Faded love 11

Chapter 11 

The wind slipped through the crack in the door, 

lifting the ends of my hair. 

I didn’t turn around. 

I only said softly, 

“President Zhou, my name is Thalia.” 

The door closed slowly behind me. 

I walked down the corridor, 

sunlight falling across my face. 

A single tear slipped from the corner of my eye, 

catching the light before it disappeared. 

Inside the conference room, 

Rory was still standing, 

his fingers gripping the folder so tightly 

the paper had creased beneath his touch. 

He stared at the door, murmuring, 

“Lie to me if you must. 

As long as you’re still alive.” 

Night deepened until the only sound left 

was my heartbeat. 

I leaned against the door, 

exhaling a long, shaky breath. 

The light was too bright; 

my shadow stretched across the wall- 

a stranger’s silhouette. 

Three years ago, 

I had leaned against a door like this too. 

Back then, I still had a child inside me. 

He had stood outside the hospital room 

and signed that “rational decision.” 

That moment, 

Faded love, I don’t want it anymore 

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11:32 Sat, Oct 18 

I died. 

Now, I live. 

Just under a different name. 

I walked into the bathroom 

and splashed my face with cold water. 

In the mirror, 

my eyes were clear, calm, dry. 

I looked at myself and whispered, 

“Thalia.” 

That name was a shell. 

I used it to live, 

to hide. 

But I knew- 

: 

Wendy was still buried somewhere in my bones. 

The phone on the table buzzed. 

The screen lit up. 

[Tomorrow’s exhibition prep meeting – attendance required. Z Group] 

Z Group. 

Those three letters scraped across my heart like a blade. 

I stared at the words, deleted them, 

then retyped my reply: 

[Received.] 

My fingers trembled slightly. 

Three years. 

And fate had led me 

back to his door. 

The next morning. 

I stepped into that familiar glass building. 

The elevator smelled faintly of flowers- 

the same scent as the cologne he used to wear. 

Chapter 11 

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: 

86 

I almost couldn’t breathe. 

The secretary led me toward the conference room. 

“Thalia, you’ll be presenting alone today. 

President Zhou will attend personally.” 

“Personally?” 

I repeated, quietly. 

“Yes.” 

I nodded, 

a faint curve tugging at my lips- 

a smile lined with frost. 

When the door opened, 

he was standing with his back to me. 

Gray suit. 

Perfectly straight posture. 

Outside, the sky was overcast. 

The wind slipped through the window 

and brushed his sleeve. 

“President Zhou,” the secretary announced, 

“Thalia from Languang is here.” 

He didn’t turn. 

“Let her in.” 

I walked forward, 

my voice steady. 

“Good morning, President Zhou. 

I’m Thalia, from Languang Design.” 

He turned slowly. 

And in that instant- 

my breath caught. 

Three years had passed, 

and he was still the same. 

Cold. Controlled. 

11:33 Sat, Oct 18 

Beautiful enough to hate. 

But his eyes- 

they no longer held any light. 

He looked at me for a long time. 

“What’s your name?” 

“Thalia.” 

I smiled. 

“Perhaps you’ve mistaken me for someone else.” 

He didn’t answer. 

Just watched me- 

as though he wanted to see through me, 

and feared he actually might. 

The meeting began. 

I forced my mind to stay on the presentation, 

voice calm, logic flawless. 

He didn’t interrupt once. 

Just kept his gaze fixed on me. 

When I finally closed the folder, 

he spoke. 

“Thalia, are you married?” 

My fingers paused. 

“No.” 

“A lover, then?” 

I looked up, smiling faintly. 

“No.” 

He smiled too- 

thin, cold, 

a blade hidden behind civility. 

“What a coincidence.” 

My chest tightened. 

The smile on my lips almost broke. 

B 

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11:33 Sat, Oct 18 

I closed the folder. 

“If there are no further questions, President Zhou, 

I’ll be leaving now.” 

I turned toward the door. 

“Thalia.” 

He called after me. 

I stopped. 

Behind me, his voice was low, rough, 

barely held together. 

“Are you still afraid of the rain?” 

The air froze. 

My fingers curled tight. 

That- 

was the sentence he used to say 

three years ago. 

11:33 Sat, Oct 18