Since returning to the Jensen family, Eloise had deferred to Sonia more times than she could count. But this time, Eloise wasn't so much compromising as she was letting go of what she no longer wanted.

She set the cake knife down and turned to leave.

Jonathan gripped her hand and pulled her to a stop. "What are you doing? Where are you going? I threw this party for you, and you choose to throw a hissy fit now?

"What is it that you want? If you want the first cut that badly, you can have it. I'll talk to Sonia about this. I'm sure she'll understand."

Eloise found it odd, as that cutting the birthday cake was her right, seeing as it was her birthday party. Yet Jonathan made it sound like Sonia had granted her that honor.

"No need." Eloise smacked Jonathan's hand away and left, looking as if she'd made her resolve.

Jonathan instinctively made to chase after Eloise, but Sonia suddenly put her hands to her chest, looking pained. "Jon, my heart hurts. Am I dying?"

He immediately stopped and pivoted to scoop Sonia into his arms. "Don't worry, you'll be just fine. You won't die."

That was a given, seeing as Sonia was only faking. Deep down, she didn't think Eloise was a match for her at all.

Meanwhile, Eloise stood on the deck and leaned against the rail, letting the sea breeze whip her face. The cruise was steering back the way it came, and it was evening when Sonia suddenly appeared.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself. I told Jon I'd come and comfort you, but he told me you were still angry. He was worried you'd give me a hard time. But surprisingly, you don't look sad at all."

Eloise was determined to ignore Sonia. In truth, she'd fantasized about becoming as close as sisters with Sonia when she first returned to the Jensen family. But Sonia was promiscuous and once even tossed one of her condoms into Eloise's backpack to frame her.

After that, Eloise stopped hoping that she and Sonia would ever get along.

When Eloise didn't respond, a cold gleam flashed in Sonia's eyes. "Do you know what I hate most about you? You always act like you're better than me. What's with that holier-than-thou attitude anyway?

"Let me tell you a secret. After you collapsed in the hospital, the doctor didn't just carry out any ordinary bloodwork for you, but tested your blood for its compatibility with mine. Why did you think Jon guarded your bedside so faithfully? He doesn't love you. He was just worried you'd become suspicious!"

Although Eloise had already decided to give up on Jonathan, her heart still cracked when she heard the cold, hard truth. As it turned out, Jonathan hadn't stayed with her out of guilt, nor was he trying to make it up to her. It was because she carried the heart that could save Sonia, his first love.

Eloise mocked herself for being so stupid and naive. To think she'd been somewhat touched by Jonathan's gesture while he was guarding her bedside.

Just then, Sonia drew closer to Eloise, who stepped back and demanded warily, "What are you doing?"

"Jonathan can't choose between us, Eloise, and that pisses me off. I'm going to force him to make a choice!" With that, Sonia suddenly clutched Eloise's arm and tugged her forward.

There was a loud splash as they both fell into the water.

However, Sonia probably never thought Eloise would be an amazing swimmer. It didn't take long for Eloise to break the surface and wipe the water off her face. She then began to swim toward Sonia.

Fear belatedly struck Sonia. She made to swim away, but it was too late.

Eloise gripped her hair from behind and pulled, then shoved Sonia into the sea. Panic seized Sonia, but she had barely taken more than a few breaths before Eloise pinned her under the water again, not at all letting her speak.

"You haven't stopped picking on me since I returned to the Jensen family, Sonia! Who gave you the right? You accused me of stealing what was yours, but when did I ever do that?"

Not once had Eloise fought with Sonia over their parents' love or Jonathan's affection. "I'll make you pay for the suffering you put me through all these years!"

Eloise repeatedly pulled Sonia up by her hair, only to pin her underwater again. After several rounds, Eloise's rage finally ebbed.

She waited until Sonia had no fight left in her before gripping the rope dangling off the side of the liner. She hauled herself aboard with Sonia in tow, but the moment Eloise climbed onto the deck, someone slapped her hard across the face.

It was the first time Jonathan had hit her, and in front of a crowd, no less.

Eloise couldn't remember how she got off the cruise or how she found her way back to her apartment.

All she remembered was Jonathan's hand striking her across the face and the deafening laughter that had ensued around her afterward. The guests had spat abuse at her, calling her a shameless whore and a homewrecker who failed.

She was then "accidentally" jostled and pushed by the crowd. Each time they shoved her around like they were passing a ball, she could hear men and women alike laughing at her. The noises eventually formed a tidal wave and crashed over her, threatening to pull her into the rowdy undertow.

As for her so-called fiance? He carried his half-drowned first love and walked away without so much as a backward glance at Eloise, even though she'd gotten hurt on her birthday.

