend time with you alone?

“Let’s go back, send the person viewing the apartment away, and tell the agent we’re not subleasing anymore. Please?”

I shook his hand off and looked at him seriously.

“Leonardo, do I look like I’m f*cking with you?

“Since you insist on coming back with me, that works. You can take all your things with you.”

Seeing that I wouldn’t give in, he grew annoyed.

“Violet, aren’t you going too far this time?

“We’re in a relationship. You didn’t even discuss it with me and just decided to move out on your own?”

I found it funny.

“Leonardo, when you decided to go to Sicilia, not only did you not ask for my opinion, but you didn’t even plan to tell me. So why are you suddenly making an issue of it now?”

“How is that the same?”

He raised his voice, his chest rising and falling.

“That wasn’t decided yet back then. Besides, I was doing it for your own good. I didn’t want you to overthink.”

A surge of anger rushed up my throat.

“Stop making excuses for yourself. You were the one who took the initiative to develop this business in Sicilia. Don’t tell me you had no idea whether you’d be sent there.

“Since you never planned to include me in your future, I don’t need you in mine either.”

Leonardo froze for a moment, his tone weakening.

“Violet, what do you mean by that?”

Soon, we arrived at the apartment.

He saw the matching scarves we bought last Christmas, the photo from Starlight Island that we had developed and framed…

More than a dozen items, big and small, carrying nearly a year of our memories, including that Hermès bag.

All of them were placed on the coffee table.

He stared in shock. “You’re not taking any of these?”

“No.”

“Where are you moving to?”

“Work transfer to Sampa, Pindorama.”

After hearing that, Leonardo let out a short laugh.

“Violet, are you trying to piss me off on purpose? Didn’t we already reach an understanding about me going abroad?

“What, do you think doing this will make me stay?”

After that day, I packed all of Leonardo’s belongings into cardboard boxes and threw them outside the door.

During the three days we had no contact, Leonardo didn’t know that on the same day he was leaving for Sicilia, I was also heading to Pindorama.

The flight from Bayview to Sampa would take nearly ten hours across the ocean.

I felt uneasy about the unknown future.

But more than that, I felt relieved.

Once I arrived, it would be time to formally break up with Leonardo.

Unexpectedly, a severe storm in the Mediterranean shifted course and hit Sicilia.

Leonardo’s flight was delayed.

When he called me, I had just passed airport security.

“Violet, I think this is a chance for me to make things right.

“Let’s meet. I don’t want to carry our unresolved issues abroad.”

The background noise in the call grew louder.

I looked around and noticed a young couple having dinner in a nearby restaurant.

The restaurant was running a promotion.

There was a poster on the wall advertising a couple’s set meal.

Through a pane of glass, Leonardo saw me as well.

Before he could speak, I said calmly, “There’s nothing left to talk about between us. I won’t interrupt you two on your couple’s meal. Leonardo, let’s break up.”

Then I hung up.

Leonardo ran out after me.

“Violet, it’s not what you think. Katrina wanted the promotional doll, so I just accompanied her for the meal.”

Then he finally noticed the suitcase beside me.

His face turned pale instantly.

“Where are you going?”

He realized then that we were in the international departures hall.

“You’re really going to Pindorama? Is your family business really that important to you?”

I nodded. “Leonardo, there’s something you said that was right.

“Everyone should be responsible for their own choices.”

When the boarding announcement sounded, he grabbed my suitcase and refused to let go.

His eyes were slightly red as he spoke through clenched teeth.

“Violet, if you really break up with me, then I’ll get together with Katrina!

“You might not know this, but half a year ago, the day you came to get back together with me, Katrina confessed to me.

“It’s not like I can’t live without you!”

I smiled. “Alright, then go be with her.”

He stared at me, his gaze turning colder.

“You said it. I hope you don’t regret it.”

“I won’t.”

After saying that, I turned around and didn’t look back.