Teresa had carried those words with her all these years. She had no idea who the kind stranger was who had looked after her that night, all she knew was that it must have been someone with a heart of gold.
Now it hit her. Teresa said, her voice trembling with realization, “So it was you who took care of me that whole night back then?”
Jonathan smirked. “Remembering now, are we? Good, you haven’t forgotten after all.”
Teresa sighed helplessly. “Why didn’t you tell me about this when we got married?”
“You were my wife then. Why bring it up? If you’d forgotten, I’d just be making a fool of myself.”
Teresa was rendered speechless again.
Jonathan gazed at Teresa’s speechless face, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Just the other day, I was reflecting on how we’ve known each other for almost ten years. And today marks exactly ten years since we first met.”
She was eighteen that year, and he was twenty-one. He was already pursuing his PhD, and academic pressure was a thing of the past. After graduation, even if he didn’t start his own business, he could easily secure a position back home.
Irene started nagging Jonathan to find a girlfriend. Jonathan just kept quiet. He believed in letting things happen. That day, by coincidence, his roommates were gossiping about how stunning the girls at bars were. He didn’t chime in.
One of Jonathan’s roommates ribbed him, “Jonathan, you should hit up a bar sometime. It’s every guy’s paradise.”
Unfazed by his roommate’s teasing, Jonathan gave a noncommittal hum and went back to his book.
That night, Jonathan found himself alone in the dorm. After finishing two weeks' worth of classes, he figured he deserved a break and went strolling alone through the streets.
As he wandered, a bar called Memorie caught his eye, especially the line beside it, [Moments Hidden in Memory.]
Compelled by some inexplicable force, he stepped inside. Perhaps it was the way the dazzling light that day seemed to converge on a single figure – his gaze landed on Teresa at the bar, her cheeks wet with tears as she took another sip of her drink.
Amidst a sea of girls, her fair complexion and flowing hair set her apart, radiating a unique grace. Jonathan’s gaze was drawn to her, and he found himself unconsciously staring for what felt like an eternity.
Only when he realized he’d been completely mesmerized by a stranger did a twinge of self-reproach surface. The bar was nearly full, but Jonathan managed to find a seat that was remarkably close to her.
Every time he looked up, he couldn’t help but notice her slender yet curvaceous figure. Right beside him, the dance floor was alive with music and revelry.
While everyone else was reveling, she sat alone, weeping uncontrollably, her shoulders shaking with each sob.
Finally, she slammed the table to ask for the bill and staggered toward the door, swaying unsteadily and nearly falling. Out of kindness, Jonathan reached out to steady her.
When she looked up, those misty eyes pierced straight through his heart. Having studied abroad for over a year, he realized it had been ages since he’d seen eyes so bright and limpid, so utterly captivating.
Her alluring eyes were fixed on him, brimming with unshed tears, as if she might burst into pitiful sobs again at any moment. Jonathan should push her away.
The next second, Teresa threw her arms around his neck, her warm, liquor-tinged breath ghosting over his skin. At that moment, his throat went dry with a thirst he couldn’t name.
Chapter 637
“Please don’t go. Stay with me, will you?” Teresa’s wish, her clear voice tinged with a desperate plea, whispered in Jonathan’s ear, unhinging some unseen spell.
Jonathan didn’t know what came over him. For the first time, he didn’t sleep in the dorm; instead, he transported her to a secure hotel and stayed there all night, taking care of her.
He listened as she poured out her heart in broken, intermittent whispers, about her parents’ divorce, her father starting a new family, her mother struggling to remarry, and how she had lost her support.