But when Conrad stepped out, his chest tightened with a familiar, dull ache.
His room hadn’t changed in years.
Even the bedsheets were the same ones from back then.
He didn’t turn on the light. Sitting on the bed, he felt the entire world fall into silence.
Old memories resurfaced, playing like an endless reel in his mind.
He let out a faint chuckle, pulled open his pillbox, and swallowed his medicine.
Out of habit, he picked up his phone and typed something.
After sending his usual nightly message, he rubbed his fingers over the photo in the frame.
“Lillian, Jasmine is a very sensitive child. If you don’t come back soon, I won’t be able to keep lying to her.”
“Ada had another bout of stomach trouble recently. It eats too fast. Also, it has two more cavities now.”
“Ada still remembers you. Whenever I take out your clothes to wash, it snuggles up to them like it used to.”
“Come back, okay?”
“Come back.”
Just like every night, he whispered words he knew would never come true.
Eventually, under the effect of the medicine, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, he woke up to the sound of his daughter’s little feet pattering across the floor.
Jasmine might have been tiny, but with her around, the house was never quiet for even a minute.
By the time Conrad finished washing up and came downstairs, she had already climbed into her booster seat, holding up her little fork and taking a big bite of food.
“Daddy, you’re late today!”
“I know.” Conrad had just sat down to eat with her when his phone buzzed with messages from the group chat.
Hogan: [It’s your birthday today. How are you planning to celebrate?]
For years, Conrad never celebrated his birthday because of… certain reasons.
But ever since Jasmine came into his life, that changed.
At first, he’d simply treated his friends to dinner and poker games-though he strictly banned smoking around his daughter.
One year, they took a group photo. In the center of it was Conrad, the ever-cool and aloof man, holding a chubby little baby in his arms.
Later, someone blurred the faces in the picture and posted it on social media. It ended up going viral, with thousands of women swooning over him as the ultimate “dream boyfriend” image.
“Let’s keep it simple this year. The past ones were too rowdy. Let’s just get together somewhere quiet.”
Jasmine glanced at Conrad’s expression and suddenly said, “Tonight, I’m going to Mommy Melissa’s house!”
“Mm, don’t cause any trouble, okay?”
Every week, Melissa took Jasmine for a visit. Conrad had initially refused.
He didn’t feel comfortable leaving his daughter with a stranger.
But Melissa had simply started coming over to Hillside Villa to spend time with Jasmine instead.
For a long time, Jasmine saw Melissa as her mother, trying to find the maternal love she had lost.
But in the end, Melissa wasn’t her real mom.
As she grew older, the little girl understood that.
Still, the habit remained.
After breakfast, Conrad took her to kindergarten.
The car passed through the bustling city streets.
When it came to a stop, Jasmine unbuckled her seatbelt on her own. Andrew lifted her out, but after a moment of hesitation, she ran back to Conrad, wrapped her little arms around his neck, and said, “Daddy, happy birthday! You’re one year older now! I left your gift right here!”
With that, she turned and dashed inside.
“Good morning, Miss! Good morning, Sir!” Her crisp, sweet voice rang out as she greeted them.
A few teachers stretched their necks, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jasmine’s rumored dad-someone who was supposedly as handsome as a male model.
But all they saw was a pair of long legs, clad in well-tailored suit pants. They didn’t even get a glimpse of his face.
“Even without seeing his face, just from that wristwatch and hand, I can tell-he’s definitely a looker!”
“With Jasmine’s face, there’s no way her dad isn’t attractive.”
On the way to Brown Family Group, Conrad opened the front compartment and found a drawing of their family.
It was a crayon sketch. Lillian’s face was blurred, but it was the best Jasmine could manage with her imagination.
Conrad traced his fingers over the picture, that familiar dull ache creeping back into his chest.
It was strange-his body had always been strong. No matter how serious an injury was, he’d usually recover within a couple of weeks.
But ever since Lillian left, just hearing her name triggered sharp, twisting pain in his heart.
He had even gone to the hospital for tests, but they found nothing wrong.
The only explanation was that it was psychological.
Conrad let out a soft, mocking laugh. “Lillian, what do I do? You’ve become my sickness. A terminal one, probably. I don’t want a cure anyway. Let’s just leave it at that.”
That evening, Melissa called him on video chat. Conrad answered, and Jasmine waved her arms at the screen.
“Daddy, I’m already at Mommy Melissa’s house! Go enjoy your birthday! Make sure you eat a big cake!”
“I got it. Don’t give Mommy Melissa any trouble.”
“I won’t! And you better not drink too much and cause trouble for others either!”
Conrad grabbed his car keys and headed out for his birthday gathering.
This time, it was just a drinking session with Hogan and the guys-nothing fancy.
They met at the best riverside spot in town.
Hogan and the others had arrived early.
“We ordered your favorite drink.”
“You’re allowed to skip your meds today.” George poured him a full glass.
The deep red liquid swirled inside the glass, reflecting the towering skyline across the river.
Conrad took a sip. “The taste hasn’t changed.”
But the woman who used to pour his drinks wasn’t here anymore.
Over the years, aside from the occasional question from Jasmine, none of them ever brought up Lillian.
But they all knew-if even the tiniest trace of her appeared, not one of them would give up searching for her.
Yet, for years, she had vanished without a trace.
It was as if Lillian had only existed in Conrad’s world for three short years before disappearing completely.
Suddenly, rose petals drifted down from the sky.
Gordon looked up. “Where are these petals coming from?”
Hogan frowned, puzzled.
Lionel caught one in his hand. “Is someone making a public confession?”
“Today’s the anniversary of the first time Lillian confessed to me.” Conrad, who had been silently drinking alone, finally spoke.
He turned to them and smiled faintly. “She confessed on Twitter… at home… by herself.”
But this year, for the first time, there would be no confession.
At that very moment, in the heart of the city’s busiest district, people were rushing about-talking on the phone, going on dates, heading home with blank expressions.
And then, all at once, they looked up.
Rose petals were fluttering down from the sky.
“Where are these petals coming from?”
“Is someone proposing?”
“I didn’t hear about any event like this.”
The petals, cascading through the air like a dream, turned the city into a surreal fairytale.
But no one knew-
This was Conrad’s silent response, his unspoken confession to a woman who might never hear it.
Hogan and the others exchanged glances but said nothing.
All they could do was drink with him in silence.
What else could a group of men do?
Telling him to “move on, plenty of fish in the sea” would be too shallow.
His relationship with Lillian was far beyond a simple goodbye.
It wasn’t that he lacked women. He just lacked Lillian.
After several rounds of drinks, Gordon, feeling the burn in his stomach, got up to use the restroom.
That’s when he heard it–a muffled, choked sob.
Frowning, he lowered his gaze-and his pupils shrank.
The man who had always been so proud, so untouchable, so utterly arrogant-
Was on the phone.
His fingers were tense, his knuckles white.
And his voice-low, hoarse, trembling-was filled with raw desperation.
“Lillian, you won.”
“I lost.”
“Come back.”
That voice-so fragile, so pleading-was one he had never used in his life.
“Please…”
Gordon’s hand paused for a moment. After a long silence, he clenched his fist, then turned and walked away as if nothing had happened.
Proud as Conrad was, even if he was breaking inside, he wouldn’t want an outsider like Gordon to know.