"How about a little time apart." After a week of hesitation, during dinner on Thursday, Kelly managed to say it, and once the words were out of her mouth, she looked at Cooper and waited for the man's reaction.

　　Prior to that, she had already made plans to break up whether Cooper said yes or no, the difference was only in making a good or bad scene.

　　Why must break up, in fact, she herself do not understand, according to reason they grew up together, and talked about so many years of love, although the middle has had twists and turns, but it is also counted so many years to go to the present day without incident.

　　But it wasn't exactly untraceable, and I'm afraid that the root of it was a comment made by an old friend when they went to Henke for the campus reunion event last month. What exactly they said at the time is all but forgotten, probably something like a group of people chatting to each other at a table about something from the past. I don't know who started it, but she and Cooper were told to kiss.

　　It was nothing to be ashamed of, per se, and he touched lips with Cooper to the uproar of the crowd, and Zach, a high school friend, casually remarked, "Kelly and Cooper have been together for fifteen years surprisingly, so I guess it's going to be for the rest of their lives."

　　She got home at night and thought about that comment before she went to bed.

　　Oh, so a relationship of that length would be seen by others as the notion that they would be together for the rest of their lives.　　

　　So she resolved to break up with Cooper.

　　Now. Kelly looked at the man in front of her, who was still eating his plate of food as if he hadn't heard her.

　　So she frowned and said it again.

　　Cooper then looked up with a slightly surprised expression, "Did I do something wrong?"

　　"No, you didn't do anything wrong."

　　"Then what was it because of?" Cooper had a confused look on his face, "Or is it something you want?"

　　"I'm not here to make a deal with you," Kelly said with hesitant words, "You should know very well that I'm not like that, I've been thinking about this for a long time and I don't think there's any possibility of us taking our relationship any further, so- "

　　"What's 'further possibilities'?" Cooper looked her in the eye, "You still care about Caroline? You promised me all that was behind us."

　　"It is indeed all in the past, I wasn't referring to that."

　　"Are you in love with someone else?" Cooper asked suddenly.

　　"No, not yet." Kelly denied it immediately, looking at Cooper with suspicion.

　　"Then because of what?"

　　Kylie licked her lips, something she did whenever she didn't know how to speak, "Those are actually small things, I've been thinking about it for a long time, we've been together for many years, our relationship isn't too bad but it's not really too good either, we're missing something vital so we never get to the partner part, we should probably try to develop with someone else --"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

　　"What vital thing?" Cooper asked, interrupting him.

　　Kelly felt a little annoyed that the dialogue was becoming blunt would hurt, but Cooper looked like he needed the blunt nudge, so she said, "I don't know, I just don't think I need you that much."

　　Silence, long silence.

　　Saying the breakup at dinner was a mistake, Kelly stepped away from the dining room chair, "I'm sorry."

　　She made up her mind that if Cooper didn't agree she'd just leave, leaving him with all her friends from her student days and keeping in touch with them on the phone herself, in fact as an adult she had new friends, new acquaintances.

　　But at bedtime Cooper promised her.

　　Kelly couldn't say what she felt, it didn't seem like she was very happy either, even a little confused, and a little despondent. Like a child who had finally given up her walker, a little upset. But then again, she was pretty sure she didn't want to be retained.

　　Complicated.

　　She quickly found a new flat to move out of, in fact, the one they had been living in was close enough to work, but to prevent awkwardness later, she deliberately picked a place to move to in the main residential building away from her old flat, and the day she left Cooper called to ask when he was going to pick up his things, and she said it would be fine to have a courier bring them over.

　　After a long period of silence, Cooper's voice came over the phone and said, "Actually, you didn't have to be so desperate, after all, we've been together for so long."

　　Again, she hung up without knowing what to say and pushed the phone under her pillow. This was the third week of insomnia after leaving, and she thought she probably didn't want this.

　　Just a little while longer. Kelly consoled herself, just a little while longer and see.

　　She tried to bring some change into her life, even going against the grain and signing up for swimming lessons, learning how to swim four ways, and trying a new game on the recommendation of the internet, playing online with strangers.

　　Life was gradually filling up.

　　"So how did you and Dad get back together back there?" Char asked. He was lying in his cot, picture books set aside, he'd finished those so tonight's bedtime story turned out to be a parental love story.

　　"Because I perceived his importance," Kelly said, "There are some people, who come into your life, who may not be so noticeable at first, but who are willing to give you the utmost support when you're desperate."

　　"What support did Dad give you?"

　　Kelly was about to speak when she suddenly heard the sound of a door opening behind her, and then she heard familiar footsteps.

　　"What a great story to be telling?" Cooper's gentle voice came.

　　"Mum was telling me about how you guys got together."

　　"Oh, that's a long story, that goes back to when we were still only eleven-"

　　"It's not that." Char said, "It's why you finally decided to spend your lives together."

　　"Oh, you said that." Cooper paused, "So do I have the honour of knowing where the story goes?"

　　"To before the fire." Kelly added.

　　"The fire?" Char asked.

　　"Yes, the fire, a very unfortunate accident," Cooper kissed the child's forehead, "The flat block was on fire and Kylie was trapped in her room, at the critical moment I rushed in and rescued her."

　　"Wow." Char covered her mouth, "Daddy's amazing."

　　"Thanks." Cooper reached out and dimmed the somewhat too harsh overhead lights for him.

　　That's when Char suddenly asked, "So how did the fire happen?"

　　"I don't really know, but that's not important." Cooper looked at the halo of the lamp and seemed a little reluctant to bring it up, just smiling, "It's best to concentrate on the plot when listening to a story, the specifics don't need to be thought about too deeply. That's the true meaning of happiness. Well, go to sleep."

　　Char nodded and retreated under the covers, he rubbed his eyes, already starting to feel sleepy, "Good night."

　　"Good night." Cooper kissed his cheek.

　　Kylie reached out and fumbled with the covers, Char grabbed his hand and placed it on his face, Kylie smiled a little before leaning in for a kiss. "Goodnight." She said.

　　The light from the desk lamp shone on the arch of her brow, those cobalt blue eyes now tightly shut, a little burn mark on the edge of her temple, not so visible after multiple surgeries, just the fragile and sensitive eyeballs under her eyelids, not so lucky.

　　She had been rescued in time from that fire, but her vision had been almost completely lost due to the heat and smoke. She didn't know what to do with herself in those months, and after the painful loss of her sight she tried to end her life several times, and if it hadn't been for the constant encouragement and companionship of Cooper, who was her ex-boyfriend at the time, there's no way she would have made it through ------

　　A hand took his, and Kylie instinctively tightened her grip, her breathing then steadying.

　　"Let's go back to the bedroom." Cooper kissed her forehead.

　　"Okay."