Chapter 4
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Not long after, Pamela sent another message.
“James gave me the secret document he’s been holding onto for 1,580 days to help me regain my memory,” she wrote.
“He claims they are evidence of our love.”
She added, “There’s also a love letter he’s been writing since the day we broke up, lasting four entire years. Let me share it with you.”
Katie opened the photos first. They were all group pictures featuring James and Pamela.
In those images, James was beaming with joy, his eyes reflecting true happiness.
Katie couldn’t help but recall a time when she asked James for a photo together, but he had said, “I don’t like taking photos. You can take one alone.”
She then moved on to the videos.
In them, James was bursting with youthful energy, a stark contrast to the composed man she knew.
He acted playfully, making Pamela laugh.
“I have two small cakes with me. If you can guess how many there are, I’ll give myself to you,” he joked.
Katie recalled an online saying, “When a man truly loves a woman, he behaves like a child around her.”
It seemed to be true.
She opened the love letter and read the first line.
“Honey, I miss you so much.”
Katie continued reading slowly.
“May 20, 2022. I climbed Mount Rainier, the place we always wanted to visit together. They say couples who climb Mount Rainier together will stay together forever. Sadly, the person with me wasn’t you.”
Katie remembered she was the one who climbed Mount Rainier with James that day. She read further.
“Christmas 2022. As I held her, my mind was filled with images of you in a Christmas outfit. I don’t know how long it will take to forget you–maybe a while, maybe forever.”
Katie’s chest tightened.
That Christmas, she and James had been intimate. All the while, he had been thinking of Pamela.
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Chapter 4
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“December 31, 2023. Instead of celebrating New Year’s Eve with her, I took a flight to Switzerland and visited the en- chanting town of Lauterbrunnen, the place we had once explored together.”
Katie was shocked. On that New Year’s Eve, she had prepared an elaborate meal by noon, but James had unexpected- ly mentioned he had to go out for something important.
She assumed it was work–related, never imagining he would go to a place he had shared with Pamela…
Katie continued to read.
“February 14, 2024. Another dull Valentine’s Day without you. She spent the day with me, but I can’t help feeling I shouldn’t part from her, even though I’ll never forget you.”
On this Valentine’s Day, Katie had taken a special leave to be with him.
Yet, to him, it was just another uneventful Valentine’s Day without Pamela.
As she kept reading, she found the letter was quite lengthy–longer than all the days James had spent with her in the last three years.
The time seemed to stretch even longer than the days James had spent with her over the past three years.
Katie wasn’t sure how long she’d been engrossed in her reading when a noise at the door broke her focus.
She quickly turned off her phone screen as James entered, looking exhausted.
“Still awake?” he asked.
Katie responded with a soft hum.
“I thought you weren’t coming back tonight,” she mentioned.
James moved closer. “If I don’t come back, where else would I sleep?”
Since they were officially a couple, James had been discreetly staying over at her place.
“All right, I’m going to take a shower,” he said, placing his phone on the nightstand to charge before heading into the
bathroom.
The steady sound of running water filled the room, while James‘ WhatsApp notifications pinged incessantly.
Katie glanced over and noticed a message from Pamela.
“Did we really sleep together before? Why do I still feel nervous when I touch you now?”
Katie gripped her hands tightly, her fingertips pressing hard into her palms.
Fifteen minutes later, James came out of the shower and noticed Katie sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes slightly swollen.
Assuming it was from the emotional events of the past few days, James stepped closer.
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Chapter 4
“Have you been crying?”
Katie slowly unclenched her reddened hands, looked up at James, and composed herself.
“Yes… I just read a touching love story.”
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After a pause, she added, “Didn’t you say you needed to keep your distance from me while Pamela recovers her mem- ory? If you stay with me now, she might become suspicious if she finds out. Go book another room. We should stay apart for the next few days.”
James‘ dark eyes scrutinized her words, but he agreed.
“Katie, after this fake marriage, I’ll sort things out with Pamela.”
Katie saw him walk away until he vanished from view, an involuntary bitter smile forming on her lips.
There was no point in explaining anything.
This time, he had gone too far. They would never be together again.
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