บท 346: Powerless
"Hi, Jacob. It's Anna. I'm sorry I missed your call again, uh... It's been pretty busy here. Are you around at about five today? So, five, um... eight for you ... I can't believe I missed you again. Let's try for later today, - and if not, then hopefully on Monday."
"Uh ... Look, I'm gonna head to bed. Maybe we can try tomorrow. I know you said you had a thing for the magazine, but, uh, I'm just, um... I'm, like, really exhausted and I have to get up early for work. So why don't you just send me an email and let me know, um... let me know when it's good for you to talk. OK, I'll talk to you soon. Bye."
London and Los Angeles, the difference in time, the distance in space, Anna and Jacob's lives took dramatically divergent paths, forcibly severing the connection between them.
Hope hung her shoulders slowly, brows furrowed, staring at the big screen in disbelief. The sweetness was overwhelming, almost drowning her, leaving her defenseless against the brutal reality that blindsided her. She had no time to object or protest; Anna and Jacob had already continued with their lives.
Anna found a job at the magazine company, her days swamped without a moment to catch her breath. Even moments of respite were scarce. Jacob started his own studio, gradually taking on orders, and his life became fulfilling.
"... First week of June." Jacob appeared aged, his unkempt stubble giving him a somewhat disheveled look. His hair was in disarray, clearly untouched for a while. "So I'd say we could push it probably to the tenth of June."
"Then are you going to the UK after that?" Jacob's supplier inquired playfully.
"No..." Jacob shook his head, his response firm and decisive, yet his tone held a hint of hesitation, eventually giving a determined shake to negate it. "No, no, no. No, no, no." The string of words seemed to reinforce his stance.
"No?" The supplier's surprise was evident.
Jacob took a deep breath. "We sort of, a couple months ago, we agreed not to... uh..."
"You guys can just be like friends, you know?"
"Yeah," Jacob nodded, but his eyes betrayed a touch of melancholy and confusion. Even his smile carried a trace of bitterness.
Hope suddenly shivered. A year had passed in the blink of an eye. A year ago, Anna graduated, spent the entire summer in Los Angeles, and was sent back upon her return. Now, it was already June again, a year's time had rushed by too swiftly.
Hope swiftly turned her head, only to find that William, Graham, and the others hadn't noticed this detail at all. However, Tessa had noticed; surprise flickered in both of their eyes. This detail, hidden within the script, was incredibly subtle—easy to miss with a careless glance. Yet, it held paramount importance for the entire story.
Those brief exchanges concealed an abundance of information. In this past year, Jacob had been shuttling between the UK and elsewhere far too frequently. His suppliers had grown familiar with his patterns; it seemed that after every batch of orders, Jacob would head to London. The love story between him and Anna had become public knowledge. But two months ago, they had decided to let go.
Casually woven into the narrative was a hint of sorrow, and Hope suddenly fell into a silence. How profoundly sweet their happiness had been, and how acutely bitter their pain had become.
Anna sat at the bar, finally finding a moment of leisure after a busy day's work. She was catching up with friends, enjoying their company, and the atmosphere was lively and jovial. However, as the conversation unexpectedly turned to Los Angeles, Anna's expression grew melancholic. The weariness from her body pulled the corners of her mouth downward, and in the midst of her laughter, she descended into her own sorrow. Soon, she left, returning home early, climbing onto her bed, battered and exhausted.
Jacob was seated at the bar, surrounded by friends chattering away. But he seemed out of place, disconnected from the surrounding commotion. All the noise vanished, and the loneliness etched between his brows grew profoundly serene. He was trapped in another world, just like that.
"Hey, I'll be right back." Jacob eventually couldn't stay seated any longer. He left the bar and dialed Anna's number. "Hey," Anna's voice came through. Jacob lightly touched his brow, hesitating as he spoke, "Hey, how are you?"
"...I'm ok." Anna also hesitated, somewhat at a loss. After a pause, she continued, "I just, um... I just... It was a bit of a shock. How's everything going?"
"I moved into a new place." Jacob stood by the roadside, watching the traffic flow. Anna's courteous reply came through the phone. "Yeah... Yeah, that's great."
Their conversation stumbled and faltered, a disjointed exchange of "ah" and "oh", fragmented and void of any clear content, mere pleasantries.
In the end, they hung up. Jacob gazed at the traffic before him, lost in thought. He stared at his phone, in a daze, as if his soul had left his body. He remained there, motionless, for a long, long time.
