His words stirred something deep inside me—memories of my younger self. I once vowed, "If I can’t stop the war, then I’ll at least tell the truth to the world."
But when I told Frederick my dream, he dismissed it. He hated the idea of me becoming a war Journalist, he said it was dangerous and pointless. He wanted me to stay safe, said he could provide for me. Because of him, I gave up my dream and became just another entertaiment Journalist.
Now, looking back, I felt a bitter amusement. I had thrown away ten years of passion for a man who didn’t value it. This avalanche accident had shaken me awake.
I nodded. "Yes, I’ll go."
Hugo beamed with excitement. Before he left, he promised to tell the boss about the good news himself.
"Thank you, Hugo."
He waved it off with a smile. "It’s nothing."
But I meant more than just his help today. If not for him, I wouldn’t be alive. After the avalanche, it was Hugo who found me in time and brought me to the hospital. Without him, I wouldn’t have survived.
Part 3
When Hugo brought me some medicine, he had forgotten some vitamins, so I had to take a taxi to the hospital to retrieve it. I didn’t expect to run into Frederick and Lucia there. Lucia looked at me with an innocent, aggrieved expression.
“Sophie, Frederick told me about your breakup. Please don’t be angry with him—it’s all my fault. I didn’t mean for my asthma attack to cause problems in your relationship. If it weren’t for the avalanche, I wouldn’t have gotten sick. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Before I could respond, Frederick quickly jumped in to comfort her. “It’s not your fault. No one can control when they get sick.”
I couldn’t help but scoff. “Not on purpose, huh?”
Frederick turned on me. “Sophie, what are you implying? You think Lucia faked her illness? You saw how serious it was—she was barely breathing! How could that be fake?”
Lucia began to cry as if Frederick’s defense had given her strength. Watching them together took me back to the day we climbed the snowy mountain.
It was supposed to be a special day—our eighth anniversary. Frederick promised it would be just the two of us, that we’d finally go to the snowy mountains I had always dreamed of. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep. But when he arrived to pick me up, I saw Lucia sitting in the car. Frederick gave me an apologetic look.