A gust of night wind swept through. Paityn felt a chill in the corners of her eyes and found it damp with tears when she touched her face.

She stood in the dark and gazed in the direction where Jamie had disappeared, replaying their shared past until she felt as if she were trapped in an ice cave.

Then, Paityn's phone rang softly. She looked down and saw it was a call from Monty. After a moment’s hesitation, she picked up, her voice barely above a whisper. “Hi, Monty.”

His voice was gentle, warm, and respectful. “We haven’t made it official yet, Paityn. If you find a way out of this, you can still reconsider.”

It was strange. Monty had always been a businessman, where matters of true love took a backseat to practicality and self-interest.

Today, he was unusually magnanimous in love.

Monty even thought that if Paityn changed her mind today, he would help her be with Jamie. That would be a noble deed.

In the years to come, he could occasionally think of Paityn. He could remember