Callie didn’t understand what love was, but she ended up being with him anyway.
Jamir was wealthy.
He took her on small plane rides, where they looked out of the cockpit window at vast, undulating mountains, blue sky, and clouds floating like tofu flowers. Everything below seemed tiny and distant.
He took her to the peak of Taiping Mountain in Afupshire. Overlooking the dazzling Victoria Harbor below, the wind carried the fragrance of flowers in the air.
He also took her out to sea. The night sky was like a galaxy, and sitting on the deck looking at the calm waters, occasionally a fish would leap onto the deck, scaring Callie almost into his arms.
Jamir introduced Callie to many things she had never experienced before. Yet when she talked about him, she often described him as a young boy, arrogant and a bit selfish, who acted like the world owed him something but was exceptionally kind to her.
He stayed up all night helping her with homework, told her stories about breaking his leg while skiing in the snow mountains, tried every way to cheer her up during arguments, handled important social dinners with grace, and played tricks on people without any reservations.
In this way, Jamir and Callie spent two uneventful years together.
There were fights and quarrels during those two years, but they got through them. Some envied them, some were jealous, and many waited to see her fail because she didn’t yet realize that in Jamir’s world, there could be many girls like her.
When she finally realized this, Jamir’s temper started to worsen.
When Reuben came to visit, Callie was in class and unprepared. In a panic, she hid in the bathroom to call Jamir and asked him to pick Reuben up. There was noise on his end, and his tone wasn’t good, but after a brief silence, he agreed.
Callie always felt he had reservations.
Jamir picked Reuben up and arranged everything properly. When Callie arrived at the hotel, she overheard Jamir meticulously explaining Reuben’s eating and living habits. His words were polite and proper, but they made Callie frown.
Jamir saw her and whispered in her ear, “I have something to do; I need to leave.”
Callie looked at him and nodded.
Reuben stayed outside the school for three days. Callie didn’t contact Jamir during that time, nor did he appear. However, she heard rumors that Jamir had been forced by Callie to meet her family.
When Reuben left, he advised her with words full of caution. “That kid is polite and unpretentious, but you are not from the same world.”
Everyone said they were not a good match.
After a while, Jamir came to pick her up after class and took her to a party. His behavior was as usual, as if nothing had happened.
His temper had always been bad, and he hated being controlled. Backed by his family’s power, he did whatever he wanted without restraint. But Callie couldn’t afford to go crazy with him. Whenever they argued, it was like a wildfire.
Callie was cold and proud and could really embarrass him in front of his many friends by running out. As she ran, she sent Jamir a message: “I’m just a Cinderella who doesn’t match the prince.”
Jamir glanced at his phone and then threw it into the pool with force. Everyone around was stunned into silence.
Callie hadn’t run far; she could still hear the lively voices of those rich kids. But Jamir never came out to find her.