But is life only about suffering? Not at all. In life, there is always hope, and one can find a little bit of happiness too.
Hamish’s memory was unpredictable. Sometimes, he could vividly remember a small detail from a long time ago, but other times, he would forget where he had put his phone in an instant.
However, when it came to Elisa, he remembered everything clearly. Perhaps it was because he thought about her too much.
When a person can’t sleep at night and insomnia sets in, the brain uncontrollably recalls unpleasant memories. Some memories are so embarrassing that they make one’s scalp tingle, while others are so painful that one clenches their fists and screams.
It was difficult for him to think of happy things, but if he thought carefully, there weren’t many happy moments in his life worth remembering.
Elisa was willing to stay by his side, not out of nostalgia, but because she was afraid of him.
Now that the threat was gone, she naturally didn’t look back and wanted to leave.
He had tried countless methods to make Elisa stay, locking her in their home, threatening her with her loved ones, chaining her ankles and confining her to a room, surrounding her with surveillance cameras that monitored her every move, and indirectly trapping her in a wheelchair by breaking her legs.
He could keep a person, but he couldn’t keep someone who longed for death.
He was so crazy, and his methods were so ruthless, that whenever he thought about his past self, he couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat and have a restless night.
He thought about his entanglement with Elisa over the years. During the four years when Elisa was married to him, he had the greatest chance of falling in love with her. However, he wasted that time and spent his whole life in longing.
Hamish thought he could make up for it as long as he changed his bad habits and truly loved her. He believed that love begets love.
But reality was cruel. Elisa fell in love with someone else, the person she was supposed to love from the beginning.
Thinking about Elisa’s tender expression and soft voice when she talked to that man, seeing her cook for him and wearing a wedding dress for him, a dull pain pierced Hamish’s heart in an inexplicable way.
He thought about those images, and the pain in his heart spread throughout his body, making even his scalp tingle.
If only he had known, why did it have to be like this? These words applied not only to Elisa but also to himself.
Elisa said, “I hope you live on. Only then will the suffering of this world spare you.”
Upon hearing Elisa’s words, Hamish’s expression twitched slightly. “Then I’ll take it as if you want me to live.”
The topic of “life and death” had become too heavy. Hamish changed the subject. “Today is Christmas Eve.”
It was dark, and all the lights in the villa were on. Even the light in the storage room was lit. If someone looked from the outside, they would see that this was the brightest place. The various decorative lights that had been set up these days were not yet shining, and the night outside was illuminated by streetlights.
Hamish asked, “Elisa, do you like this kind of wedding, excluding me?”
Elisa shook her head. “Hamish, it seems like you have never tried to understand me. You think that what I like is what you think I like, forcing your own thoughts onto me. Perhaps other women would be moved by this preparation, but I won’t.”
A sense of desolation appeared in Hamish’s eyes, no different from the warmth of the outside night.
The heating was turned on inside, so Elisa didn’t feel cold even when she was barefoot and wearing a wedding dress. However, sitting for a long time, being pulled down by the heavy wedding dress, made her uncomfortable.
This wedding dress didn’t belong to her. Wearing it felt like being shackled and locked up.
Fortunately, she would soon be able to take it off and leave this place.
Elisa stood up and said to him, “Hamish, thank you for entrusting your vulnerability to me. If it weren’t for these things, it wouldn’t have been easy for me to escape so quickly. I don’t care about anything you have given me. As long as I have the people by my side, I guarantee that Burns Group will thrive.”
Elisa was too kind-hearted. Hamish smirked lightly. “Now that you have all the important documents of Burns Group, you can definitely take over it. Burns Group is now more valuable than the White family. You can save decades of hard work.”
“I am not you. I have learned my lesson. I know what is meant for me will be mine, and what is not meant for me, I won’t pursue. Even if I lose all this money, I can still make it.” Elisa lifted the hem of her wedding dress and took a step, shaking her feet.
Hamish looked down at his watch, and at that moment, the sound of a car approaching could be heard from outside. He paused.
Elisa also heard the commotion outside, but she didn’t pay much attention to it. Many people had come here these days, including workers and doctors. It wasn’t surprising for a car to approach.
Suddenly, Hamish spoke, “Thank you for saving me that Christmas Eve.” It was only now that he said those words. He had owed Elisa a “thank you” for so long, he had even repaid the life he owed her by taking a bullet for her, but he still couldn’t repay Elisa.
Elisa had also mentioned that night, “I didn’t know the person who fell into the water that Christmas Eve was you, so even if it had been someone else, I would have saved them.”
What Elisa didn’t know was that her unintentional act of saving someone had captivated Hamish for many years. A faint smile appeared at the corners of Hamish’s mouth.
