In the dimmed street light, Karin walks down the mountain with her luggage.
When she gets to the University of Zurich, Billie stares at her luggage, asking, “What’s the heck are you
doing?”
Stepping into her dorm, Karin sits on the perch of her bed without any word.
“What’s the matter? Haven’t you forgiven Troy?”
“I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Where are you going?”
“Anywhere.”
Billie widens her eyes. “Are you insane?”
“What?”
“What if you get bullied by bad guys in some strange place?”
“I’m a grown-up, and I can take care of myself.”
“Then leave for home.”
Karin shakes her head. “I can’t.”
“What about William’s?”
“No.”
“Come on. I’m sure William would like to take you away with him.”
“But I don’t. After all, we’re not lovers.”
“Then why did you turn to him last time?”
“That was an emergency, okay? Now it’s different, as I’ll leave here on my own.”
Karin rises to her feet and walks to her desk. Starting her computer, she finds a map of China on the
Internet. With her eyes closed, she clicks a place at random.
After she purchases a flight ticket online, Billie asks, “Are you sure you want this? Nothing to change
your mind?”
She nods with a sigh.
“I don’t think Troy will let go of you.”
Karin doesn’t answer her. Billie swivels and secretly creeps out of the dorm.
“Stop!”
Karin shouts, “You don’t have to inform him. He agreed that I left here.”
“What? How could he do it?”
“Why not?”
Billie snaps, “Because he should make up for your loss of youth caused by him.”
“Nonsense! Love can’t be measured in money. What we had was a love instead of a trade.”
Knock, knock…
Their conversation is interrupted by the annoying knock. Billie angrily says, “Come in!”
But her attitude instantly changes as she sees the man. “Robert, what are you doing here?”
“I’m here for Miss Karin.”
He shifts his eyes to Karin. “I guess you must be here.”
“Does Troy regret and tell you to bring her back?”
Billie asks with her charmingly bright smile.
“No.” He takes out two golden VIP bank card and says, “Mr. Troy told me to give you these.”
“What are they?”
“VIP bank cards.”
Billie is dumfounded before sighing. “Someone told me that love can’t be measured by money, but
obviously, Mr. Troy doesn’t think so.”
Karin coldly turns around and gently says, “Thanks, but I don’t need them.”
“Take it easy. Mr. Troy just wants Miss Karin to live a better life.”
“And I just don’t need them. Thank you.”
Billie takes the cards for Karin. “Karin deserves them.”
“Billie!”
“You have broken up with him, haven’t you? Just take his money away, and you’re done.”
“Give them back.”
“You…”
“I’m telling you to give them back.”
Karin’s anger scares Billie to give the cards back to Robert. “Here you are. She doesn’t need them.”
“Miss Karin, don’t give it a twice-thinking?”
“Just save it. You’re disgracing her holy love. She’ll punch you in the face if you insist.”
Robert sighs, “Fine. I’ll bring them back to my boss.”
After he left, Billie pokes Karin’s forehead with her index finger. “You pretty little idiot! You can’t be too
stupid.”
“Holy crap! Go to face the wall for ten minutes. Think about who’s the real idiot.”
“Why? I’ve done nothing to wrong.”
“Really? Don’t you love Robert?”
“Yes.”
“And you want me to accept Troy’s money to show Robert that, in the future, he can also do the same
to you when he wants to get rid of you?”
Billie gets dumbfounded. “What do you mean?”
“Think about it. What did you say in Robert’s face? He’d wrong your intension and thought you might
regard love as a material trade. If so, he wouldn’t love you or treasure your love.”
“What should I do to correct it?”
She finally realizes that Karin is right. Lowering her head in disappointment, Billie wishes she could
slap herself.
“Billie, I know who you are, but not everyone can see you through like I do. I know that, in the back of
your mind, love as an irreplaceable feeling, but your sharp mouth may mislead others…”
“It’s because the world is too hypocrisy that I have to arm myself with lies.”
“No. It’s because we are so naïve as to think love means all-in in a way that what we obtain will be a
perfect love. Never will we understand the so-called perfect love is merely in fairytales until we’ve got
nasty scars all over ourselves.
Tonight, they sleep together and chat until the daybreak.
“Karin, are you sure to leave?”
Billie asks again before Karin leaves.
“Yes.”
“I’ll drive you to the airport.”
“No, thanks. You have to prepare for your interview.”
After a warm hug, Karin pats Billie on the shoulder. “Hope you and Robert can have a happy ending.”
Then she left with red eyes.
She’s got an hour before boarding when she arrives at the airport. With a broken heart, she sits on the
bench in the waiting hall. Suddenly, the news on the screen above her head attracts her attention.
“The murderer attacked the heir of the Charles family three months ago stood trail yesterday. He’s from
Yunnan, China, at the age of twenty-one. He publicly surrendered himself to justice in the Kloster
Fraumunster a week ago, disclosing an unknown truth…”
There comes the video clip of Troy’s wedding ceremony where the priest was congratulating the
newlyweds, then a young man broke in and pointed at the bride, yelling, “She’s a liar, and the wedding
is a swindle.”
“Jacob…”
Karin was dumbfounded as she can’t believe what she sees.
But the news is as true as it can be. The young man is Jacob.
She’s been stuck in the swirl of the pain caused by Troy’s lies, not caring about what happened at the
wedding ceremony. All she knows is that the ceremony was ruined, but never will she think it was
Jacob who ruined it…
“How could it be Jacob? Why was he?”
She covered her mouth with her hands as her mind was a mess. How could a man who called her
sister was a murderer? Why?
Now all she wants is to meet him, and to ask him in the face that what’s wrong with him?
She hastily rushes to the prison, and meets Jacob in the name of his sister.
She meets him after a month, but she almost can’t recognize him. With sunken eyes, he’s thinner and
darker in a big and loose prison uniform.
“Are you Jacob?”
She asks in a shivering tone.
With tears in his eyes, the young man across from her slowly raises his head and answers huskily,
“Yes, sis.”
Karin’s heart stutters as she hears his familiar voice. Her tears trickle down her cheeks. “Were you the
one that hit Troy three months ago?”
How she wishes he’d say “No”, but he says, “Yes.”
“Why? Why did you have to do this?”
“For money. Guys like me can do anything for money.”
“But when I saved your life, you told me you were homeless.”
“Yes, I was, because of the car accident three months ago. I got drunk that night and hit Mia, so my
boss said I disgraced our gang. He punished me before kicking me out of our gang.”
“And you left me without a goodbye after seeing the picture of Troy?”
“Yes. When I saw your boyfriend was the man that hurt me before, I was guiltily upset and scared, so I
left secretly. Ever since that, I’ve been stuck in the endless pain. I’ve been watching over you, Troy and
Mia, knowing that they would get married, which upset you. After deliberating for three days and nights,
I finally made up my mind to speak out the truth. I purposely threatened Mia for money to record her
words with my recording pen. If I didn’t do it that way, nobody would believe me. All I knew was to
repay your goodness. I was meant to rot in hell, but you deserve happiness, and I’m willing to do
anything to make it happen…”
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda