Chapter 41 Did He Forget Her?
Yvette wasn't obligated to meet with Violet, but she still agreed to do so.
After a night of heavy rain, the temperature began to rise unexpectedly the next day.
The weather in Luken had been increasingly unusual in recent years.
In the evening, neon lights flickered, and the cool moon in the sky emitted a faint glow, giving the illusion that the moon had descended to the ground.
Violet had chosen a meeting spot on one of Luken's old streets. The nightlife was about to begin, with people of all kinds walking the streets, creating Luken's unique nighttime atmosphere.
Yvette sat quietly on a plastic chair without a backrest. After sitting for a while, she felt a bit stiff, but she didn't voice any discomfort.
Violet was quite unique, with her attractive face and generous personality creating a distinct allure. Despite sitting in a rather grimy environment like Yvette at the moment, Violet still exuded a sense of being pampered and the pride cultivated in a privileged family.
Violet had stayed silent, and Yvette could only wait for her to speak.
As young couples intertwined, passing by them, Yvette found herself captivated by each pair.
Finally, Violet broke the silence.
"My university was nearby. Albert's school was thirty-nine miles away. Back then, Luken's Line 6 hadn't opened yet. It was a three-hour trip for him each time, first by subway, then by bus." She smiled softly, her eyes filled with nostalgia. Wasn't he foolish?"
Upon hearing these words, Yvette squeezed her hand.
Violet glanced at Yvette calmly, anticipating her reaction. She continued slowly, "I heard you both attended the same high school. Albert was already exceptional in high school, right? Perhaps you had your eyes on him back then?"
Yvette found Violet's words somewhat grating and couldn't help but raise her head. "Ms. Swift, what exactly do you want to talk with me?"
"I fell ill, and Albert struggled to get me the best care in the emergency room. It was my birthday, he was training in Melbourne, yet he flew back to be with me. I know every one of Albert's family and friends from the age of 15 to 25. We've been together for a whole decade. Do you think he could ever forget me?"
Violet gazed directly into Yvette's eyes, exuding absolute confidence. Her eyes seemed to burn with a fire that seared Yvette, leaving her unable to evade the intensity.
Under Violet's intense gaze, Yvette turned her head reluctantly.
"If Ms. Swift has only come to tell me how much Albert loves you, then I shall take my leave."
As Yvette began to rise, Violet extended her hand, placing it on the table.
On her left ring finger was a simple yet elegant diamond ring that sparkled and gleamed under the lights.
"This is the ring Albert gave me when he proposed. Has he ever given you one? As far as I know, you two haven't even bought wedding bands," Violet remarked. "Give him back to me, Yvette. Albert isn't yours. Holding onto him through a child is despicable."
Yvette admitted that she had been through tough times recently. Every time she harbored a glimmer of hope for Albert, something would happen to extinguish it, like a cold shower dousing the flame in her heart.
Despite her reluctance and pain, she knew she couldn't hold on to Albert.
A dark cloud drifted across the sky, gradually obscuring the moon and turning the sky a deep black.
"You and I both know best who the interloper is," Violet lifted her head, her gaze icy and disdainful. "Without your pregnancy, Albert and I would have reconciled by now. You should be aware of that."
"Enough," Yvette finally interrupted Violet.
Yvette was like a tightly strung kite string, stretched to its limit, about to snap.
Clenching her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh, she no longer felt the pain.
"We've decided to divorce," she choked out, "he's yours, and he always has been."
Yvette kept quiet about meeting Violet.
She sat outside for a long time until the temperature gradually cooled down.
Yvette only realized she had boarded the last train when she arrived at the subway station. Every face she passed bore the hardships of life; at that moment, the city seemed like a concrete jungle merging with a steel wilderness. The subway was quiet - no one was looking at their phones; most people were resting.
Yvette gazed at the window opposite, where Violet's desolate expression was reflected in it.
She admitted that Violet's move was truly powerful, and she still felt the pain now.
When the news of her relationship with Albert was exposed, Sylvia persistently questioned Yvette, "Back in school, why did you like Albert? Did just one glance at him sustain your feelings for him all these years?"
At that time, she smiled faintly, without denying it.
Memories unfold like Pandora's box, revealing brilliant colors and dirty dust.
Yvette remembered the first day of high school when she went to fetch textbooks with Sylvia, whom she had recently met. Classmates gathered as the line slowly moved toward the classroom building.
Behind them, a boy shouted, "Albert!"
Upon hearing the name, the books in Yvette's hands instantly fell to the ground. She instinctively looked up, and a tall boy in front turned around. The sunlight was warm that day, a gentle breeze blowing, and he paused, his deep eyes remarkably clear. The classmates around him seemed to pass by in slow motion, like a scene from a movie. Yvette and Albert's gazes briefly met in the air, but he did not continue to look at her.
He turned and squeezed past Yvette. As he passed by her, his profile in front of her eyes made all the noise around her disappear. She only heard the frantic beating of her heart.
Sylvia walked away only to realize that Yvette was still standing in the same place, her book dropped on the ground. She hurried back to Yvette's side.
Noticing that Yvette hadn't picked up the book but was instead gazing at Albert, who was already distant, Sylvia was greatly perplexed.
"What's wrong?" she asked, glancing back. "Do you know Albert?"
Yvette lowered her head without saying a word.
'Doesn't he remember me?'
'We made eye contact just now. Didn't he recognize me?'
Yvette felt deeply disappointed.
That summer, Albert caught a firefly for her, placing it between his cupped hands and running to her side.
They shared youthful joy deep in the lush green wheat field.
Albert carefully opened his hands, and a firefly with a faint glimmer flew from his palm into the air, settling between them.
He was earnest yet a bit foolish.
"I will definitely come back, Yvette. You can't forget me," he said.
Yvette never once forgot Albert, but he never returned.
When they met again, Albert passed by her like a stranger.
'Am I the only one who can't forget that summer?'
