Kelly had no idea how long she had been unconscious. When she opened her eyes, she saw George standing outside the door, smoking.

The night wind howled and it was making the ember at his fingertips flicker on and off.

She shifted her gaze away and quickly opened her palm. Upon seeing the amulet was still there, the tension that had gripped her heart finally loosened. Through her tear-blurred vision, she noticed George's silhouette slowly stepping into the room.

"How did you fall into the river?" he asked. "Do you realize how dangerous that was? You've been unconscious with a fever for two days!"

Kelly's eyelashes trembled slightly when she asked, "Why did you give my amulet to Amanda?"

George’s face stiffened and it took him a long moment to reply, "It's just an amulet. So what if I gave it to her?"

Kelly let out a bitter laugh. "Of course. She's the one you care about most. For you to give her an amulet seems perfectly natural."

George’s eyes lingered on Kelly for a long while. His eyes looked suspiciously at her. "So … is the reason you fell into the river on purpose to get my attention because of that?"

Disgust flashed in his eyes. "Kelly, you're unbelievable. Have I not told you before? We are just like siblings. Everything I’ve done for you was out of brotherly care. "You need to stop having inappropriate thoughts about me!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, George felt a pang of regret. He had never spoken so harshly to Kelly and had no idea how she would react.

Yet, Kelly merely replied with a single word, "Fine."

George, who had prepared a long speech, was caught off guard by her quick agreement. He froze. Although he could sense something was wrong, he did not know what it was.

Before long, Kelly's voice broke the silence, "George, I'm leaving."

George's presence had taken root in her heart over the past eight years,. He had intertwining himself into her very being. This time, she was determined to cut him out herself. Though it would hurt, she would not regret it.

A sudden wave of panic seized George’s heart. "This is your home. Where could you possibly go?"

Huh? This is my home?

Kelly let out a soft laugh. She said, "George, I’ve been blamed and targeted over and over and you’ve never believed me. What kind of 'home' is this supposed to be?"

George looked uncomfortable. "As long as you behave yourself, I’ll always treat you like a younger sister."

After he said that, he pulled out a small bottle of medicated oil from his pocket and said, "The bruises on your arm haven’t faded yet. Apply this tonight."

Kelly felt his order was quite baffling. On one hand, he wanted to distance himself from her. On the other, he still showed concern in the smallest ways.

As he placed the bottle on the table, George’s eyes landed on a few books about satellites by her bedside. He frowned slightly and asked, "Since when were you interested in satellites?"

Kelly reached for the books and replied, "One day, I want to be like my parents and work in satellite research."

George stared at her face for a moment before speaking, "Satellite research is tough. Once you're in a research base, you’re practically cut off from the world for life. If you’re serious about it, once the special recruitment ends, I’ll ask my dad to take you to the base for a look."

Kelly gave him a strange look before nodding. "Okay."

Seeing her unusually compliant, George’s tone softened, "When you’re feeling better, apologize to Amanda."

His gaze settled on Kelly. It was deep and unreadable.

Kelly turned her head away to avoid his eyes, though her chest felt as if needles had pierced through it. The pain left a dull, persistent ache.

"George..."

Before Kelly could say anything more, George impatiently interrupted her, "Don’t call me by my name. Call me brother."

She smiled faintly. "Brother, rest assured. I’ll never interfere with your relationship with Amanda. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness and harmony."

After all, in two days, she would be gone. She would be gone for good and they would never get to see each other again.

Early the next morning, Kelly tidied the house from top to bottom. She gathered all the love letters and the gifts that George had given her and packed them. Then ignoring her fever-weakened body, she dragged all of them to the nearest recycling station.

After she had finished, General Palmer returned to the compound and called Kelly into her study, "Kelly, what’s been going on lately? I heard you fell into the river and drown?"

General Palmer was well-known for his fairness. As long as Kelly told the truth, he would undoubtedly investigate thoroughly. Yet, she was too weary and didn’t want any more conflicts.

"It’s nothing. I just slipped and fell," she replied.

General Palmer frowned. "That’s too dangerous. Stay away from the river next time."

Kelly nodded in agreement.

He then pulled a stack of documents from his back. "Kelly," he said. "I’ve already submitted your name for the selection. In two days, a special vehicle will come to take you there."

Kelly nodded again. "I understand. Thank you, Uncle Rick."

General Palmer studied her for a long moment before he sighed. "Have you packed everything? The base is dry and I’m worried you might not adjust well to that environment."

Before Kelly could answer, George suddenly walked into the study and happened to hear the end of the conversation.

"What’s being packed? Where’s Kelly going?" he demanded.

General Palmer just turned his head toward Kelly but did not say anything.

