Chapter 6 Enthusiastic Citizen
Caroline thought their relationship was over, but she never expected Atticus to become so relentless—sending flowers during the day and ambushing her outside her workplace at night. Her uninformed colleagues envied Caroline, but only she knew how disgusting Atticus's cheating face truly was.
After a few days, her coworkers noticed something was off. Not only were Caroline and Atticus not seeing each other, but Caroline was also tossing his flower deliveries straight into the trash. It seemed they had broken up.
But since they were both such accomplished people, the reason for their breakup baffled everyone. Some guessed it was Atticus's fault, while colleagues who had professional friction with Caroline sided with Atticus, criticizing her temper as unbearable and placing the blame squarely on her shoulders. They insisted she should forgive Atticus now that he was humbling himself, claiming her avoidance was just her being difficult.
Eventually, Atticus became portrayed as the victim in their relationship. Having heard enough gossip, Caroline refused to take the blame, but she also couldn't reveal the truth without losing face.
On this day, torrential rain poured from the sky, painting everything a depressing shade of gray-white as temperatures plummeted.
Caroline parked her car at the curb and opened her umbrella, walking toward a black sedan in the downpour. The cold wind cut through her coat. Seeing Caroline under her black umbrella, Atticus quickly exited his car, clutching a bouquet of flowers.
He tried to step under her umbrella, but Caroline made no move to share the space. In seconds, rain soaked the shoulders of his suit jacket.
"Caroline, you finally agreed to see me."
Looking at the rain-drenched Atticus outside her umbrella, Caroline's eyes held not a trace of warmth. Her voice was colder than the weather.
"Stop sending flowers and stop coming to my workplace. A breakup is a breakup. There's no going back for us."
Caroline gave him no chance to speak, turning to leave, but Atticus quickly stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
"Caroline," his eyes brimmed with what appeared to be deep affection and regret. "I'm sorry. Since you left that day, I've been consumed with guilt. Seeing the empty closet where your clothes used to be kills me. I was wrong. I regret it so much. What I did crossed all moral boundaries and hurt you deeply. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I can't sleep at night without thinking of you, remembering our time together. I still can't forgive myself, but I really can't live without you. I can't let go of what we had. I was so drunk that night—I don't even like her. It's only ever been you."
He reached for Caroline's hand, but she stepped back, avoiding his touch.
The umbrella no longer sheltered him, leaving Atticus completely exposed to the downpour, soaked to the bone.
"Caroline, I know I messed up," Atticus wiped the rain from his face, his eyes reddening. "Please give me one more chance."
She'd dealt with persistent men before, but never one this stubborn.
Caroline remained firm, showing no signs of yielding.
"Telling me all this means nothing."
Desperate, Atticus thrust the flowers into her arms. "Caroline, I truly understand my mistake."
He reached for her umbrella, but she pushed him away. In the struggle, the umbrella fell from her grasp. As rain drenched Caroline, she snapped in frustration, "Atticus, what the hell is wrong with you? We're right outside my workplace! You might not care about making a scene, but I do!"
Trying to reason with such a disgusting cheater was clearly pointless. Caroline realized meeting him had been her biggest mistake.
"Caroline," Atticus pursued her, "I know I broke your heart. It was a one-time mistake. I disgust myself too. Can't you forgive me just this once?"
It was rush hour, with traffic flowing steadily. Watching her umbrella get crushed under a passing car, Caroline finally exploded, her eyes blazing as she shouted at Atticus, "Atticus, we're broken up! What part of that don't you understand?"
Damn! He'd pushed Caroline too far.
This wasn't Atticus's intention. He'd hoped to win her back with flowers and apologies. Seeing Caroline brave the rain to meet him had delighted him—he'd even deliberately left his umbrella in the car, exposing himself to the downpour to earn her sympathy.
But now, he'd ruined everything.
Watching Caroline's resolute figure walking away, Atticus chased after her. "Caroline, please forgive me."
Already furious, Caroline hurled the flowers to the ground.
"I said, get lost!"
"Caroline, I—"
Before Atticus could finish, someone grabbed his shoulder forcefully, sending him tumbling to the ground. A black umbrella appeared over Caroline's head.
She looked up at Leopold in surprise and speechlessness, her expression suddenly awkward.
Leopold opened the driver's side door of her car. "You should go. I'll handle this."
Cold and disheveled, Caroline nodded and drove away.
Seeing this, Atticus jumped up angrily. "Who the hell are you?"
Leopold looked down at him coldly, his tone carrying a clear warning, "Just a concerned citizen, doing the right thing."
"You—" Atticus sputtered in rage. "Why are you interfering? She's my girlfriend. Mind your own business."
At that moment, Caroline's car turned around. Atticus started to chase after it, but Leopold blocked him. "She's already leaving. What's the point?"
"She wouldn't be leaving if you hadn't butted in," Atticus fumed. Noticing the stranger looked formidable, he pointed a finger and threatened, "I'm a lawyer. Do you know I could sue you for pushing me down?"
Leopold remained composed, showing no trace of fear as he pulled out his phone. "Should I call the police for you? We can discuss this at the station."
Seeing that his intimidation wasn't working, Atticus backed down. "I don't have time for this. I'll let it slide today."
Only after Atticus's car disappeared did Leopold return to his own vehicle. Shortly after, he received a call from Caroline.
"Thank you for earlier."
Leopold's lips curved into a slight smile. "No big deal. Don't worry about it."
Silence filled the line as Caroline considered explaining, but felt too embarrassed. "Goodbye."
Leopold said, "Make yourself some hot cocoa when you get home, take a warm bath, and get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a better day."
Outside, rain continued to pour relentlessly. Whether tomorrow would bring good weather remained uncertain, but temperatures would definitely drop.
"I will," she said, ending the call.
Leopold's helpful yet unquestioning attitude scored major points with Caroline.
After her warm bath, Caroline sat on her couch with a mug of hot cocoa and opened WhatsApp to find her friend Erica Morris's chat.
Caroline: [What are you up to?]
Erica sent a photo showing herself in professional gear, preparing to rock climb.
Erica: [Need something?]
Caroline: [Nothing urgent. We'll talk when you're done.]
If it had been urgent, Caroline would have said so. Erica sent an OK hand sign emoji.
Putting down her phone, Erica noticed someone climbing on the professional rock wall. She asked someone nearby, "Who's that?"
The person replied, "Don't know. Must be new here."
"Impressive," Erica said. "You can tell he's a pro."
Her companion agreed, "Probably some rock climbing expert. Let's introduce ourselves when he comes down."
Leopold held onto a climbing hold with just three fingers, his entire body suspended in mid-air. Taking a deep breath, he began swinging his body, building momentum until he launched himself powerfully to the next hold.
The spectators below let out a collective gasp.
An hour later, Erica sent Caroline a video call request.