“I shall ask him whether he is in love with me or that girl,” I thought. “Every time he called my name, who did he care about? Her or me?” Taking a taxi home, I was too preoccupied to pay. I ran as fast as possible across the lawn to the living room.

The door was closed, and I could hear Jonathan yelling, "That woman should be sold to the nightclub.” I'd never seen him so outraged and had no idea about who infuriated him!

When I opened the door, I saw Jonathan sitting on the sofa, his hands buried deep in his hair. He was always so calm and reserved, even when he was angry or distressed, he would hide it with a smile.

When Troy saw me, he was stunned and looked down at Jonathan. Jonathan seemed to hear the door open. When he looked up at me, his expression became solemn and cold. After we looked at each other for half a minute later, I finally asked, "Her name is Desiree Smith, right?"

Without answering, he took a cigarette from the table and lit it. Then, I blurted out, "Why did you give me her name? Why do you teach me to play the piano? You love her, don't you? When you call the name ‘Desiree’, the one you care about is her! The sea of flowers, the unforgettable birthday, the romantic date... Those are all for her! Although she is dead, she lives in your heart, and I am nothing but a substitute. Right?”

Waiting for the answer, I expected a single word, ‘no’! Then I would believe it! He finished the cigarette in silence. When he spoke, I was too weak to stand still, for I guessed the answer from looking at his eyes.

"Yes, she is Desiree Smith!” he replied.

"Have you ever loved me?” I asked.

"Let's end it," he said.

End? This was the word for break-up. An hour ago, he clung to me. How could he have no feelings for me? I swallowed my pride and walked up to him, “Have you never loved me? I don’t believe that I mean nothing to you!” I said.

"You don’t deserve my love!'' he said. Trembling with anger, I did not know how to express my feelings, so I slapped him in the face and said, "You are cold-blooded and heartless, you are not worthy of my love!"

“I don’t care whether you love me or not!” he shouted and got up from the sofa, pushing me away from him, then he picked up his coat and went out.

"Jonathan Li!” I looked up to hold back the tears, because it was not worth crying in front of such a man. I took a deep breath and said, "Thank you for teaching me the meaning of cold-blooded creature."

He turned back with a rather contemptuous and sarcastic smile. I couldn’t see any yearning in his eyes. His smile was as cold as ice.

Troy drew close to him and said, “How can you be so lame not to react to a slap from a woman?”

I heard Jonathan’s last words before the door closed, “Leave her alone if she wants that, it doesn’t matter."

"Damn it! " Hearing the car start, it made me realize what had happened, and I burst into tears. I knelt by the sofa, crying in silence, not because I didn't want to wail, but because I lost all my strength after being hurt by him!

During those eight years, his persistence and romance had melted my stubborn and cold heart. However, suddenly everything became an illusion, everything was gone. The only thing that remained was a cruel and cold man.

Emma, who had finished her duties, took a hot towel to wipe my face. "Don't cry. Maybe Mr. Li is in a bad mood today," she said.

“Emma. What on earth happened? Why does he treat me in this way?” I asked her.

"Hey! I don't know. Since Mr. Li loves you so much, he will see you later when he cools down,” she said. She pointed to the cake on the table and said, "You see, he bought the birthday cake himself early this morning and prepared a surprise for you."

After drying my tears with a hot towel, I saw a delicately wrapped birthday cake on the table.

I untied the golden ribbon gently, so shocked by the pretty cake that I almost forgot the pain! On the golden cake, covered with bright, red flowers, it seemed that a couple nestled among the flowers.

The nearest flower to them sparkled with brilliant colors against the golden shadow. I took ring out the center of the flower where it was buried. A colorful diamond was embedded in platinum in the shape of the flower. “It must be his birthday gift, a promise of eternity!” I realized.

“If I had not found out the secret of the name today, would he have put that ring on my finger, swearing his everlasting love? Would I have enjoyed the blissful moment with him or not?

Now what's the point?” all these thoughts raced through my mind.

When I sat at the table, pecking at my cake, the memory struck my brain that we shared the same piece of cake and daily life for eight years. As my tears dropped in the center of the flower, I swallowed the sweet cake, mixed with bitter, salty tears.

People would never appreciate the sweetness of love, but they would taste the bitterness of it. After I had eaten the whole birthday cake, my stomach ached. Standing up with my hands pressing against my stomach, I saw Jonathan standing at the door.

When he stood in front of me, the world seemed so small, and his shoulders were solid enough to support the world, which prompted me to lean and snuggle up to them. "When did you come back... " Before I finished the words, I rushed to the bathroom to throw up. I wanted to vomit my broken heart out, in case it tortured me again. Unfortunately, it was impossible!

I finally got everything out, I stood up against the wall next to me, everything in front of me was shaking, including him standing beside me. I was about to go out when he caught me by the hand. "Have you ever loved me?” he asked.

I pulled away, sneering, "Do you care?"

I struggled to take two steps, holding the wall, hearing him crying: "Desiree, Desiree! "

When I heard those words, I could not control my anger any more. I turned to him and shouted, "I hate you! I wish you would die!

I was so dizzy, I couldn't hold on any longer. When I fell over, I felt the marble floor underneath me.