There was a dull pain in his heart, and he took Vivian in his arms, without any care about the gazes of people around them.
“I’m sorry, Vivian. This apology isn’t from him but from me. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you well enough. I was the one who didn’t take good care of my own father. It’s my fault that you had to go through so much.”
“How can I blame you for this, silly.” Instead of pushing Fabian away, the woman put her arms around his waist gently. She knew that all she could do now was comforting him.
After finally calming down, he got up and said softly, “I actually came today to bid you farewell, Vivian.”
“What?” She was taken aback by his words.
“I’m sure you know that the public is putting a lot of pressure on my father’s affairs as well. Grandpa wants me to stay abroad for a while. He told me to come home only after everything has calmed down.”
“Oh, I see.” Vivian nodded her head lightly before adding, “Leaving this place for a while should be good for you. Things must have been hard on you.”
Fabian gave her a sad smile at that. “But I’m not planning to come back anymore. There’s nothing much left for me here. That’s why I came here to say goodbye. We might not be able to see each other so much anymore, Vivian.”
Why aren’t you coming back anymore? Vivian had wanted to asked him that, but the question was stuck in her throat.
There were times where everyone was left with no choice. Didn’t I leave this place for five years and not come back as well? Since he’d already made up his mind, there’s no point for me to try and keep him here.
“Then, you better take good care of yourself out there,” Vivian reminded him.
In the end, there wasn’t anything she could promise him. Even if he had chosen to stay, they were destined to not have too much interaction with each other in the future.
Even though that was what she thought, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
Fabian was disappointed that Vivian didn’t try and stop him from leaving. But when he saw her tears, his heart ached for her. Besides that, all other feelings he used to feel for her were gone.
He wanted to wipe her tears away but was afraid that it wasn’t suitable for him to do so with their relationship now. That was why he chose to only pat her on the shoulder.
“Don’t cry. I remember you saying that you hate crying when saying goodbyes. Why are you the one crying now? Can I get a smile? I love it when you smile.”
Having heard that, Vivian nodded her head vigorously and tried her hardest to stop her tears, before giving him a smile.
When they used to be a couple back then, Fabian would get sad whenever the school holidays came as it meant that they wouldn’t be able to meet for at least a month. Especially when he accompanied her to the bus stop. He would always have a grumpy look on his face.
On the other hand, she was always cheerful and it made Fabian even upset. He would ask bitterly if she wouldn’t miss him.
And what did I say back then? I remember telling him that I didn’t like crying when saying goodbyes as it would only make the situation sadder.
Vivian would even tease him by saying, “C’mon, smile! I love seeing how you smile. You won’t be giving me a grumpy look when we’re saying goodbye, right? If you continue this, my memory of you for the next month would probably be this look on your face.”
Fabian’s expression would only ease up a little when he heard that.
But what he didn’t know was that the moment she got into the waiting area, tears would pour out uncontrollably. Her smile from before was just an act she had forced herself to put on.
She loved him so much back then, so how could she not feel sad? Vivian forced herself to smile for him all because she wanted him to feel better. But I’m afraid that he will never find out about this ever.
Fabian returned a smile when he saw hers. “Let’s not be sad this time. Let’s be happy. We finally get to return to the campus. Let’s just take a stroll around and forget about the sad stuff, alright?”
“Okay.” Vivian wiped away her tears and followed him.
“Hey, do you remember? You loved eating the braised eggplant at Eight Blessed,” Fabian said as he pointed at the restaurant before them.
