Harry felt as though his nerves were on edge, suddenly remembering the first time he met Hattie’s father. The man gently touched his head and said, “You are Hattie’s brother, you must protect her well. Being older than her, you must not bully her.”
The scene shifted to when he sent him to prison, threatening him with the lives of Hattie and his wife. He knelt on the ground, begging for mercy for his daughter and wife, bowing to him and apologizing.
Hattie’s father committed suicide by swallowing glass shards. The fragments cut his throat, causing him to cough up blood and choke to death.
Harry always thought he was smart, but he never thought he was too clever. In these years, he was blinded by revenge, losing love, family, and a happy home. He paid such a painful price, only to realize in the end that it was all just a complete joke.
For what? What had he been striving for all these years?
The remorse and sadness pushed him into a desperate, pitch-black abyss, with no light or warmth. He couldn’t even see Hattie one last time, looking at Micah’s cold expression outside the glass window. His heart felt as though it was being torn apart.
Harry was drained of energy, his hands that were once banging on the glass window now sliding down slowly. Even his body couldn’t control itself, curling up. He could only press his forehead against the glass, supporting his exhausted and weak body.
He couldn’t tell if his head hurt more or his heart hurt more. The two seemed to be connected by a thread. Opening his mouth to speak, his throat burned, and he spat out blood. The blood trickled down his chin, staining the ground and coloring his gaunt jaw red.
Clutching his head tightly, as if it were about to explode, after a while, he trembled and almost pleaded, “Micah, I want to see Hattie. Please let me see her, even if it’s just her ashes or a photo.”
“What’s the use of seeing her? You will only dirty her path.”
“Did she leave no other words before she died besides not wanting me dead?”
“No. So, Harry, with your regret and loneliness, go on living forever.” Micah suddenly thought of something, his face full of mockery. “They say that calamity lasts a thousand years, but you have brain cancer. If left untreated, you won’t be able to live lonely forever. I will perform the surgery for you, Harry. After you recover, all that awaits you is life imprisonment, experiencing ten times, a hundred times the pain Hattie suffered. You’re better off dead, maybe then someone will forgive you.”
Harry didn’t even dare to ask for Hattie’s forgiveness because, knowing the truth, he couldn’t even forgive himself.
Micah had said all that needed to be said and then left directly.
Harry leaned against the window, looking at the glass he had dirtied and stained red. The image of Hattie falling from a gunshot was all he could think of.
What’s even scarier than not getting something is losing it. Between the two, losing something you once possessed brings nothing but regret.
Harry had once received it. From the start, he was the closest person to Hattie. If it weren’t for his self-indulgent hatred, he and Hattie would have been together long ago, maybe even with children in middle school.
How to go on living? How to go on living with the remorse and pain for Hattie as Micah said?
This was what he owed Hattie. She saved him, his life belonged to her. That’s why he must listen to her and keep this life.
After meeting with Micah, Harry went back and sat for a day and night, then took the initiative to meet others.
He met with his trusted subordinates, company shareholders, important partners, and lawyers. He asked his subordinates to bring everything related to Hattie from home here. Despite watching Hattie grow up, there were only a few things of hers at home. There wasn’t even a decent photo, just a few pictures she had taken before, her graduation photo, work ID photo, and an old phone.
Harry looked at the phone in a daze, took it and opened a folder, found a video, and clicked on it. It was a very old video, the image was blurry, and Hattie in the video still looked youthful. Harry remembered her at sixteen.
At that time, Hattie affectionately called him “Harry” and said she wanted to repay him. Back then, Hattie didn’t know that Harry was the one who bankrupted the Mason family. She always felt that Harry had pulled her out of the quagmire and was grateful to the people who helped her.
In the video, Hattie wore a birthday crown on her head. It was her birthday that day, with her hands pressed together in a wish for Harry, saying she hoped he would live a long and healthy life.
The distant memory brought sharp pain, as if a knife had pierced his chest. His dry eyes welled up again.
In prison, Harry handed over his family, donated his usable properties, and there was still some money left on his card. He decided to do one last thing with that money.
Half a month after the brain cancer surgery, Harry signed the papers in prison. The success rate of brain cancer surgery was very low. The hospital had initially said that if Hattie’s hand was still good, the success rate would be very high.
But having Micah perform the surgery for Harry with a knife, maybe he could pull through.
After meeting Harry, Micah drove back home and smelled the aroma of fish soup as he opened the door. The kitchen door was frosted and slightly ajar, allowing a faint glimpse of the figure inside.