Chapter 1

Stefan Palmer once gave Verena Oliver a glass jar.

He said to her, "Every time you make me happy, I'll put a red bean inside it. When the jar is full, I'll marry you."

But when Stefan once again left Verena alone for the sake of another woman, Verena grew completely disheartened.

She poured out all the red beans and made some red bean soup.

After finishing the red bean soup, she was hospitalized for three days due to acute gastroenteritis.

She then realized something important.

Just as one shouldn't keep spoiled food, one shouldn't hold on to spoiled love.

She knew it was time to end her relationship with Stefan.

...

Verena stood in the airport arrival hall. Even before stepping outside, she could feel the biting cold wind sneaking in through the door cracks.

Last week, when she left for her business trip, the temperature there was still in the twenties.

But when she came back that day, the entire city was blanketed in snow.

Before boarding the plane, Verena had called Stefan and told him her arrival time. She asked him to bring some thick clothes to meet her at the airport terminal.

Stefan had promised her, saying, "I'll be there on time. I won't let my baby catch a cold."

The echo of his promise still lingered in her ears, yet now, as all the other passengers from the same flight had already dispersed, he remained nowhere to be seen.

She called him, but he was unreachable. She sent him messages on WhatsApp, but she got no reply.

As the night wore on, the airport grew emptier.

Unwilling to give up, Verena took out her phone once more and found Stefan's name on the contact list.

The same mechanical female voice answered, "The number you have dialed is unavailable now. Please try later..."

This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened. The reason was always the same.

Though she was reluctant to believe it, Verena searched her contacts for a name she knew all too well-Noreen Patel.

Noreen was the unavoidable "complication" that would always linger in her relationship with Stefan.

The call was answered almost immediately. Noreen's deliberately softened voice came through. "You're looking for Stefan, right? He's indeed here with me. In this snowy weather, our heater suddenly broke, and I was freezing. Stefan was worried about me and insisted on keeping me company."

Verena took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "Let me speak to Stefan," she said.

Soon, Stefan's voice came through. "I'm at Noreen's. The heater has a broken part, and it's a complicated repair. I'm afraid I can't make it to pick you up. You'll have to get a cab yourself."

Verena retorted angrily, "Isn't that what repairmen are for? You can't fix heaters, so why are you there?"

Stefan replied with righteous conviction, "The repairman is a guy. I don't feel comfortable leaving Noreen with another guy. It's too risky."

"I'm only wearing a skirt." Verena's voice was dry, like sandpaper.

"Just hang in there," Stefan said nonchalantly. "It's only a few hundred meters from the exit to the taxi stand. Once you're in the cab, you'll be warm."

In the background, Noreen's voice could be faintly heard, "If it's too much trouble, you'd better go and pick up your girlfriend. I can't keep bothering you for everything."

Stefan comforted her gently, saying, "Don't say that to me. If anything happened to you, I would feel guilty forever."

Verena closed her eyes, and forgotten memories, like a stirred-up hornet's nest, rushed back to sting her heart.

On her birthday, Stefan had promised to join her for a candlelit dinner.

But as soon as the first appetizer was served, Noreen called him. She told him that she was trapped in her bathroom because the door lock was broken.

Stefan grabbed his coat and left immediately, leaving Verena to watch the meticulously cooked dishes grow cold.

Last winter, Noreen had an early flight, and Stefan was concerned that it would be difficult to catch a cab at that time. So he had gotten out of bed at three in the morning.

When Verena asked where he was going, he didn't even have time to answer before he was out the door.

She lay awake until dawn, feeling an emptiness inside.

That closed door seemed to have shut out the last warmth between her and Stefan.

This past New Year's Day, Stefan had promised to accompany Verena back to her hometown.

On their way, he received a call from Noreen. She told him that she'd cut her hand while chopping vegetables.

Stefan left Verena stranded at a highway stop and sped back.

Verena stood in the cold wind and watched his car disappear. She felt like a homeless kid.

Again and again, Noreen always had some trivial reason, and Stefan would unhesitatingly leave Verena for Noreen.

Verena had fought, yelled, and lamented, but Stefan always said, "Noreen had a rough past. She suffered from domestic abuse when she was with her ex-husband. As a friend, I have to help her when I can."

Stefan seemed oblivious to the fact that a broken door lock could be fixed by the property manager, an early flight could be arranged with a ride service, and a cut finger could be bandaged or treated with a call to emergency services.

But Noreen always turned to Stefan, and he would always abandon Verena for Noreen.

Verena wasn't naive. She clearly understood that Noreen was using those trivial matters to hint at something.

Noreen was reminding Verena, "You'll always be second to me."

Verena took a deep breath and suppressed the bitterness and anger in her heart.

She dragged her suitcase and made her way out of the arrival hall.

The glass doors slid open, and the cold wind, laden with snowflakes, hit her, making her shiver.

Snowflakes landed on her and melted into cold droplets instantly.

The wind made her teeth chatter. Each step felt like walking on shards of ice.

Yet Verena felt her heart was even colder than she could feel physically.

When she finally got a cab, the driver saw her underdressed and asked in surprise, "It's cold today. Why didn't you have a family member or friend bring you some clothes?"

Verena simply smiled and turned her face to the window.

The snow fell more heavily and blurred the city's neon lights and the remnants of hope in her heart.