When Love Fades

I stayed at Jesse’s house for half a month. In half a month, I saw Dane update his status every day in WhatsApp and Camille’s shadow was in every WhatsApp status.

[There is a moon in the sky, but I have stars.]

The picture was Dane’s selfie and Camille’s back in the corner answering the phone in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

[Stars always shine and I will chase the light.]

The picture was the star ring on Dane’s hand, reflecting the halo under the light and a pair of slender and beautiful hands.

It was Camille’s.

[The stars bring me knowledge!]

The picture was a first-class cabin.

It was a picture of Dane’s bright smile and her sleeping face beside him.

One thing after another. Seeing this, Jesse jumped on the spot. He pointed at Dane’s WhatsApp status and cursed, “Fuck this bitch! Camille is blind. She can’t see that this bitch has bad intentions? Even dogs can sense his bad intention!”

Jesse was furious. On the contrary, I seemed calm. I seemed to be almost out of the withdrawal period and I was even more calm when commenting on Jesse’s rage.

“Camille knows everything. She sees their relationship as something innocent.”

Jesse sat next to me. “Fuck! What’s she talking about innocence?”

“In Camille’s opinion, if the two of them didn’t sleep together, they are innocent. After all, she always believes that she didn’t cheat.”

Camille had always adhered to that bottom line. So, whenever I got angry, she always had that sentence: “There is nothing wrong between Dane and me. Your heart is filthy! Your heart sees everything as dirty!”

When I first heard it, I was speechless. Now, I was looking at these past events and I had let it go.

I reminded Jesse, “I’m gonna move out of that house.”

Camille and I were getting divorced. I was moving out of my home, so I had to go to the house to take away my things.

After all, my mother’s belongings were still there.

“Alright, I’ll help you out.”

Jesse followed me home and waited at my door. I looked at Dane’s WhatsApp status and knew that Camille was on a business trip again these days.

I thought Camille and I would not meet, but I didn’t expect that as soon as I opened the door, I smelled the fragrance of rice coming from the kitchen. When I approached, I saw Dane sitting at the dining table with his legs crossed and eating prawns.

Seeing me coming, Dane’s expression paused, like a child who had done something wrong and he immediately stood up and called me, “Charlie.”

I looked at Dane wearing my pajamas and slippers and then at Camille’s frozen smile as she brought out the dishes. Then, she asked me stiffly, “Have you eaten?”

I ignored Camille’s overtures and walked to the room. Suddenly, I froze. All the figurines I had neatly placed on the bedside were in disarray, even the bed was in a mess, the wardrobe had obviously been turned over and even the innermost safe was opened. My heart tightened and I subconsciously looked at the contents of the safe.

“Charlie…”

The contents of the safe were empty.

Dane, who was standing at the door, said in a weak voice that I could not hear a few words. “I’m sorry, Camille and I lost our luggage on the way back and Camille asked me to come here to get some clothes to put on first. I accidentally... opened the safe…”

My head buzzed and I turned my head and saw the jade fragments in Dane’s hand and my breathing stopped.

“I really didn’t mean it. Charlie, please!” Dane suddenly rushed toward me, then knelt down in front of me, grabbed my arm and cried.

“Please forgive me! I didn’t know this was your mother’s relic! I didn’t know. I really didn’t know!”