Kelly said calmly, "I’ve been allocated a unit in the relocation housing. I applied for a room and will be moving out."

General Palmer also nodded in agreement. "Yes, Kelly has decided to leave."

George's brows creased a little, "Why is she moving out? Hasn't she been living well here?"

General Palmer gave him a pointed look with a dumbfounded expression. "Your marriage application with Amanda has been approved. In a few days, you’ll be able to collect your marriage certificate. When you have kids, this house won’t have enough space for everyone to live comfortably."

George’s irritation was evident. "This place is huge. Even if we have children, there’s no need to kick her out."

General Palmer shook his head. "You’re starting your own family. Kelly will eventually marry and have children of her own. She’ll need her own space, too."

George’s face turned deathly pale. The thought of Kelly marrying and having children had never crossed his mind.

In his daze, he accidentally knocked over the stack of documents on the desk.

"What’s this?" he asked. "A list of candidates for the satellite research base?"

Kelly’s heart raced as she feared he might see her name on the list. If he found out, there was no telling what kind of trouble he might stir. All she wanted was to leave quietly.

General Palmer, who was unwilling to let the two of them drift apart so easily, finally spoke up, "Yes, these are the candidates selected for the satellite research base. Aren’t you curious who’s on the list?"

Suspicion flashed in George’s eyes and he reached his hand out for the list.

Kelly panicked and she stepped forward, trying to stop him.

Just then, a sudden cry of pain rang out from outside.

"Ah!" It was Amanda's voice.

George immediately dropped the list and turned toward the door with hurried steps. "Amanda, what’s wrong?" he called out.

General Palmer sighed heavily and shook his head, while Kelly’s expression remained impassive.

"Uncle Rick, just drop it," she said.

General Palmer said, "I just don’t want either of you to have regrets in the future."

It was a done deal and regret or not would not change the fact that she had to leave.

After a long time, General Palmer said, "I have asked George to escort you to the handover location. The day after tomorrow, let George take you on a journey."

Kelly knew she could not argue with him, so she had no choice but to nod.

As soon as she walked out of the study, she saw George standing at the door. He seemed he had something to say.

"What?" Kelly asked.

A flash of panic flashed in George's eyes as he said, "Kelly, why did you throw all the things I gave you into the recycle station?"

Kelly was stunned for a moment before realizing that he was talking about the letters and gifts they exchanged. In the past, she had put so much importance on the things shared between them. Whether it was a piece of scrap paper with graffiti or a valuable watch, she stored it carefully and meticulously.

General Palmer once hired a nanny to take care of the two of them, but the nanny threw away Kelly's letters without asking. Kelly hurriedly ran out to look for them that night and spent a long time before she found the discarded things one by one. When George knew about it, he was so angry and fired the nanny on the spot.

However, today, Kelly did not care anymore. "Well, those things took too much place, so I threw them out. Besides, there is no point in keeping those anymore."

George stared at Kelly's face. He was afraid, he would miss a flicker of her emotion. Unfortunately, he realized that Kelly's expression did not change at all during their conversation.

The treasure that she once had regarded as her life has now become useless.

George did not know why he felt depressed and was a little out of breath. He wanted to question her but didn't know what to say.

At that exact moment, Amanda walked out of the house. Then she said, "George, don't be so cruel to Kelly. She only did it just to get your attention."

After listening to Amanda's words, George felt his nervousness was gone and the expression on his face turned into doubt. He then sighed, "Kelly, do you know that doing this will only make me more disgusted!"

Kelly said calmly, "You've misunderstood me. That's not what I mean."

Then, she walked into the kitchen, took out a piece of firewood and threw it directly on the cardboard box. The memories of the two people over the past eight years were instantly wiped out by the fire.

"Kelly! What are you doing?" George yelled and subconsciously rushed forward to put out the fire, but Amanda hugged him tightly from behind.

Kelly looked up and her eyes met George's eyes straight on, then said calmly, "If you don't want to see anything, burn it and it will be over."

The cardboard box that was in the yard gradually burned to ashes. Meanwhile, George felt that something was being torn away from his heart.

Perhaps out of revenge, George did not have any qualms about showing off his intimacy with Amanda in front of Kelly. Yet, Kelly did not care. She did not even look at him.

Amanda even asked her specifically about her thoughts on the decoration of the new house and she really gave some practical suggestions.

This made George even more annoyed. He could feel that Kelly was getting farther and farther away from him.

Soon, it was time to head to the satellite research base. The night before, George knocked on Kelly's door for the first time.

"Kelly," he said. "Tomorrow, I will drive the specially recruited researchers to the Ten Thousand Satellite Research Base. I will bring some interesting things back to you then."

Kelly smiled lightly and replied, "Okay."

Early the next morning, she packed her things and got into the car early.