In fact, Daniel had liked Sarah long before this.
It was when she last told him that she didn’t like him.
When he found out Sarah had left without saying goodbye.
When he entered Sarah’s room and couldn’t find the love letters and drawings she had made for him.
When he came to England and saw her dating someone else, and eventually getting engaged.
He had unknowingly fallen for that girl who had been chasing him all along.
But his feelings were suppressed, forced deep into his heart as something strange and forbidden.
These feelings were repeatedly suppressed but always resurfaced.
Until this moment, when all his emotions finally erupted.
Daniel’s heart felt as if it was being squeezed by a giant hand, so tight that he could barely breathe.
For a moment, he wanted to rush in, run up the stairs, grab Sarah’s hand, and tell her that he liked her.
That he had been wrong in the past and hoped she could give him a chance to make it right.
But in reality, his feet were nailed to the ground, unable to move.
Snowflakes covered him, yet the cold on his body was nothing compared to the chill in his heart.
He stood there, helplessly watching the girl who once loved him dearly, now standing next to another man, speaking sweet words with him.
Sarah’s eyes sparkled with the same joy and affection that he hadn’t seen in a long time.
In a daze, Daniel was reminded of a rainy night from long ago.
The rain that night was as heavy as the snow today.
That night, just like now, separated by a building and a window.
He had been in a warm closet with Emily, indulging in love.
While Sarah, in the pouring rain, had knelt there all night, watching them make love for the entire night.
He had seen the despair in her eyes grow stronger, and finally, she closed her eyes and collapsed to the ground.
Now, he was finally experiencing what she had felt that night.
He understood the heart–wrenching pain and despair she had gone through.
The snowman standing in front of the castle slowly began to catch the attention of many guests.
People stood in front of the floor–to–ceiling windows, sipping hot cocoa and whispering about which deep–hearted person had built the snowman.
Finally, even the two hosts of the party were drawn to the window.
When they saw the snowman’s face clearly, Sarah was surprised.
After the surprise, she felt a little amused.
She had heard about the events in America.
The pure and flawless love that Daniel had once thought he had now became a synonym for cruelty.
And the little girl, whom he had once thought to be full of malice, was now the most innocent victim in the whole situation.
The reversal of these two women’s images finally made Daniel realize what he had done in the past.
That’s why he had traveled all the way to England to find her.
That’s why he had done this seemingly affectionate thing in the snow.
Sarah tightened her grip on her cup, then calmly averted her gaze.
Her tone was slightly sarcastic. “If Emily hadn’t gotten into trouble, I might have waited my whole life for his apology.”
That’s how people are. Only when the truth is revealed, only when something is lost, do they regret.
But Sarah didn’t need this late regret.
She didn’t want to keep entangling with Daniel over those things.
It wouldn’t do anything other than increase her troubles.
The best ending for her and Daniel would be never to interact again, never to meet again.
Edward didn’t say anything, merely holding his fiancée in his arms, silently comforting her.
One by one, the lights of the castle went out, and the cars in the snow began to leave.
Until the castle’s gates were firmly closed, Daniel, standing in the snow, still did not wait for Sarah.
(1)
