- 11.
Rachel Whitmore stood beside Tristan, clinging to his arm, her white dress making her look even more radiant.
Compared to her, I looked like a ghost–worn down by time, by life.
Rachel clung to him, her voice soft, pretending to be remorseful,
“Oh, Tristan, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have come back… I shouldn’t have interfered with you and Lano__”
Her tears fell, shimmering on her cheeks, making her look delicate and heartbroken.
Tristan’s expression darkened.
He wiped away her tears and turned back to me, his cold gaze piercing through me.
“Lana Brooks, what do you want?”
“Didn’t I say I’d give you three hundred thousand dollars? Consider it compensation for everything.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words wouldn’t come.
Three hundred thousand dollars?
Tristan, do you really think that’s what I care about?
Before I could s
I say anything, he waved his hand dismissively, motioning for the security guards to take me away.
They grabbed my arms roughly, pulling me by my gown. The force left bruises on my skin.
I looked at Tristan, feeling the last remnants of hope slipping away.
“Lana, get out!”
His voice was full of
anger
and contempt.
He felt like a stranger to me now–nothing like the Tristan I once knew.
“Aren’t you the one who disappeared? Aren’t you the one who said you wanted to die?”
He kept shouting, each word cutting deeper than the last.
My heart felt like it was being ripped apart, shredded beyond repair.
*Countdown to death.”
The system’s voice echoed in my mind.
I was about to die.
L
[3
Tristan shielded Rachel Whitmore behind him and shoved me away with all his strength.
[21
“Just die already!” Tristan roared at me.
My heart was slowing, its rhythm growing fainter with each beat, gradually coming to a stop.
刊
Like a butterfly at the end of its life, my vibrant wings stilled, and I fell into the muddy
Into the muddy earth, lifeless.
In my final moment, I forced my eyes open one last time, gazing in the direction of Gull Cove
I was completely disillusioned with Tristan.
But before I left this world, I wanted to see him once more… the one who felt like a big, warm dog, always there for me.
I wondered, would he come?
Cole Hawthorne
If I had another chance, I would choose you, without hesitation.
“Lana Brooks
A black car screeched to a halt in front of me.
Tears streamed down Cole Hawthorne’s face as he leapt out of the car, rushing toward me, his arms wrapping around me as tightly as if he could hold me back from slipping away.
He didn’t care about the blood I coughed up, staining his expensive coat.
He came for me. Colle…he had never let me down.
I closed my eyes and let out my final breath, finally at peace.
In Cole’s arms, I drifted away, like a ship returning to the warmth of a safe harbor.
- 12.
For some r
reason, after I died, my soul didn’t vanish right away. Instead, Thovered above, looking down at everything below me.
