After the woman left the house, she returned to her parents’ home. They thought she went to look for her lover because she was always sending letters to him, but she came back by herself. She didn’t say anything to them, but she was determined to find her lover. 

After asking many people and going through investigation agencies, she was finally told about her lover’s whereabouts. Apparently, he had moved to a neighboring city the month he stopped sending letters. 

So she went to that city, hoping to catch a glimpse of him at least. 

And she did. 

But he was holding the hand of another woman. They both were wearing rings, so one could see that they were already married. 

The woman ran up to him in a hurry, emotions out of control, but the one she felt the most was grief. She yanked on his sleeve to get his attention. 

He turned to see who grabbed him and his eyes widened in shock. He didn’t expect it to be his former lover. He never thought that he would, one day, meet his former lover, especially in front of his new wife like this. 

His wife, Eva, looked over at him, clutching his other arm as though she was stating her territory. 

“Adam, who is this?” 

Adam patted Eva’s hand to reassure her. 

“Eva, this is Lillian, my former lover. Lillian, this is my wife, Eva.” 

Lillian knew that they were married the moment she saw them, but she was still shocked to hear him say those words. She thought he still felt the same as her, so she waited and yearned for him…

It was too late.

“It’s nice to meet you, Eva. I… I stopped Adam because I wanted to say hi.” 

Eva didn’t believe Lillian, but she still said, “Nice to meet you too.” 

“Lillian, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but there’s been a lot going on. Well, we have to go now, we have an appointment.” With that, he shook her hand off his sleeve and turned around. 

“Lillian, I have moved on, it’s time for you to do so as well.” 

And with that, Adam and Eva walked away from her, leaving her behind. 

Lillian didn’t know how she got home, but she was already sitting at her desk. She pulled out a piece of paper and an envelope from the drawer of the desk.

She decided to write one last letter: 

Dear Adam, 

This is my last letter to you. 

There are a lot of things that I want to say…

I have never stopped loving you, even after my parents split us apart. I looked forward to your letters every day. All my thoughts were about you. 

Even when I felt that all hope was lost, I remember all the times we spent together. I remember our nights together by the fireplace. Even when it was cold and snowy, you still made sure to bundle me in a blanket and hand me a cup of hot chocolate.

I love you so much and I thought you felt the same way. Seeing you today made me realize that I should have run away together with you. 

But I don’t regret loving you. I don’t regret thinking about you. I don’t regret our time together. 

That’s why… thank you for being a part of my life. 

I hope you are happy now. 

Love, 

Lillian. 

Lillian sent the last letter to their old address, even though she knew he would never see it. For her though, it was the only way she could think of to help herself move on. The other letters she retrieved, we burned in her fireplace, never to be read.

After that, Lillian met another man who loved her just as deeply, if not more than how much Adam had loved her. Even so, there were times she thought back to her fleeting first love, just like the wind. 

It was the last time she had written a love letter to another person. 

At the end of the movie, Cole couldn't stop the tears pouring out of his eyes.

Zain took a napkin and did his best to pat Cole’s face dry. “Honey, why are you crying so much? Isn’t it a happy ending?” 

“It’s a happy ending but… I guess I am crying because I am touched.” 

“Well, I’m glad you liked the movie.” 

Cole couldn’t exactly say that he liked it, but he didn’t hate it either. He just… understood the grief that Lillian had for Adam. He was glad that she found someone better. 

Cole cleaned himself and the area around him before finally walking out of the movie theater with Zain. 

The worker who gave Cole his tickets saw the man walking out of the movie theater alone. He could see that the man’s eyes were much redder than when he came, so he knew Cole had cried. 

He couldn’t help but wonder if Cole picked a sad movie knowing that he would get stood up… 

When Cole got into the car, he looked over at the time and saw it was 2 PM (14:00). 

“Where to next?” He asked. 

Every time he and Zain went on dates, he let Zain pick where they should go. Cole didn’t care where they went. As long as Zain was happy, anywhere was fine. 

Zain put his hand on his chin, a habit of his while he was thinking. “Let’s go eat a late lunch and then go to the mall and get you some new clothes.” 

“How about clothes for you?” 