Anna attempted to lie down and sleep, but she struggled to breathe. It was almost like she was gasping for air, her attempts becoming suffocating. She sat up again, grabbed her phone, and dialed a number. She took deep, heavy breaths, yet her burning lungs refused to take in any oxygen. Her face turned flushed due to the lack of air.
Jacob's phone rang, and a joyful expression crossed his face. He immediately answered the call, cheerfully greeting, "Hey."
Upon hearing that voice, scalding tears welled up and spilled down. "Hello," Anna responded with a choked voice, but she couldn't continue any further. Jacob's voice on the other end carried a hint of nasal sound, asking with concern, "Hey?" It easily broke down all of Anna's defenses, rendering her speechless in tears.
Hot tears rolled down her palms, dropping as if carrying a profound grievance, yet unable to be released. She tightly bit her lower lip to stifle any sound of crying. "Um... Yeah, do you want to come over?" After uttering those words, she broke into a laugh, a mixture of tears and laughter, the acute pain reaching its zenith. "Come over now? And, uh... I'll just be here?"
A faint stiffness appeared at the corners of Jacob's mouth, and the light in his eyes shimmered like starlight swaying in the wind, rippling with unseen water reflections. The joy of happiness bloomed deep within his rich brown irises. "Ok." The smile overflowed from his eyes, coloring his lips with a rosy hue, and he chuckled softly.
Like two fools, they laughed heartily into the phone receiver.
"Okay, I'll see you in half an hour," Jacob raised his palm, wiping away the embarrassment in the corners of his eyes.
Anna nodded, "Yeah, I'll see you in half an hour."
Hope tightly covered her mouth, tears blurring her vision. The entire world was enveloped in a hazy halo. She couldn't even distinguish if this was happiness or bitterness. The intense yearning crossed the Atlantic, traversed the North American continent, arrived from London to Los Angeles, pierced through the large screen, and reached the depths of her heart.
She could deeply sense the unbreakable bond between them.
William fell silent, all the restlessness, impatience, and disdain vanished into thin air. That love, wild like madness, firmly bound these two young individuals together. It was like a moth to a flame—fiery and intense, pure and simple—directly striking his heart.
Anna lay on the bed, holding her phone, overcome with tears of joy. The next second, Jacob lay beside her, and they playfully teased each other. Jacob was like a child, sprawled on top of Anna, unwilling to get up. Anna's laughter, like tinkling silver bells, reverberated incessantly throughout the room.
With such a simple scene, William's tongue could taste the flavor of happiness. His gaze grew slightly blurred. He quickly raised his hand, wiping away the confusion, and then regained his composure. He stiffened his neck, rigidly staring at the big screen, not daring to turn around, fearing others would witness his disarray.
Both of them were so happy that even their laughter became brighter. But soon, a tinge of bitterness crept back into the atmosphere. Jacob half-jokingly asked, "During this time, have you been seeing other men?" This topic silenced both of them. Anna threw the same question back at him, and Jacob chose to avoid it as well.
Neither of them wanted to answer. Within these two months, something seemed to have subtly changed. Yet, they quickly decided to ignore these bothersome matters and focus on the present, on their own happiness and joy.
Anna received a package, a delivery from the United States. Jacob had sent her "Anna's chair" and placed it in front of her desk. Anna danced in place like a child, twirling with joy.
Anna had ushered Jacob into her life, and within this short span, so much had changed. She made new friends, ventured into new work, and even her parents underwent various transformations. He couldn't fully fit into her conversations. Everyone was questioning their future, wondering why he couldn't move to London, discussing the possibility of Anna immigrating, worrying about whether their current path was viable...
Their world was no longer just about the two of them; it was now intertwined with countless complications. She had her life, he had his world. From Los Angeles to London, for him, it was like a vacation; for her, it was just a temporary respite from life.
The two clung closely to each other, yet the distance between them gradually widened. The fatal flaws caused by space and time were plainly evident, leaving them powerless. This sense of helplessness tugged at their ankles, slowly pulling them into an abyss.
When Jacob left London and returned to Los Angeles, they both resumed their own lives.
Hope didn't react, didn't show any emotion. At this moment, she even felt the sensation of sadness gradually fading away.
However, when she saw Jacob turn around with a joyful expression, thinking it was Anna behind him, only to be met by a stranger's face, her eyes dimmed slowly. She clearly witnessed happiness crumbling, gradually devoured by loneliness, then returning to tranquility. She ultimately accepted the fact that he and she were no longer together.
Suddenly, Hope's tears burst forth like a dam breaking.
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