The snow, at some point, had started to fall again, soft and persistent, continuing until dawn.

In the airport terminal.

Kaia stared at the ever-changing flight information on the digital screen, her heart feeling like it was soaking in acid.

She had never thought she would one day leave New York.

She certainly never thought she would leave New York in order to give up on Kaelan Vaughn.

"Passengers for flight KD7831, please proceed to gate five for boarding."

Hearing the announcement, Kaia instinctively tightened her grip on her boarding pass.

People trickled towards the gate, gradually forming a surging crowd.

She watched them, then finally stood up and walked towards the path that would take her away from New York.

…

Two hours later, the plane landed in Carmel.

Years ago, when they were dating, Kaia and Kaelan had traveled here and stayed for half a month.

Back then, Kaelan had heard that the historic mission was the most effective place to pray for love, so he had insisted on dragging her there to get lucky charms and hang a red ribbon.

Seven years later, Kaia was at the mission again.

Because the holidays had just passed, there weren't many visitors.

She stood under the old oak tree in the courtyard, looking up at the red ribbons fluttering in the wind. She searched for a long time but couldn't find the one that belonged to her and Kaelan.

Just then, she heard footsteps behind her.

The mission's old priest walked up to her. "My child, we meet again."

Kaia was surprised. "You still remember me?"

"I do." The priest smiled kindly. "You and your beloved left a very deep impression on me… It must have been six or seven years ago. Did you two get married?"

Kaia froze.

After a moment of silence, she lowered her eyes. "He's getting married."

The priest understood instantly. He spoke gently, "People say this place is blessed. Many come here every day to pray for love, but not everyone's wish is granted."

"But what does that matter? As long as the moment they knelt on the pew and closed their eyes to pray was sincere, that is enough."

That is enough.

Something struck Kaia’s heart with a heavy blow.

She looked up, stunned, and at that very moment, she saw it—the red ribbon with her and Kaelan’s names on it.

A gentle breeze blew past.

Kaia stood on her toes, reached out, and grasped the ribbon. The moment it was in her palm, the heavy weight that had been pressing on her heart seemed to lighten considerably.

She squeezed her hand gently and nodded at the priest. "Thank you."

As she walked out of the mission, Kaia looked back at the ethereal smoke rising from the incense burner inside.

The image of her walking in, hand-in-hand with Kaelan, seemed to reappear before her eyes, then dissipated like smoke…

Kaia slowly tore her gaze away, looking down at the contact in her phone labeled 'Kaelan Vaughn.' Her finger hovered over the screen for a long moment before she slowly pressed delete.

After that, Kaia stayed in Carmel for a while.

She stopped paying attention to New York, and heard no more news about Kaelan Vaughn.

Julian rarely contacted her either.

She had completely severed her ties with New York.

During her days in Carmel, Kaia revisited all the places she and Kaelan had once gone on dates, one by one, erasing the traces of their love.

But those five years with Kaelan had already become the most important time of her life.

Trying to erase them now felt like tearing out an indispensable part of herself.

The pain was inevitable, but she was powerless against it.

Days passed like this, one after another.

But one day, Kaia woke up and suddenly couldn't remember why she was here.

Even Kaelan’s face in her mind had begun to blur.

His features were like a photograph veiled in white gauze. She furrowed her brow and clutched her head, trying desperately to remember what he looked like.

But all she got was a splitting headache. Nothing came back.

It was a long, long time before Kaia slowly remembered why she had come to Carmel, and finally, remembered Kaelan.

A terrible premonition washed over her. She took a cab to the hospital for a check-up.

The results came back quickly—

The doctor pushed the medical report towards Kaia, his tone grave. "I'm very sorry, but you have Alzheimer's disease."

"You will gradually forget everything, everyone. This memory loss is almost irreversible."

Kaia didn't remember how she walked out of the hospital.

She stood at a street corner, holding her diagnosis, the cold wind making her shiver.

Snowflakes began to fall from the sky, landing on her eyelashes, melting into wetness.

So… it was winter again.

What was Kaelan Vaughn doing?

He was probably married by now, wasn't he?

Lost in thought, her phone suddenly rang.

When she saw the New York area code on the screen, her heart began to pound violently.

Some things can't be forgotten just by deleting them. That was Kaelan’s number.

She hesitated for a long time. The moment she pressed the answer button, she instinctively held her breath.

After a full year, Kaia once again heard Kaelan Vaughn’s deep, magnetic voice.

But the words he spoke made her heart stop.

He said, "You need to come back to New York."

"Julian Croft is dead."