“Elisa, I have one last gift for you.” As soon as he spoke, there was a click sound as if the power had been cut off, and everything around them plunged into darkness.
Elisa was a little afraid of the dark, and her heart skipped a beat, but she quickly calmed herself down. She tried to breathe steadily and crossed her arms in front of her chest, adopting a self-protective stance. She didn’t feel safe.
Whether it was due to her heightened nerves or something else, Elisa felt that the darkness around her had become even darker. She tried to adapt for several seconds but still couldn’t see anything. It was pitch black and silent, so quiet that she could hear her own heartbeat.
Hamish, on the other hand, seemed to be accustomed to the darkness. He accurately found Elisa’s position and reached out in her direction. From this distance, he could easily reach her and pull her into his embrace for one last hug. However, he refrained from doing so, and his outstretched hand dropped.
He counted silently in his heart.
At some point, a car had stopped at the entrance. Brittany got out first, followed by Mrs. White. Mrs. White bent down and helped Louis out of the car, while the driver pushed Mr. White in a wheelchair.
The entire White family had come, here to pick up Elisa and take her back.
For a moment, Elisa thought she was hallucinating. Her eyes reddened, feeling a tingling sensation. She resisted the urge to rub her eyes, afraid that these people would disappear in front of her if she did.
She lightly pinched the back of her hand, feeling pain. This wasn’t a dream.
Suddenly, Elisa snapped back to reality. The warm feeling in her heart was replaced by fear. Why were the White family’s people here? Did Hamish threaten them with something again? Or did they make some kind of exchange that brought them here? Was there a trap?
In just a few seconds, Elisa thought of many possibilities, including even explosives. She remembered the many workers who had come here recently, carrying boxes of various sizes that they didn’t show to anyone, marked as flammable.
Elisa tried to speak, but at this moment, her throat felt as if it had been blocked by a sharp stone, and she couldn’t utter a single word. It was difficult even to breathe.
Elisa could only stare straight ahead, her pale face fixed on Louis’s pale face and his deep, warm eyes.
Her eyes inexplicably stung, and she remembered the phone calls and text messages Louis had sent her.
Although they were less than thirty meters apart, she felt as if there was a great distance between them.
Hamish looked at Elisa’s back with reddened eyes. Pushing her away was as painful as tearing his heart in half.
His fingertips still retained the warmth of Elisa’s hair. It was like a brief touch of his “sun,” and then he returned her to the sky where she belonged.
He owed Elisa a grand wedding, a suitable ring, a wedding dress, two children, a lifetime of togetherness, a lifetime of deep affection. And now, someone else would give them to her on his behalf.
In his heart, he couldn’t help but think again and again about those things between him and Elisa. Thinking about them all, there was nothing but regret and deep love.
Even though he knew that he and Elisa would no longer have any connection in the future, he couldn’t help but repeatedly tell her how much he loved her. He said it over and over again, knowing that between them was an unbridgeable gap.
“Elisa… Elisa…” he called her name, wanting her to turn around and look at him, but at the same time, he didn’t want her to turn around.
He was afraid that if she turned around, he wouldn’t be able to let her go.
As he called out, his love for her overflowed in his words. His voice was gentle, carried by the cold night breeze into Elisa’s ears.
All the things between him and Elisa, spoken with longing, were filled with deep love.
Although he knew that Elisa would never look back, he still couldn’t help but hope. He couldn’t bear to let her go.
Elisa did exactly as he said and didn’t turn back. She walked forward firmly, heading towards Louis.
“Boom–” fireworks lit up the sky. The Christmas Eve fireworks bloomed beautifully.
The taste of losing someone turned out to be like this. Seeing her embrace Louis, it felt as if his chest had been hollowed out, and Hamish seemed to have lost all his strength. He stumbled and found something to support himself. He clenched one hand tightly while covering his chest with the other, coughing violently. Each cough tore at his heart, and blood dripped onto his black suit. In the dim light, it seemed like he was disappearing.
Hamish looked up at the fireworks in the sky. The fireworks tonight were no less impressive than the ones on New Year’s Eve.
Accompanied by the sound of the fireworks, tears streamed from Hamish’s reddened eyes. The tears fell into his mouth, taste bitter and acrid. He choked up for a moment, his throat feeling hoarse, and he said in a husky voice, “I wish you a lifetime of happiness and love, just like when you started.”
Hamish closed his painful eyes. It was such a pity. In the last moments of his life, he had lost the person he loved the most, and he had even sent her into another man’s arms with his own hands.
He remembered what Mrs. White had said in the teahouse.
“Hamish, the Burns family’s cold genes can be changed. In my eyes, interests are not as important as people. I’m willing to exchange all the White family’s wealth for Elisa. Please return her to us.”