The amusement park had many attractions. They quickly went through seven or eight rides, and then watched two shows. Finally, Jasmine was satisfied and stamped her activity card to receive a commemorative medal.
As nightfall came, Lillian was so exhausted that she could barely stand up straight. The kids, on the other hand, were full of energy and seemed completely immune to fatigue.
She felt like her energy had drained halfway.
Meanwhile, Melissa was following along when suddenly a delicious-smelling hot dog appeared in front of her.
Melissa paused, looked up, and saw only George.
She glanced around, “Where are the others?”
Gordon had been recognized by someone and, fearing it would cause a scene, had quickly left. Lionel wanted to try some high-speed rides and dragged Hogan along, but Hogan had thrown up all over him, so the two of them cursed at each other and went off to the hotel to change clothes.
Melissa twitched her mouth, “So, you’re saying it’s just you and me left now?”
George sat down next to her, and they watched the crowd go by. There were young couples wearing cute, furry hats and a family of three strolling by with a stroller.
Under the streetlight, George set the drink he had just bought aside, “Let’s eat first.”
Melissa was indeed hungry, as she hadn’t eaten much at lunch due to keeping an eye on things.
She sat down. “I’ll tell you this…”
“Melissa.”
“What?”
“If you were Lillian, would you forgive Conrad?”
“I don’t know. I’m not Lillian.”
“Getting that answer is good enough,” George said, slowly pulling his lips into a smile. “At least there’s still hope.”
Melissa continued eating her hot dog, not asking if he had eaten. It seemed like she didn’t care about his well-being at all.
“Sometimes, I think… if I had responded correctly when you loved me, how old would our child be by now? Would he be older than Jasmine? You love her so much, so you would have been even better to our child. And all of that… I ruined it.”
Melissa paused with her hand mid-air. “George, it doesn’t matter anymore. What’s the point of you being so obsessed with me after all these years? You know the outcome.”
“I’m obsessed with what’s mine – just you, Melissa. When I loved you, you didn’t believe me.”
George continued, “You gave me that intense, unwavering love that no one else could give. I regret realizing it too late. Looking at Conrad, I see my other self. I envy him for having a second chance. You’ve taught him a lot, and I’ve listened. I know that if it weren’t for Lillian and Conrad, you would never have spoken to me again. No matter what I do, it always feels wrong. Even when I was in the hospital with a stomach illness, you didn’t show up to see me.”
“There are many people who care about you, George. So many friends, colleagues, and women who admire you.”
“But you know, what I want most is for you to come. Melissa, you know what I’m waiting for every day. I hope that when I open the door, I’ll see you there. I used to feel so miserable, and only when I was blindly waiting did I realize how disappointed you must have been every night when you made dinner, hoping I would come home, while I never did.”
He grabbed her hand, “Melissa, I really regret it. I don’t know how to make things right.”
Over the years, he and Melissa had been stuck in a standstill. Because of Jasmine’s presence, they often saw each other and created many opportunities, but Melissa had never wavered.
She was still the same with everyone else.
But with him, it was like she had closed off her emotions.
The disparity was painful for him.
A lot of times, the things he said to Conrad were really just advice for himself.
But as the saying goes, you can heal others, but not yourself.
He was the one who couldn’t save himself.
He was willing to stay by her side, waiting for her to look back at him.
Melissa curled her lips into a smile. “I’m just waiting for you to give up.”
“You know I won’t.”
“Then there’s nothing more to say.”
Even though the other guys were trying to create opportunities for them, but she had made up her mind and didn’t want to change it.
George smiled. “Actually, it’s kind of nice to sit here and talk to you like this.”
“Don’t do that, alright? You know your parents want grandkids. You’ve been around me so much, and they must be wondering what I’m up to.”
“They know what I think, and they know this isn’t about you. It’s just that I can’t let go.”
Melissa bit into her hot dog hard, feeling like she was punching cotton. “George, where’s your pride? Weren’t you once the golden child, the one with a high opinion of himself, the one who only considered people like Conrad’s group worthy of attention?”
“It’s all gone now.”
He would rather be someone she could summon or dismiss at will than lose her altogether.
In love, even someone as arrogant as Conrad would bow his head and ask for a second chance. Didn’t George think he could do that too?
At that moment, fireworks exploded in the night sky, lighting it up. Countless fireworks followed one after another.
It was such a romantic scene, but their conversation only made things more frustrating for both of them.
“Wow, what a beautiful display of fireworks.”
“It’s a smoke heart.”
“Hey, whose picture is that up there?”
“They even offer that kind of service now.”
Above them, the fireworks unfolded to reveal the silhouettes of Conrad and Lillian.
The dazzling, colorful fireworks kept bursting, while the silhouettes slowly shifted and scattered, changing into a new scene.
It felt like watching a love story unfold.
The heart on the man’s chest gradually filled in over time.
It was like a dying rose being reborn, only to wither and bloom again, over and over.
People below were snapping pictures, shocked by how much money the wealthy sponsor must have spent to secure the fireworks for the night.
Jasmine and Quincy had already set down their cute little cakes, their tiny hands pressed against the windowsill, watching the fireworks through the glass.
Lillian naturally saw it too. “What’s the point of doing all these extra things? I’m not a teenage girl anymore, someone who would be moved by this kind of thing.”
“It’s not extra. At least you know what I’m trying to say. I once took Jasmine to your old school, walked through your classroom, down your hallways. From all the old photos Booth gave me, I went to all the places you used to be. Everywhere I could find, I took Jasmine there.”
“At that time, I thought you were gone. Do you know how painful it is, knowing you want to bring someone back, but feeling helpless? Just being able to do something connected to you, standing in the places you once stood, I felt like I was talking to you across time and space. Unfortunately, I never knew you from when you were a teenager. I’ve often wished I could go back and protect you, to start over with you. At every crossroads where you were disappointed in me, I wanted to tell myself to avoid the mistakes ahead.”
Lillian’s heart was filled with complexity and sourness. “The truth is, you did protect me. If it weren’t for you, the me from back then wouldn’t have survived, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Conrad, that’s true.”
When she found out that he had saved their daughter and raised her so well, she couldn’t hate him. She just didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes.
The fireworks in the sky had already burned out, and the scent of gunpowder lingered in the air.