The salty sea breeze still blew at the harbor.
Conrad set everything aside and stayed there without eating or drinking for who knows how long. Those around him stayed by his side just as long.
Until the search-and-rescue team returned empty-handed once again.
Until Old Mrs. Brown had come, scolding and hitting him, but he remained soulless, as if life had drained out of him.
Only when something about Lillian was mentioned did he show the slightest reaction.
Melissa wanted to slap him, but she didn’t know where to begin. The man was covered in wounds, so fragile that a single push could make him fall.
This man, who had never cried before, sat there, expressionless, just staring at the still, calm sea.
He had watched the video of Lillian falling countless times.
No one dared to lower Hunter’s body.
When they finally discovered that Hunter had been hanged from the lighthouse, Conrad suddenly stood up and shot at him.
He kept shooting until the bullets were gone, turning Hunter into a sieve before he finally stopped, exhausted.
“Conrad, go back. You need surgery.”
If he didn’t get surgery, he would truly be a cripple.
“Lillian… she’s not coming back.”
With such a high bounty, with such a vast sea, from the top to the bottom, everyone had been sent out to search. Not only the Brown family, but the Thomas, and Smith families had also contributed large sums of money.
The rescue teams kept growing.
A fragile woman.
Could she really have turned into a sea monster and sunk into the depths, never to return?
“I know where Lillian is,” Melissa suddenly spoke up.
Conrad, who had been sitting motionless, suddenly turned and stumbled toward her.
But Melissa slapped him hard, “I know where she is. She’s gone. She doesn’t want to see you.”
“She didn’t leave. She won’t leave,” Conrad muttered.
“She left me a letter. You can read it for yourself. She’s wanted to leave for a long time. All this suffering you’re putting yourself through-what’s the point? She doesn’t want you dead. Even after everything you’ve done to her, she still wants you to live. She wants you to keep being the high-and-mighty Conrad, not the ghost of a man you are now.”
Melissa’s voice broke, and she started crying as she spoke. “She pulled that man into the sea just to protect you! To make sure you lived!”
She shoved Conrad hard.
After Conrad staggered and stood still, Melissa slapped the letter onto him.
Conrad trembled as he opened it.
The letter was short, just a few words.
“Mr. Conrad, I’m leaving. Thank you for taking care of me for three years. -Lillian.”
What a cruel message.
What an absolute farewell.
In the end, she didn’t even say anything else-just that she was leaving.
What about him?
Had he been abandoned again?
Conrad felt the pain in his chest spreading, and the suffocating feeling followed. His vision went black, and he collapsed, still clutching the letter in his hand.
“Conrad!”
Melissa grabbed George, who was about to rush over, and said emotionlessly, “Don’t let him die.”
“Was the letter really from Lillian? Did she really leave?”
Melissa gave a bitter smile and wept for the sea, “She really left. She’s not coming back.”
“I don’t know where she is, or if she died alone in the sea.”
“But I know… she died to protect Conrad.”
“I have to keep Conrad alive for her. He can’t die. If he does, what would that make Lillian?”
“She loved him for three years.”
Melissa grabbed his collar, her grip tightening until the veins in her hands bulged. “Don’t tell him the truth. He has to live. That’s a life Lillian gave back to him.”
George swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
After a long pause, he managed to say, “Okay.”
He turned and signaled for them to immediately carry Conrad to the ambulance.
He had reached the end of his rope.
Without that letter, no one would dare to relax. Would he have taken the gun and shot himself, going to join Lillian?
Melissa watched the ongoing rescue efforts out at sea, “Lillian, this is what you wanted, right? Over there, you have to forget about Conrad.”
He would live. So, be yourself.
It had all been repaid.
******
“Beep, beep, beep-” The machine emitted its mechanical sounds.
“Today, the Brown Family Group officially merged with the White Family Group, but Brown Family Group’s president Conrad has still not shown up. Nelson is facing trial for embezzling large sums of money…”
A pair of long, fair hands reached over and turned off the TV.
The man, dressed in simple, warm home clothes, twisted a hot towel and gently wiped the face of the woman lying in bed.
“It seems everything has settled. You need to wake up soon.”
His gaze was gentle as he traced her delicate features with his fingers, though his brow furrowed slightly when he saw the marks on her cheek.
“I won’t allow you to do this for any other man.”
His tone was tender beyond measure. He leaned down to pick her up, sighing as he gazed at her unknowing, unconscious face.
“Good Lillian, look at what you’ve done to yourself. You should’ve just listened to me sooner.”
The next moment, the medical staff entered the room.
It was time for the daily checkup.
Even though they had performed the rescue as quickly as possible, Lillian still hadn’t woken up, and it was truly worrying.
“These medications might not be effective anymore. We’ll need to consider a more conservative treatment plan.”
The man, still calm, raised an eyebrow and responded, “She’s not allergic to these medications.”
“It’s not about allergies. From the blood test results, this young lady appears to be pregnant.”
The man’s composed expression started to crack. “Pregnant? Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”
“Yes, the blood test results don’t lie. We’re lucky to have caught it in time, thanks to the swift rescue after she fell into the water.”
“…” The man’s gaze fixed on her abdomen. “What if I don’t want to keep the baby?”
“This… It may not be a good idea. The procedure could impact the patient’s health.”
The man smiled faintly, “Then forget it.”
It was just a parasite.
When the time came, it would naturally be born and discarded from Lillian’s body.
It wouldn’t affect anything.
And in the end, Lillian would still belong to him.
“How much longer until she wakes up?”
“She should wake up soon.”
“Good.”
Once the doctor left, the man leaned down, gently looking at her. “Lillian, we’ll be going home soon.”
“Only the two of us, okay?”
“Then you’ll give me many, many children, each one as beautiful as you.”
“I’ll think of names for them.”
“Just thinking about that makes me so excited I can hardly sleep.”
“Lillian, wake up soon. We’ll start our new life. I’ve found such a wonderful place for us, where no one will disturb us.”