Elisa had said that she would not give Hamish a chance to interfere. Entangled with Hamish for nine years, she paid with her life and did not want to die again. Death is so painful, Elisa still remembers the tearing pain when the fire burned her body. But even in the same situation as the previous life, she would still choose “suicide.” Compared to the pain of death, being “imprisoned” by Hamish was unbearable. Everyone thought she had let go of the past, but only Elisa knew that the shadow is like a scar that never heals, it does not scab over, it always hurts. As someone who has died once, Elisa is most afraid of repeating the same mistakes.
Elisa had long wanted to marry Louis, but before Louis recovered from his illness and was discharged from the hospital, a lot of time was wasted. Finally, when he recovered, the White family faced a crisis.
“If you really want to propose, you can do it now. I don’t need a rose diamond ring, or a grand scene to be envied by others. As long as you are in front of me, just ask gently, and I will answer you.”
The two were still in the carriage, the door was open, and the cold wind blew on their faces, but Louis’s face was hot and red. Without a second word, he jumped off the carriage, knelt on one knee, his eyes twinkling.
“Elisa, will you marry me? Even if the White family goes bankrupt, I will have nothing.”
“What does bankruptcy and having nothing matter? I like you. Even if you were an orphan, I would still like you. If I didn’t like you, even if the White family inherited billions, I still wouldn’t like you. Louis, have you heard the words spoken to the priest at a wedding? Regardless of wealth or poverty, health or sickness, for better or for worse, in richness and in poorness, I will never leave you.” Elisa spoke slowly, and after she finished, she got off the carriage and walked towards Louis. She looked down at his raised hand, and instead of immediately joining it, she asked again.
“The White family’s financial crisis is because of me. Hamish once told me that as long as you give me up, then the White family will return to its original state. Are you willing?”
“Money can be earned again, but there is only one you in this world.” Louis didn’t hesitate at all, and he actively grabbed Elisa’s hand.
“Then marry me. After we receive the certificate today, we will be legally protected as husband and wife.” She wanted to be selfish for once. In her past life, he always gave, and she never got to have anything. In this life, she wanted to hold onto Louis tightly, even if she became penniless, as long as she had him by her side.
As the end of the workday approached, the Civil Affairs Bureau was very quiet; there were only staff inside. They turned out to be the last couple to register today. The staff gave them a marriage application form, and the two signed and filled it out at the same pace, lifting and putting down the pen simultaneously.
Looking at each other, Louis smiled at her, his mouth slightly revealing a canine tooth, just like the first time they met. Twenty minutes later, they walked out of the hall. Elisa stared at the small red book in her hand, her shiny eyes blinking without pause. They were married just like that, and Elisa felt a bit absent-minded, as if she had entered a dream, feeling somewhat unreal.
She looked at Louis beside her and saw him open the marriage certificate, looking at their wedding photo with a serious expression, delicately tracing the outline of the photo, as if treating a priceless treasure. At that moment, it was worth it. From that moment on, she and Louis officially became husband and wife, the closest of relationships.
Sensing Elisa’s intense gaze, Louis turned to her, his eyes slightly red, and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I just feel it’s not easy.”
Time may remain silent, but it always provides the most complete answers. Watching Louis carefully put the marriage certificate in his pocket and cover it with his hand, Elisa suddenly felt something light in her hand, and then it became heavy.
This wasn’t the first time she had been to a place like this. Nine years ago, she and Hamish had rushed to get their marriage certificate. She still remembered that it was raining heavily that day, and there weren’t many people in the Civil Affairs Bureau. Those who came were not getting married, but divorced, and the hall was noisy.
Elisa had obtained the marriage certificate with Hamish in such an environment. After they left, Hamish casually threw the marriage certificate into a muddy puddle on the roadside, as if throwing away garbage. Lila was stillin the hospital for recovery. After they got the marriage certificate, Hamish hurriedly drove back to the hospital, leaving her standing there, watching his figure as he got into the car and drove away, until she couldn’t see him anymore.
She remembered that it was 12 degrees that day, it was raining heavily, the wind was cold, and she stood in the pouring rain, reaching into the muddy water to pick up the marriage certificate. After wiping off the dirt with her clean sleeve, she carefully put it in her pocket.
Was she content? Of course not, she even regretted it somewhat. The later Elisa always comforted herself. One day, Hamish would understand her goodness, and he would realize who loved him the most. She was waiting… waiting for him to change his mind, waiting for him to regret. But people cannot withstand loneliness and pain the most; she was someone who was afraid of pain.
Later, Elisa thought that if one day, when she was tired, if someone reached out to her before Hamish treated her well, she would give up on him and find someone who loved her. Sadly, she did not wait for Hamish to change his mind, nor did she wait for someone to reach out to help her. She got stomach cancer.
The marriage certificate with Hamish had been soaked in the mud, and even though she had cleaned off the surface dirt, no matter what she did, the dirt inside couldn’t be removed and could never be restored to its original state.
The cheap ring that Hamish casually bought on the roadside for thirty dollars, she wore for four years, until it fell off her hand for the last time, and she never put it back on.
– Love is also like this.
Elisa liked to consider the phrase “an eye for an eye.” Some people treated her well, some treated her poorly, and she could handle both. Whether Hamish deserved it? She had a different body now, one that covered up all her past embarrassments, but unfortunately, the body could be changed, but the memories could not.
Louis held her wrist and responded, “Yes, it’s not easy, it took so long for me to chase after you.”
“In the future, our road is still long, I just hope we can continue like this until the end.”
On that day, Elisa suddenly felt lucky, fortunate that fate had given her a second chance to meet Louis, allowing her to taste the flavor of being loved from start to finish.
In a villa located in the city center, the living room was in disarray, with the coffee table, chairs, flower pots, decorations all strewn on the ground. Hamish lay on the sofa, pale-faced, coughing, clearly his lungs were bad, but his heart hurt even more, causing him to convulse, almost making people ignore the pain in his lungs. Even taking medicine did not ease the pain.
After learning that Elisa had gone to the Civil Affairs Bureau with Louis, Hamish went crazy. He was like a madman out of control, picking up things and smashing them on the ground. Tobias tried to stop him, but failed, and even almost got hit.
Hamish roared, “Elisa got married to someone else!”
Just the thought of Elisa going to the Civil Affairs Bureau with Louis to get married made Hamish feel like the oxygen in his chest was tightening, making it hard for him to breathe.
He kicked the coffee table far away, and still feeling unsatisfied, he grabbed a chair and smashed it against the wall, and broke the flower pots in the room, and shattered the decorations.
With eyes red, blood boiling, the pain in his chest spread throughout his body, even his temples throbbed with pain. His hands were numb and powerless, but he still felt a surge of anger inside him, as if his body had been nailed all over, but he was powerless to help himself.
“Why… didn’t you stop her and Louis…?” Tobias saw him slumped on the sofa, coughing, gradually calming down, and walked up behind him, and said, “Mr. Burns, stop it, those who want to stay will naturally be stopped, and those who can’t be stopped won’t be stopped no matter what.”
Upon hearing this, Hamish clenched his fists tightly.