“I can just wear your clothes at home.” 

Cole couldn’t help but imagine Zain in his hoodies and shirts. With how thin Zain was, it would probably be really baggy on him. He thought it was very cute. 

Home. That’s right. They shared a home. 

“Alright, I will listen to you.” 

“Are you sure there isn’t any place you want to go to?” 

Zain wanted Cole to decide for himself instead of going along with everything he wanted to do. 

“No, I am happy if I’m with you, so it doesn’t matter where we go.” 

“There will come a time when you have to decide where you want to go. For now, though, I don’t mind directing us. Think about it okay? Think about where you want to go and then take me with you.” 

“I… I will think about it.”

Cole thought it was alright if he just followed Zain wherever he wanted to go. For him, anywhere with Zain was already magical. They also had a lot of similar interests and hobbies so he never felt repulsed about the places they had gone to or the things they ate. They did everything together. As long as they were together, he was happy. 

He didn’t know if there was a place that he wanted to go to. He wanted to go everywhere with Zain. Anywhere was good as long as they were together... 

Zain directed them to their favorite hot pot restaurant. They always shared a pot. This time, however, Zain wasn’t hungry, he just wanted to smell the food, so Cole got enough for himself. 

There were a lot of people in the hot pot restaurant as the temperature outside was perfect for this dish. Most people were with friends or family, as this dish was meant to be shared with others. It was only Cole who was alone, but he wasn’t truly alone. Zain was with him. 

Cole dipped his beef brisket into the pot along with vegetables like watercress and Chinese water spinach. He also threw in a bunch of mushrooms. 

In the end, Cole ate four plates of meat and a ton of vegetables. He was full to the brim. 

“It seems I am too full for dinner.” 

“You can just have a light snack for dinner so you won’t get hungry at night.” 

“That’s true.” 

It took Cole two hours to eat all of his food. He had a huge appetite with Zain in front of him. 

After that, he drove to the mall. The closest one to their house was a mall that was a city away. It was quite large. Most of the building was two stories high, but some stores had a third floor. 

Cole and Zain went to their favorite store. It was a store that had a lot of suits, but they did have some casual clothing here and there. 

“I think you will look good in this sweater.” Zain pulled out a dark blue sweater from the rack. 

Cole didn’t have a lot of colors in his closet. He typically wore black, white, or gray. Navy blue was one of the colors that were different from the monochrome colors in his closet. 

“If you think I look good in it, I will get it.” 

“Alright, let me get your size.” 

Zain knew Cole’s size like the back of his mind. He gave it to Cole and had him try it on. It was a little big on him because Cole lost a lot of weight. 

“I didn’t realize you lost so much weight…,” Zain said a little distressed. 

“This… I haven’t been taking care of myself, but don’t worry. I will be sure to gain the weight back.” 

“You better, I don’t want you to be all skin and bones like me.” 

Cole looked over at Zain and then at his body. There was no judgment or lust, but his heart hurt to look at Zain’s body that was as he described. He wanted Zain to eat more, to have a bit more meat on his bones, to have rosy cheeks, and healthy skin. Zain was pale, a sickly pale that made him seem like he would disappear the moment he took his eyes away from him. 

He could not remember the last time he saw Zain healthy, but he was always lively. There was never a moment when he saw Zain cry or with a frown on his face, even when he was in pain. 

“It doesn’t matter if you are skinny, fat, average, or whatever. As long as you are Zain, I will still think you are always beautiful however and whenever.” 

Zain was a little shocked to hear Cole say that. He paused before smiling at Cole. His smile was so bright, just like the sun. 

“Thank you, Cole. You always know how to make me feel better.” 

“I’m just telling the truth.” 

After that, Zain hummed his way through the store, picking out clothes he thought would look nice on Cole. 

When Cole asked again if he could buy Zain some clothes, he declined. He was always sick, so there was no need for nice new clothes. 

Cole and Zain left the mall with four bags of clothes. They were all for Cole. Cole hid a scarf that he thought would look good on Zain. He knew Zain was always cold, so he wanted him to stay warm with the scarf. 

They sat in the car at the mall’s parking lot. Cole looked to Zain for where they should go next.