Kenneth hated Taipei. It was too fast, too loud, and every corner reminded him of the girl who had vanished without a trace.
"Bro, look at this place!" his friend Jason shouted, lugging a suitcase. "The girls here are top-tier. I heard there's a Malaysian 'Goddess' here who everyone is obsessed with."
Kenneth ignored him. He was here for one reason: the engineering credits. He needed to graduate, get a high-paying job, and maybe—just maybe—he'd have enough money one day to hire a private investigator to find Nicole.
As they walked toward the Registrar's office, the crowd parted.
A woman was walking toward them. She was wearing a cream-colored silk blouse and high-waisted trousers. Her hair was longer, flowing in dark waves. She was looking down at her iPad, frowning at a schedule.
Kenneth stopped dead in his tracks. His heart did a violent somersault.
"Nicole?" he breathed. The name felt like glass in his throat.
The woman froze. Her iPad nearly slipped from her hand. She slowly lifted her head, and for a second, the bustling university disappeared. There he was. The boy from the kitchen. The boy she had "abandoned."
Nicole felt a sudden, sharp sting in her chest—not just emotional, but physical. Her body, sensing his presence or perhaps just reacting to the sheer shock, sent a surge of heat through her.
"Kenneth?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
"You're alive," Kenneth said, his voice cracking. He took a step toward her, his eyes searching hers for an explanation, an apology, anything. "You're actually here."
Nicole wanted to run into his arms, but then she felt it—a heavy, uncomfortable dampness. The stress of the encounter was triggering her let-down reflex. She realized with horror that if she stayed here another minute, the secret she had kept for two years would be visible through her expensive silk blouse.
"I... I have to go," she gasped, clutching her books to her chest.
"Wait! Nicole!"
But she was already sprinting toward the exit, leaving Kenneth standing in the middle of the hallway, more confused and more in love than ever.