Hello, Goodbye...

Ludwina, who arrived at the Hilton Hotel the next day, thought that the guest relations officer who met her recognized her just like some of the fans she met in Central Park. She just followed as the staff took her to a beautiful suite facing the sea, where Andrea stayed.

She actually had already checked into her father's Kanawa Resort, so she went to Hilton with only her handbag. She remembered that today was their wedding anniversary.

Perhaps she would accept to have dinner with Andrea one last time before asking for the divorce documents from her husband and ending their marriage.

She saw flowers and a bottle of prosecco tied with a red ribbon in the room. Her heart suddenly ached. She still vividly remembered that night when Andrea proposed to her. She saw Andrea's two shirts in the cupboard. She remembered she had bought them before her husband left for London. Soon, her defenses collapsed.

Ludwina cried again for the umpteenth time. At first, she was able to stay positive about her life and accepted her fate. But now, being so close to Andrea made her feel that life was unfair once again.

Fate was cruel and merciless to her. She didn't deserve to die young. Andrea was too kind, he didn't deserve to be hurt this badly...

In the end, Ludwina fell asleep. She didn't realize it when Andrea after he finished the conference, rushed to look for her in the suite, and found her sleeping on the sofa. Andrea put the prosecco in the refrigerator while waiting for Ludwina to wake up.

He just sat beside her and studied his wife's face, never seeming to get enough of it. He really missed her cute face with her freckled cheeks...

Dinner time went by and Andrea realized that they weren't going to have dinner together to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Ludwina still hadn't woken up from her deep sleep.

Andrea called the room service quietly and ordered food in the room. The food arrived and he ate while waiting for Ludwina to wake up. He actually wanted Ludwina to eat, but he didn't want to disturb his wife's sleep, as she looked very tired.

Even at 10 PM, Ludwina still hadn't woken up, so Andrea decided to carry her to bed so that she could sleep well. He took off the girl's shoes and loosened her clothes, then covered her with a blanket. He refrained from sneaking in and hugging Ludwina as he always did.

He didn't know if Ludwina was willing to be hugged because he thought that Ludwina was still angry at him. He couldn't ask the sleeping girl for consent to hug her. And so, Andrea slept on the sofa. His sleep that night was very restless. He gradually woke up and checked whether Ludwina was awake or not.

At 6 AM, he woke up and decided to drink coffee and take a shower. He would wait for Ludwina to wake up by sitting beside her.

At 7 AM, Ludwina finally opened her eyes.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Andrea smiled, "You have no idea how badly I wanted to kiss you and wake you up from that peaceful slumber."

Ludwina looked surprised to see Andrea.

"At first, I thought you were just taking a nap and was going to get up for dinner, but you still didn't get up until morning arrived. I was worried," said Andrea again. He stretched out his arms and hugged Ludwina. He finally couldn't stand it and landed a soft kiss on his wife's lips. "You've never had jet lag before, so why were you sleeping for so long when you arrived here?"

Andrea was very happy that Ludwina didn't reject his hugs and kisses. He really missed his wife's body. If possible, he didn't want to let her go from his arms at all...

"It wasn't jet lag. I might've just been sleep-deprived. I haven't been sleeping well for a while..." said Ludwina.

Andrea's face was instantly clouded with guilt. He thought he was the reason why Ludwina was stressed and couldn't sleep well.

"I'm so sorry..." Andrea let go of his hug and called the room service to order breakfast in the room, "Let's have breakfast first. The view from the terrace is gorgeous, we'll just eat there."

Andrea was aggrieved seeing how thin Ludwina was now. It was clear that this girl had suffered a lot during the past year. He tried to get Ludwina to eat a lot, but the girl didn't seem to have much of an appetite.

There were so many things Andrea wanted to talk to her about, but now that Ludwina was in front of him, he seemed unable to speak. Ludwina was nice in front of him and didn't discuss their problems, so he didn't want to find trouble by bringing it up first. He was afraid that Ludwina would leave him sooner.

After breakfast, they were still sitting on the terrace in silence. The beach's scenery in front of them was really bewitching.

Andrea took Ludwina's hand and didn't let go for half an hour as they sat silently looking at the beach. He refrained from speaking. He wanted to freeze the moment and stay with Ludwina forever.

Ludwina felt the same way. Her mind was at war between telling everything to Andrea and being selfish or continuing to lie to Andrea and disappearing from his life. Andrea would feel hurt and angry, but he'd have his comfort if he returned to Adeline and Ronan.

She loved this man more than herself, and Ludwina couldn't bear to see him suffer knowing that she had cancer.

"Let's take a walk to the beach," said Andrea, breaking the silence. They looked at each other, and Andrea, who didn't see Ludwina's refusal, assumed that the girl agreed.

He prepared a paper bag filled with fruits and their prosecco then led Ludwina to walk to the beach. He didn't let go of his grip at all for fear that the girl would change her mind and suddenly leave.

He put a simple Balinese sarong on the sand and asked Ludwina to sit with him. When Andrea offered her their prosecco, Ludwina initially refused because it was still a bit early, but finally, she relented. Yesterday was their fifth wedding anniversary, they deserved the drink.

While sipping prosecco from the bottle, she saw how Andrea's expression seemed at war with himself. He looked like he was trying to say something, but his heart told him not to.

"Thank you for making me the happiest man in the world five years ago." Andrea finally spoke up. "Meeting you was a coincidence, but staying with you was a choice... and I'm so glad you said yes."

Ludwina nodded, unable to make a sound.

"I've liked you since we met at the airport. You were really funny at that time. To pretend that you have to be hospitalized for everything..." He continued. "I liked how kind your family is, treating me like you treat any other, as though I'm no different from you, even though... we're as far away as the earth from the sky. I love how you're not spoiled and happily accept whatever I can give you. I love how we never fight... And I'm sad that in the last year, you didn't want to see me."

Ludwina tried to smile, even though her heart was crying. "Andrea... you used to say that I wasn't talented at writing, because I was too happy. I agree with you. Evidently, in the last year, I felt really sad away from you, and now I have two bestsellers. I was really sad when I knew that you have a child from Adeline, while I'm not the kind of motherly woman who can give you a child. I thought that, as time goes by, I'd be able to accept the situation, but after one year, my heart still won't heal, Andrea. I can't go on like this, I can't keep you on a string. You deserve to be happy with a woman who can provide the family you desire. Ronan also deserves a complete family."

It was the moment of truth... but not the whole truth.

"We got married in Bali, it's only fitting that we separate in Bali," said Ludwina, finally. "You promised to bring the divorce documents to Bali if I come and see you. Please sign them later, okay?"

Andrea was stunned speechless for a moment. Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks. He felt deeply hurt because, after all this time, it turned out that Ludwina was still unable to forgive him...

He was just a naive 23-year-old young man who was in love and wanted to marry Adeline, and he didn't know that he had a child until a year ago. Why was Ludwina punishing him like this...?

With a hoarse voice, he tried to convince his wife to forgive him, to accept the fact that Ronan was his son, almost begging Ludwina to give him a second chance...

But the girl coldly refused and walked away.

The feeling of rejection that pierced Andrea's heart hurt even more than when he was abandoned by his father when the man learned that his mother was pregnant and immediately flew back to Italy.

Andrea never thought that there would be a feeling more painful than being abandoned by his own father...

And today, he experienced it.

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From the author:

I can't even... I just can't. Poor Andrea.