Need time

Hugo stood still, feeling a chill running through him, and involuntarily shivered. "Perhaps it's all of those," Hugo said softly.

Perhaps at the very beginning, when Hugo learned that Uma became the leading actress in "The Firm", he immediately felt betrayed. Joseph had warned him, and Charlize had hinted at it, but he didn't pay much attention. He chose to believe Uma, so when he found out that his so-called trust was merely wishful thinking, his initial feeling was one of betrayal. He gave Uma a chance to explain, but perhaps it was because she didn't want to believe in his trustworthiness at all.

But when Uma gave up the opportunity to defend herself, when she gave up the chance to fight for this relationship, the taste in Hugo's heart became unclear, even to himself. In that instant, he even began to doubt the authenticity of his own emotions. Were the past few months just an illusion?

There was a moment when Hugo recalled Anthony's comments about Uma. Could it be true that Uma was really using him as a stepping stone for her career? Immediately, Hugo denied this thought because when Uma was with him, "Scent of a Woman" hadn't even been released, and no one believed in Hugo at that time, so there was no question of being a stepping stone. But later, Hugo began to doubt again. The real date between Uma and him started at the premiere of "A Few Good Men". Perhaps Uma had already been calculating from that time...

Once trust has been shattered, all doubts will surface. Even details that were not previously doubted become seeds of suspicion.

Hugo had to stop his wild thoughts, to the point where he began to doubt the authenticity of this relationship. So, Hugo fell into a deep sleep, from the morning until midnight. In fact, Hugo didn't really enter a state of sleep. The struggle in his half-dreaming state tortured him, and he felt mentally exhausted as if he could collapse at any moment.

Trust has never been an easy thing, and that's the terrifying aspect of betrayal because once trust is given when faced with betrayal, one has to confront the collapse of their entire world. Hugo was currently in such a stage that he couldn't even make a judgment about his own past emotions.

Charlize looked at the vulnerability on Hugo's face, that kind of fragility that would shatter with just a touch. In the moonlight, it cast a faint reflection. Charlize couldn't help but extend her finger, wanting to touch the projected image on the ground. But she quickly withdrew in fear, as if she saw the reflection trembling. She was afraid that her slight touch would cause this castle built of sand to collapse.

"However," Hugo fell silent for a long time, his slightly hoarse voice breaking the tranquility of the moonlit scene, rippling out in circles, causing Charlize to shiver. "Does the reason really matter? Human emotions are inherently complex, and it's impossible to distinguish them precisely. Regardless of the reason, the result is crystal clear: she left, she didn't even leave a chance."

Uma left so decisively, not trying to salvage this relationship, and in doing so, she also cut off Hugo's chance to salvage it. Such a result was too cruel. Not only Hugo, but even Charlize also began to doubt whether this relationship between Uma and Hugo truly existed.

"Maybe I just like her now, perhaps deep down inside I love her. I... I just need some time, step by step, to get closer to her. I'm trying, and maybe she's trying too, but..." Hugo's words were incoherent, "maybe she chose to give up this relationship not because she didn't want to fight for it, but as she said, between love and career, she chose the latter... or perhaps she didn't want to believe in me, but at that time, the circumstances left her with very few choices..."

After Hugo spoke a lot, he finally stopped weakly and said, "But why didn't she explain?" These were all Hugo's speculations, and he had no clue about Uma's true thoughts. He gave her the opportunity to explain, but she refused. Any relationship is difficult to sustain without communication, that's beyond doubt.

"Maybe she didn't want to explain because she didn't want to continue," Charlize said, looking at Hugo's bewildered eyes. This sentence made Hugo's tense shoulders completely relax. This was the fundamental reason. Hugo knew this, he had always known it, so even Hugo, who never easily gave up, didn't put up a fight after letting Uma leave. It wasn't because he didn't like Uma enough, but because he realized Uma's true thoughts: she didn't want to continue.

When Uma put the key in the glass bowl, the crisp sound might have been the final punctuation mark for this relationship.

Hugo lowered his eyes in despair. "I just need some time to figure things out, just a little time."

Hugo didn't say what he wanted to figure out. Maybe it was to understand what had really happened, maybe it was to understand how deep his feelings for Uma truly were, or maybe it was to figure out how to get out of this current predicament... but Charlize knew that Hugo couldn't think properly right now. The cracks in trust had left him battered, to the point where he couldn't even think.

