"Is there anything you need?" I asked.

"Nothing, see you tomorrow."

"Okay," I replied perfunctorily.

I knew he wouldn't come. The next day, at the airport, as expected, Patrick was nowhere to be seen. To give him one last chance, I waited at the airport.

But even as it got dark, he didn't show up. A taxi driver rolled down his window, "Young lady, you've been waiting all afternoon. Are you still waiting for someone to pick you up? Don't wait. Soon there won't be any cars. Where to? I'll take you."

Seeing the driver's sincere face, I got in the car, gave him the address, and he kindly kept his car lights on until I entered the building.

At home, I checked my phone. There were no messages from Patrick, and his score in my heart dropped further.

I was tired and I dropped my suitcase and went to the bathroom. After cleaning up, my supervisor Helen called.

"There's an opportunity to go abroad for a year. Your salary will double when you return."

Actually, there had been such opportunities before, but first, my foreign language was poor, and second, I couldn't bear to leave Patrick.

Patrick and I started getting along well in college, in our sophomore year. Now, it had been two years since graduation, and my life revolved around him.

Over the years, I had centered my life around Patrick, forgetting the ambitious promises I made when I graduated. Sadly, sometimes when I worked late and asked Patrick to pick me up, he would say that were you a child?

But it was different for Samuel. As long as Samuel called, Patrick would go out in the middle of the night, saying Samuel was afraid of the dark. But he didn't know that I was also afraid of the dark and a year younger than Samuel.

Thinking about this made me uncomfortable, and I immediately agreed, "Okay, I'll go this time."

Helen, excited, cheered and said, "That's right! Women must live up to themselves. When you're strong, you lack nothing."

"But, Helen, you know my foreign language skills..." I chuckled awkwardly.

"That's simple. There's a month left. Enroll in a training class to improve, and I'm going too. What are you worried about?"

I acted quickly, signed up, and started practicing. But looking at those English words, I soon felt sleepy and fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, I heard the door open. I rubbed my eyes and saw Patrick, "Oh, you're back?"