I stood on the rooftop of the hospital, ready to put an end to everything.
The wind howled around me.
“Rae…”
Jaylin called out to me, his voice trembling.
Gone was the anger and hatred in his eyes, replaced by fear.
My frail figure swayed in the wind, making the onlookers’ hearts race with anxiety. The white hem of my dress danced in the breeze.
“I thought that after you got your revenge, we could love each other like we did years ago, but I’ve realized I can’t do it.”
“Your parents died because of my father, and my father ended up in prison because of you. I know it’s not entirely your fault, but I can’t ignore what’s happened.”
“Jaylin, I don’t think I can love you anymore. You’ve often asked me, ‘Why don’t you just die?'”
I smiled. “People who do wrong must pay the price. I’m tired. This time, I’ll give you my life. Will that be enough?”
Jaylin held his breath, his face betraying his panic. “It was your father who did wrong, I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. Rae, I was wrong. Please, come down.”
The way he loved me once is etched deeply in my mind. After the love disappeared, the emptiness was unbearable.
I looked into the distance, my gaze unfocused. “I miss the old days so much-us in our blue-and-white uniforms, standing under the plane tree, staring into each other’s eyes, feeling our hearts race.”
The panic on Jaylin’s face was unmistakable. Finally, he confessed, “After all these years apart, I realized I still love you.”
“I lost,” he said. “Lost everything.”
My eyes burned with unshed tears. If it had been the past, hearing him say he loved me would have driven me mad with joy.
But I owed him far too much. I no longer had the right to love him.
I forced a smile. “You’ve achieved your dream of becoming a successful businessman. I’m truly happy for you. Even if I can only watch you from afar, I’ll be satisfied.”
“In this lifetime, I’ve lost the right to love you. In the next, I’ll love you properly.”
Jaylin’s voice cracked. “Rae, if you can forgive me, we can start over…”
My nose tingled, and tears fell like broken beads. “I don’t blame you.”
“In this lifetime, it seems we were destined to meet but not to be together.”
There was no resentment or blame in those words, I don’t blame you, yet they were like a gentle knife that plunged deep into his heart.
Whenever he would think back to this moment, the pain would always linger.
Jaylin’s eyes were red, his heart twisted in knots.
He begged, “Rae, don’t leave me!”
I closed my eyes in pain, letting my body fall.
The wind rushed past me, growing fainter and fainter.
I couldn’t tell if it was the sound of the wind or Jaylin’s cries.
Jaylin’s POV
Seeing her lying in a pool of blood, Jaylin froze.
Her white dress had been soaked in a glaring red.
The sight of so much blood was overwhelming, and he found himself unable to move forward.
Jaylin collapsed to his knees, reaching out to gather the girl lying in the blood.
Blood poured uncontrollably from her mouth, no matter how hard she tried to stop it.
She raised her hand, wanting to touch his face, but the excruciating pain left her too weak.
Jaylin’s voice was hoarse, and his tears fell like rain onto her face. The pain in his heart surged like a tidal wave, as if it were tearing his heart apart.
He knelt before her, his back bending deeply.
“Jay, I’m giving my life back to you. Please don’t hate me anymore.”
“Living with hatred is too exhausting. Don’t torture yourself.”
The girl’s hollow eyes stared blankly as the last of her strength drained away, and her hand fell lifelessly to the ground.
Jaylin’s hand grasped at air. His body trembled violently, his face cracking with anguish.
His mouth opened in a silent scream, but his voice was hoarse and broken. No sound came out.
A few days later, the news of President Reynolds hanging himself in his home made headlines across major news outlets.
In his suicide note, he wrote: “Losing the love of my life has shattered me beyond repair. If I follow her to the afterlife, maybe my Rae will forgive me.”