Charlize fell silent. She didn't know what to say because she had said everything she could as a friend. The rest was for Hugo to figure out on his own, and she was powerless. Being there with Hugo during this time was perhaps the best thing she could do as a friend.

"So, do you want a drink?" Charlize changed the subject, trying to sound casual. "There are still plenty of beers in the fridge, and I remember there's a bottle of red wine in the cabinet."

Hugo let out a long breath, closed his eyes, and rubbed his temples once again. "If you can, give me a beer, please. Thank you." His headache worsened, and his knees seemed to be throbbing again. Damn weather.

Hugo had previously been grateful to be in Los Angeles, where it was dry and had little rain. The chances of snow were very low, and the annual rainfall was minimal. Typically, the rain in Los Angeles was concentrated in winter. But tonight, it was clearly a clear season in winter, which meant Hugo's knee had been fine all along. However, tonight, the pain in his knee sapped all his strength, to the point where he hardly had any energy left for sorrow.

Charlize brought two bottles of beer and handed one to Hugo. She then sat back on the sofa and noticed several pages of paper scattered on the table, filled with lengthy handwritten text in pencil. She pointed to them and asked, "What's this? Can I take a look?"

After taking a sip of beer, Hugo shrugged as if he didn't care, then closed his eyes. He felt tired, sleepy, and exhausted, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter what. His eyes were already sore and achy, but he couldn't find his way into the realm of dreams. Hugo didn't know if it was because he had been half-awake for too long or because the pain in his knee and head kept stimulating his nerves.

Charlize picked up the pieces of paper and found that it was actually a receipt from a supermarket. On the back of the receipt, Hugo had casually written a passage, resembling a diary entry or a poem. However, Charlize guessed that it was probably a set of song lyrics.

"Framed ghost left perfume on pillow. Room without a halo, losing my sleep... When you are near me, when you are here, I see all that I am made of."

The sadness and pain between the lines jumped off the page, causing Charliez to glance at Hugo. Hugo still had his eyes closed, rubbing his temples. Charlize noticed something: when Hugo wrote "when you are near me" he used the word "near" to indicate proximity, rather than using a more intimate preposition. With just this one word, the delicate emotions in the lyrics became evident. Hugo didn't need her to be by his side, just being near him was enough.

More importantly, when Hugo wrote the phrase "when you are near me", he used the present tense instead of the past tense. This meant that when Hugo recorded these words, it wasn't out of nostalgia or mourning, but as a call.

Hugo wasn't commemorating a lost love, he was calling out for Uma's response.

When Charlize realized this, she was instantly struck. Perhaps deep down in Hugo's subconscious, what pained him wasn't Uma's betrayal or the end of their relationship, but Uma's abandonment. Without any resistance, without a big argument, without desperately trying to explain, she simply gave up. This kind of abandonment made it impossible for Hugo to believe in Uma's feelings for him, and it made him doubt everything that had happened in their relationship. It made him question the worth of his trust.

Charlize closed her eyes in a state of panic, quickly lowering her head, afraid that Hugo would see her flustered like this. Only at this moment Charlize truly understood how much pain Hugo was in. His pale and powerless appearance couldn't reveal the anguish and struggle in his heart. Perhaps, deep within Hugo's heart, there were already bloody wounds, but there was no way to heal them.

Charlize opened her eyes again and looked at the closed-eyed Hugo. He appeared as if he were asleep, with little movement. This allowed Charlize to carefully observe the man in front of her.

In fact, Charlize had never truly examined him closely. She had only glanced at him and knew that he was a handsome man. The allure of his demeanor even surpassed the impression brought by his appearance and features. But upon closer inspection, Charlize discovered that the delicate lines of Hugo's eyebrows, drawn as if with ink, were so refined. They resembled an ancient ink painting, extending gently and fragilely under the moonlight's reflection.

The slightly tangled eyebrows made one instinctively want to smooth them out and then tell him that everything would be alright.

Suddenly, Hugo's eyes opened, and those clear amber-colored eyes collided with Charlize's gaze. His eyes, like morning mist among the mountains, seemed to drop a drop of diluted ink into clear water, creating gentle ripples. This made her shift her gaze helplessly, and her heartbeat raced so fast that she almost felt suffocated.