"Then Leona Grant would have proudly agreed. And then your family would be together forever. No one could tear you apart, no one could make you separate. You would be together forever."

As he spoke, tears streamed down his face again. "Do you have any idea how much I want to be with you? It doesn’t matter if we’re eating, walking, or sleeping. Just being with you makes me so happy."

"I want you to be the first thing I see when I open my eyes and the last thing I see when I close them. I’ve saved up years of tenderness, and I only want to give it to you. I even fantasized about an eternity with you. Haha, isn’t that ridiculous? There’s a twenty-year gap between us, after all."

’He knew. He knew everything. He just hadn’t been willing to face it.’

’Now that he could finally face it, he was still filled with the same old regret... ’

Annabelle Linton’s brow furrowed as she looked at him. "Then what do you think you’re doing? Committing suicide? Leona Grant, do you have any backbone at all?"

"I don’t. The moment I fell in love with you, I lost it all."

’In these last moments, he so badly wanted to hold her, to kiss her. But there was no chance now.’

He spoke through choked sobs, "Annabelle Linton, thank you for the wonderful memories you’ve given me. I’ll never forget them. You risked your life to save me so many times. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve died long ago. This time, it’s my turn to give my life back to you."

"I love you."

He smiled, then his gaze darkened, and he pushed with all his might.

Annabelle Linton felt her hand being forced forward. Then, with a soft sound, the tip of the knife, which had been outside his body, plunged deep into his chest. Blood trickled down the blade and into her palm.

Annabelle Linton’s face went pale. She stared at him in shock, clearly not having expected him to actually go through with it.

Annabelle Linton let go of his hand. This time, Leona Grant didn’t try to hold on to her. She stared, stunned, at the knife lodged squarely in his chest...

Tears began to stream down her face unconsciously. Annabelle Linton’s mind was just a buzzing mess.

His white shirt was instantly stained with a spreading bloom of blood. Leona Grant, his face pale, smiled at her. "I always used to wonder... if I could really live without you. Now I have the result. The answer is no. I’m not as strong or carefree as I imagined..."

"Actually, I made my decision before I came. If you were willing to leave with me, I would have taken you away. If..." He lowered his gaze. "If you weren’t willing, then I would give this life back to you..."

He looked up and smiled at her again. "I know I still owe you so much, but all I have is this one life. When I’m dead, can we just wipe the slate clean and let bygones be bygones? Okay?"

Finally, the pain became too much, and his strength gave out. Leona Grant’s legs buckled, and he knelt before collapsing to the ground.

He lay there silently, completely still. His eyes were unfocused, devoid of any will to live.

"Annabelle Linton... is there an afterlife? If there is, I want to find the Annabelle Linton from the past, tell her I’m sorry, and then fight with everything I have to be with her..." Leona Grant looked at her weakly, a bitter smile gracing his lips. It was a dazzling, almost bewitching sight.

’He gazed at Annabelle Linton with deep longing. To think that even on the verge of death, she’s still the one he can’t let go of.’

’Has he truly been ruined by her in this lifetime?’

’I suppose so. But it was a happy ruin. At least he once had her...’

They say that before you die, you remember so many things. Legend calls it a film reel of memory, allowing you to review your entire life one last time.

Annabelle Linton snapped back to her senses. She hastily called for an ambulance and then knelt beside him, staring at him. "Leona Grant! Leona Grant, don’t you die! I forbid it! Do you hear me!"

Leona Grant weakly reached out and grasped her hand. He could hear the anxiety in her voice but couldn’t make out the words. All he knew was that she was frantic.