Billie waves to Karin and says, "Come on. We climb down together."
Karin frowns since she doesn’t know what Billie means. But she follows Karin.
The rocks are like a ladder for them. They help each other and climb down to the foot of the mountain
after half of an hour.
"Karin, we make it. You see, there is always a road out if we don’t give up."
Karin eventually knows what Billie means. She smiles and says, "You are very helpful."
"Indeed."
Billie sit on somewhere clean with Karin. She says, "Robert told me everything about you and Troy. At
the beginning, I was angry. But later on, I can understand Troy. He marries Mia not because of love but
revenge. If you don’t get rid of those bad people, you will be in danger. Troy or you may be killed one
day. So, why not do something you dislike now to avoid being murdered?"
"What if he marries Mia? What should I do?"
Regardless of what others tell her, Karin only cares about what she should do if he marries Mia.
Billie shrugs, "Then let him marry Mia. If I were you, I could accept it. What I want is not a marriage
certificate. Instead, what I want is the one I love loves me."
"So, you will be willing to have an affair with Robert if he marries Gigi?"
"Sure."
Karin mocks her, "Billie, you don’t know what I feel because you are not in my shoes. If you are in love,
you will hope that he only belongs to you. When you are in my shoes, you will realize how foolish your
words are."
"You might be right."
Billie doesn’t want to argue with her since she really doesn’t know how painful Karin feels.
"You promised you would stay, so please be stronger and happy. He will be upset to see you like this,"
Billie adds.
"Did him ask you to visit me?"
"It was Rebert."
Karin pauses for a moment and then she nods. She says, "I see."
"What do you see?"
"I see what I should to stop you feeling upset for me."
Karin tells herself, no matter how she is sad and agonized, she can’t show it. She chooses to stay and
she should pay a price for it.
They climb up the summit of the mountain when the night comes. Billie calls Robert. 20 minutes later,
Robert arrives at the Ziteng Garden by car.
"Karin, promise me you won’t isolate yourself again."
"I promise."
"Please remember, God shuts your door, often leaving a window for you."
"Sure."
"I should go. Please take care of yourself."
Billie gives her a hug and then gets in Robert’s car.
"How is it going?" Robert asks.
"Great. She says she will be happy soon."
"Thank you."
"You are welcome. She is my friend."
Then, the conversation ends. Robert doesn’t dare to say more, while Billie has too much to say and
she doesn’t know what to say.
They arrive at the gate of University of Zurich. When she gets out of the car, she asks him hesitantly,
"Do you have a fiancée?"
Robert is surprised by her question first. Then he replies, "Yes".
"Do you like her?’
"It is not your business."
He is often shocked by her straightforwardness.
"Of course, it’s my business," she says proudly, "Because I like you."
Then she runs away.
Troy comes back to Ziteng Garden in the evening. Mary prepares a lot of food. These days, he has
dined with Karin every day though he is busy.
"Help yourself." He gives her an abalone.
Neither does she refuses or thanks him. She only eats the rice in her bowl.
That upsets Troy. In the past, she was happy and she talked a lot when he dined with her. But now, she
is quiet. It is a luxury for him that Karin talks with her in table.
She goes upstairs after dinner, while he goes to roof. He is smoking in the darkness. Cigarettes are
troubled men’s best friend.
Standing near to him, Karin is looking at him. Life is full of memories, which traps them. She wishes
she could go back to the place when they first met. And she wishes she could stay there with him.
"Troie," she calls him.
Troy is astonished since she hasn’t called him in this way for a long time. He can’t turn around since he
fears that is his illusion. Now it’s a luxury for him to have a look at her. He can’t expect that she will call
him Troie.
She covers him with a blanket. She says, "It is cold. Don’t sit here for a long while."
Then she is leaving but she is pulled by him. He begs, "Please don’t go."
"I just want to put on a coat."
"There is no need."
He lets her sit on his lap and holds her tight. He tries to warm her with his temperature. Her body is
warm but her soul is cold.
"Karin, you are so aloof to me. You have been silent these days, but I wish you can argue with me. If
you talk, that means you are upset and want to vent your anger. But you were quiet. I don’t know what
you are feeling and I am helpless."
"Can I go back to the campus tomorrow?" Suddenly, she asks.
"Why?"
"I think I can relax myself if I meet more people."
He pauses for a second. Then he says, "Fine. You can do anything as you like."
If she can be happy again, he will do anything for her, even get stars in the sky for her. But he never
knows, she doesn’t want them anymore.
Troy receives Mia’s call in the morning. She asks him to come to Troy Mansion.
He drives there and asks him, "What’s matter?"
Mia says, "Our wedding will be held 15 days later. Should we take wedding pictures now?"
"I am busy, so I won’t do that."
"You won’t?" she mocks, "Are you busy? Or you don’t want to do it? If your bride is Karin, will you
refuse her?"
"I made the decision for you."
He looks at her, whose legs were amputated.
"Are you reminding me that I have no legs, so you don’t treat me as a normal person?"
Mia is furious by his words.
"You misunderstand me. I am protecting you. Aren’t you worried that people look down on you?"
"I was. But I am not what I used to be. I want to take photos. I want a complete marriage."
Troy looks at her sympathetically. It is a pity that she doesn’t know a marriage without love isn’t
complete.
"Then we’ll take photos. I will ask Robert to hire the best photographers. We can take photos in our
house."
"I don’t want to take photos here."
Mia says determinedly, "I want to go to Paris, France."
"Nonsense!"
Troy gets angry, "If you argue that the photographers in Paris are better, I can hire one. It is not
convenient for you to travel to Paris. Can you stop being unreasonable?"
"If you don’t want to take photos with me, just admit it. Don’t use my legs as an excuse. I know the
reason you will marry me is because you want to take something from my uncle. If you are not kind to
me, I won’t marry you. Then you can never get what you want from my uncle!"
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