Today is Saturday? Having worked for several days without rest, Louis had long forgotten about his day off. Elisa put the scarf she had prepared long ago around Louis’s neck, her movements just like yesterday, though she wasn’t as tall as Louis. Wearing slippers, she had to tiptoe slightly.
This peaceful scene made people hesitant to disturb. After Elisa finished tying the scarf, she patted his shoulder. “Alright, off to work,” she said.
Louis turned around, but before he could step out, Elisa pulled him back. “Be careful, keep warm, and no matter how busy, you must eat on time. I set an alarm on your phone. When it rings, you eat. Don’t let yourself go hungry. In my past life, I didn’t eat and got stomach cancer. It was so painful, I vomited blood. I don’t want you to end up like me. If you get sick… Mom and Dad would be heartbroken, and I would too…”
Elisa rarely rambled. Her face held a gentle smile, and there was a glimmer in her black eyes.
“If you’re tired, sleep. Don’t stay up late. Rest when you need to. It’s hard to concentrate and easy to make mistakes when you’re mentally fatigued.”
“Alright, I promise not to be stubborn. Safety and health come first. I’ll eat well and rest well,” Louis said. Elisa’s unusual nagging surprised him. He lightly booped Elisa’s nose. “Why are you saying so much today, like you’re about to part ways?”
“You’re overthinking. We’re married, where else could I go?” Elisa always wore her ring, never taking it off even when she showered.
She pushed Louis out the door. It was cold outside, so she didn’t step out herself, standing at the doorway, watching Louis leave.
“Louis, goodbye.”
Louis kept looking back and waving. As he got into the car, he suddenly looked back at Elisa. But the distance was too far for him to see the tears in her eyes.
Just seeing her standing alone at the door made him ache. He felt dizzy, wanting to sleep, unable to focus, unable to think about certain things, such as Elisa rarely saying “goodbye” when parting; she usually said “see you later,” meaning they would meet again.
As Louis drove away, he looked in the rearview mirror again and saw Elisa running out, the wind tousling her long hair. He had a feeling as if he wouldn’t see her again.
Why did he have this out-of-control feeling? It shouldn’t be this way. Everything was fine, and Elisa was still the same. Besides, they had just gotten married, and it was Elisa who brought out the marriage certificate. Why would she leave him now?
After some deep thought, Louis took a deep breath and pressed his temple, feeling like he was overthinking.
The morning misted the glass. Elisa’s figure blurred.
Elisa came out, a slight smile on her lips, but the light in her eyes slowly dimmed.
The car drove further and further until it disappeared on the desolate road. Only then did the curve of her lips slowly fade.
The wind was strong, but it couldn’t dry the moisture in her eyes. Elisa suddenly squatted down, her body curled up, feeling cold, but nothing compared to her cold heart.
Would she see Louis again in the future?
Would he carry her home on his back again?
Would she ever eat the candied haws he handed her again?
Did Elisa have a future?
Wiping her tears, Elisa sobbed in sorrow until the wind made her numb, then she staggered back inside.
The villa had everything. Elisa drafted a divorce agreement, printed it, signed it, and placed it on the bedside table. She also took out the marriage certificate and looked at it repeatedly. She hadn’t even warmed the marriage certificate in her hands before she had to return it.
Looking at the ring on her finger, she thought she had been fully prepared to be with Louis, but in the end, she couldn’t withstand an accident.
She didn’t dare to gamble, not with Hamish, and certainly not with Louis’s life. Louis had already sacrificed once for her; she couldn’t let him get hurt again.
And Mr. and Mrs. White, they had worked so hard to find Louis. If something happened to him, what would they do? Unlike her, Louis had died once, leaving nothing behind.
After taking off the ring, Elisa looked at it for a moment and put it back on, as a keepsake.
In addition to the divorce agreement, Elisa wrote a will, all placed on the bedside table, so that Louis could see them when he returned upstairs.
Elisa put on a down jacket, took onlyher phone and a fruit knife in her pocket, grabbed some change, and left Vaquita Bay.
She walked all the way and hailed a taxi by the roadside. Sitting inside, she opened her phone and looked at a photo taken yesterday.
In the picture, Louis was smiling like a sunny boy. Elisa reached out and touched it, a tear fell on the photo with a “pat” sound.
In fact, there was no regret. At least she had met someone who truly cared for her, at least she had married the person she had always wanted to marry, and at least they had the past, a past that made her smile whenever she thought about it.