Part 3Loving You Was Dying, Leaving You Is Living

Seeing the uncle's shocked and worried gaze.

I twisted my lips, speaking calmly.

"He was in a deep sleep that day; he didn't realize I had come."

"So, there was no argument between us that day."

"However, Olivia did open her eyes and see me."

In that moment, a pain as if my chest was bursting made it almost impossible for me to breathe.

Like a sand painting washed away by a wave, no matter how beautiful, it vanished instantly.

That night, Olivia carried a tin box and led me to the rooftop.

"In elementary school, after my parents ran a pyramid scheme, swindled money, and fled the factory town, all the other kids hated me. Only you were willing to play with me."

"I still remember everyone saying we were like sisters, like 'Bonnie and Clyde'."

"If it weren't for you, I might still be trapped in that abusive marriage."

Olivia turned to look at me, opening the tin box in her hands.

"So, I believe you have the right to know all of this."

Inside the tin box were stacks of letters.

I opened one; it was Aaron's handwriting.

"You are still my pure white moonlight. You have the right to pursue happiness; let me help you."

"It's my honor to fight for you. I will do my utmost to give you happiness."

"Fiona can't live without me, but I can't live without you."

The date on the letter was the day I asked Aaron to go check on Olivia, who was hospitalized due to domestic abuse.

It turned out Aaron had been writing to Olivia all these years.

The date of the first letter was even the day after our high school exams ended.

"If I were stronger, you wouldn't have to go work by the coast. I truly despise my own incompetence."

So in our sophomore year, when Aaron said he was going to work far away, was it to find Olivia?

Those details I overlooked,

Those trivial matters I had forgotten,

At this moment, they clearly resurfaced.

No wonder Aaron was willing to accompany me to see Olivia every summer break.

No wonder after Olivia knitted me a sweater, she used the leftover yarn to knit a scarf for Aaron.

No wonder a prominent lawyer like Aaron would unhesitatingly agree to help Olivia with her divorce case.

It turned out, from the very beginning, I was the one who disrupted his plan to pursue true love.

The summer night wind was now even more chilling than winter.

"Fiona, all these years you sent me money, helped me find work. Without you, I wouldn't be alive."

"I truly didn't want to hurt you, but Aaron and I are genuinely in love. Please, let us be together."

Saying this, Olivia knelt before me.

Back when Olivia's parents fled, seeing her alone, I took her to my house for meals every day.

I even begged my parents to adopt her as their goddaughter.

She, and he... treated me like this?

In an instant, mountains crumbled, the world overturned.

Before Olivia could react, I rushed downstairs like a madwoman.

I burst through the bedroom door and dragged Aaron out of bed.

Aaron was first shocked when he saw me, then hung his head in silence.

I threw the letters at his face, hitting him and questioning him.

Why, if he didn't love me, did he accompany me to the factory office for the keys?

Why, if he didn't love me, did he let me braid my hair into a bracelet for him to wear?

Why... the day after we held hands, did he write a letter to my best friend?

Seeing my uncontrollable sobbing, Aaron's eyes also reddened.

He held me with trembling hands.

"Fiona, I didn't not love you."

"I just... met Olivia earlier."

Almost ten years together...

All the sweetness instantly turned into bitter poison.

Was I truly the clown who stole their love?

I didn't believe it, and I wouldn't accept it!

I vented hysterically.

Aaron just stood silently, letting my fists rain down on him.

Until Olivia tried to intervene and I pushed her down.

Only then did Aaron rush to her, panicked.

I missed my hit, stumbling against the wardrobe.

My hands hurt, my face hurt, but my heart hurt the most.

"Aaron, I really can't go on like this anymore."

Olivia clung to Aaron, looking pitiful. She was crying too.

"If you can't let go of Fiona because of gratitude, then let me leave alone."

"Anyway, I've never been as lucky as Fiona. I'm used to being alone."

"Don't worry about me anymore."

Saying this, Olivia stood up and ran out.

Aaron, who had been silent, screamed, his voice breaking.

This was the first time I had ever seen him so distraught.

Not even during his poorest days had I witnessed it.

And his distress was for Olivia.

I'm so tired.

Was he with me only out of gratitude then... he truly didn't love me.

I leaned against the wardrobe, speaking weakly.

"Aaron Hayes, if you dare to go after her."

"Between us, it's completely over."

Aaron looked back at me with a complex expression.

He still strode out after her.

Hearing this, the uncle frowned, silently lighting a cigarette.

But seeing my pale face, he extinguished it without a word.

His face was filled with helplessness, and he murmured:

"You never truly know what's in a person's heart."

Yes, you never know a person's true intentions.

If the story had ended there.

It would have just been the dissolution of a relationship.

A wound, a pain for a while, but eventually, it would slowly pass.

But the next day, fate once again showed me its cruelty.