Robert stood at the cafe entrance, watching as the black Benz disappeared from view. Only then did he step down the stairs and walk towards his car. Holding the electronic key in his hand, he unlocked the car just as his phone vibrated in his jacket pocket.
Glancing at the caller ID, he saw Alice’s name and habitually frowned.
When he answered, Alice’s cool voice came through, “Robert, I’m planning to sell the house. While packing today, I found some of your things. Come get them today, or I’ll throw them out with the trash.”
Robert and Alice’s marriage had been a heavy loss. Alice would never have agreed to the divorce willingly. Robert had left her all the property and cash in his name before she agreed to the divorce.
After hanging up, Robert drove to their former home.
The electronic lock had long since been changed by Alice, so he could only knock on the door.
Alice answered, her attitude indifferent. Now divorced, they were like strangers.
“Your things are in the kitchen. Take a look,” Alice said, leaning against the wall and casually pointing towards the kitchen.
Robert walked over, bent down, and rummaged through a pile of cardboard boxes, eventually finding a locked box. He cradled the box like a treasure and stood up, telling Alice, “Throw everything else away.”
Alice crossed her arms and smirked at him. “What’s in the box that’s so precious to you? Your secret stash?”
“I’ve already given you all my money. Alice, if marriage was an investment, you’ve profited greatly,” Robert said without emotion.
Alice’s face twisted slightly, and she stiffly replied, “I know you look down on me. You probably think I’m no different from a prostitute, selling my marriage. You’ve never respected me.”
Robert sighed. He knew Alice had a hard life. Her parents divorced and each started new families, hardly paying attention to her. Her difficult circumstances made her value money above all else.
“Alice, I hope you have a good life,” Robert said calmly before leaving with the locked box.
Taking the elevator downstairs, his car was parked right in front of the building.
He sat in the car without starting it, unlocking the box with a key.
Inside the box, there was nothing valuable, just a diary and an old scarf.
Robert used to keep a diary, but as work got busier, he no longer had time for it. This diary contained his memories with Isabella and some sentimental words he had written when he missed her.
The scarf was one Isabella had tied on his hand. She hadn’t taken it back because it was stained with blood, and he couldn’t bear to return it to her.
Holding the white silk scarf, memories seemed to pull Robert back to many years ago.
Back then, he was a poor student. Charlotte only paid his tuition, not a cent for living expenses.
He often went without meals, spending all his spare time working various jobs-tutoring, waiting tables, washing dishes, and handing out flyers.
Once, while working as a waiter in a bar, he saw two thugs bullying a young girl. Intervening, he was beaten severely and collapsed on the ground, unable to get up.
Fearing he might die on the street, he called Charlotte for help.
Charlotte, who was with David at a social event, sent Emily and Isabella to check on him.
When Emily saw him sitting dirty and battered against the wall, she looked at him with utter disdain, wanting to stay as far away as possible, as if he were a contagious disease. She complained, “This is so unlucky. I was in the middle of a midnight party with friends.”
Isabella, however, crouched in front of Robert, her little brows furrowed with concern. “Sis, he looks seriously injured. We should take him to the hospital. What if something happens?” she said worriedly.
“I’ve already called an ambulance,” Emily replied impatiently.
But before the ambulance arrived, Emily left in a hurry. Obviously, her midnight party was more important than Robert’s well-being.
Though Isabella had almost no familial ties to Robert, she patiently sat beside him, waiting for the ambulance. She spoke to him gently, full of concern.
“Don’t be afraid; the ambulance will be here soon.”
“You must be in a lot of pain with such serious injuries. Don’t get into fights again; it’s not good.”
“Your hand is bleeding. Let me bandage it for you.”
After rummaging through her bag and finding nothing suitable for bandaging, Isabella, still a young girl at the time, became visibly anxious. In her desperation, she took off the white scarf around her neck and wrapped it around his hand.
Seeing the scarf tied in a bow on his hand, Robert suddenly felt an urge to cry. Since his mother passed away, Isabella was the first and only person to make him feel warmth.
Robert vividly remembered that day. Isabella wore a cream-colored dress, a pink coat with a fox fur collar, a ponytail, pearl earrings, and a clean, innocent face. Her gaze was pure, the epitome of a girl raised in a wealthy family.
Standing before her, Robert felt a sense of inferiority.
Later, she followed the ambulance to the hospital, paid his fees, and handled his admission.
Robert was so poor at the time that he couldn’t even afford food, let alone hospital bills. He knew Charlotte wouldn’t pay and would scold him for causing trouble.
He insisted on returning to school, claiming his injuries weren’t severe.
Isabella, a smart girl, probably guessed his financial situation. To spare him embarrassment, she innocently said, “But I’ve already paid the hospital fee. The doctor said it’s non-refundable.”
Robert knew she was making an excuse to save his dignity. He had never heard of a hospital that didn’t refund unused fees.
In the end, he stayed in the hospital for a few days at Isabella’s insistence but was eager to leave before fully recovering.
When he was discharged, he discovered that Isabella had prepaid over thirty thousand yuan in medical fees. The unused amount was refunded to him.
Robert felt ashamed to accept money from a woman, but at the time, he had no choice but to bow to reality.
He silently vowed to repay her kindness.
Now, returning Moonlit Art Inc. to her was his way of fulfilling that vow.
Whether it was a debt of gratitude or emotion, once repaid, they would have no further connection.
However, this ending left Robert feeling both unwilling and helpless.
He loved her, but she would never know.