Eloise thought she'd never shed a tear for Jonathan again, but traitorous tears cascaded endlessly down her face nonetheless. When she returned home, she soaked herself in the tub.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Sonia had made it into that evening's list of trending topics on social media. Someone had posted the footage of Jonathan cradling Sonia while seeking medical help for her, and the netizens lauded them with blessings.

It wasn't long before someone dug out Jonathan and Sonia's history.

Everyone soon found out that Jonathan and Sonia were heirs to prestigious families. They were practically a power couple. Their relationship was an example of refined and materialistic perfection, a pair who had grown from childhood friends to sweethearts.

Even the story of how Jonathan had risked his life to save Sonia was included. No one could come close to beating such a flawless match. It didn't take long for the netizens to become fans of this pairing.

Eloise, whose face had been blurred in the footage, was always the forgotten one.

Sonia posted on her Instagram, too. "Of all the fields we've played, we're still each other's endgame."

Accompanying that caption was a picture of Sonia getting an IV drip while Jonathan fussed over her. In the picture, Jonathan had a bleeding cut on his finger, presumably from peeling fruits.

Eloise double-tapped on Sonia's post, then unfollowed the latter. She also unfollowed Jonathan, Helena, David, and the sycophantic scions on her list.

When Eloise's body was feeling much better after a long soak in the tub, she rose and put on her clothes. After that, she began to plan her future. She decided she'd travel around the world for a year once her love for Jonathan had been erased. To do so, she'd have to sort out her business in advance.

It was already dark outside by the time she was done planning.

At that moment, Marie called. "Hello, darling. The surgery's tomorrow. Will you be able to make it, or shall I reschedule your session?"

"It's alright, Grandma. I've already bought the plane tickets."

The love-erasure surgery had yet to officially launch in the medical industry, and the ones presiding over Eloise's surgery were elites in the medical research world. Their time was precious, and she didn't want their trips to be wasted.

Having hung up, Eloise dropped by the house she and Jonathan used to live in. It had been a while since anyone occupied the property, which explained the overgrown plants and grass in the yard.

Eloise walked about 15 steps along the pebbled path before stopping at the second evergreen tree. She dug up a little box and opened it. A pretend marriage certificate lay within, and written on it were her and Jonathan's names.

"Ellie, what does it mean to be married?" Jonathan had asked her once.

"It probably means that we'll get to sleep together, eat together, live together, and never be apart when we grow up. We'll be closer than anyone else we know," Eloise had answered.

"I don't ever want to be apart from you. Must we wait until we grow up to get married? I want us to be married now."

"No, I can't marry you now. If I do, you'll be committing a crime."

"How do we make it not a crime, then?" Jonathan pressed earnestly.

"I think you might get away with it in the olden days."

That year, Jonathan had the mental capacity of a seven-year-old, but he pored over various books and tried to understand the complex sentences in them. He then mimicked those in the olden days and painstakingly penned a "marriage certificate".

At the time, Jonathan had loved Eloise boldly and unreservedly. He once told her, "We'll spend forever together, Ellie."

There was once when Marie came by to take Eloise away. Jonathan had chased after their car through half the city barefoot, leaving bloody footprints in his wake. He'd nearly lost his life as he clutched the marriage certificate and cried out Eloise's name hysterically.

That day, Eloise caved and got out of the car.

But now, the man who vowed to protect her forever had shoved her aside and hurt her until she was barely whole. Eloise's heart grew colder and colder, and she didn't even realize she was crying until her tears splattered on the back of her hand.

She forcefully tore the marriage certificate into shreds, then tossed those pieces into the air along with the scattered moments of her past.

"I will love you forever, Ellie. No one will pick on you on my watch!"

"Ellie, I'll behave from now on. Don't get on your knees anymore, okay?"

"Ellie, I'm better now. I'll protect you for the rest of your life."

"You know I can't just watch Sonia die."

"What the hell are you playing at, Eloise?"

"Why couldn't you have just drowned at sea, Eloise?"

Eloise had stuck by Jonathan's side for five years, yet she was still no match for Sonia.

With the pretend marriage certificate torn into pieces, Eloise turned around, only to find Jonathan behind her at one point.

He stood in the pine grove, his shadow stretched long and lean by the lamplight. His calm, unreadable eyes were fixed on her.

Eloise silently gazed back at him. She stood still in the wind, the pine trees around her having grown tall with him.

She was standing in that familiar spot, looking his way just as she had so many times before. Only this time, there was no trace of past affection in her eyes.

That strange ache returned to Jonathan's chest. A sudden sense of loss crept in, like something precious was slipping away. He reached for it, only for the feeling to vanish when he was about to grasp it.

The unknown inexplicably frustrated him. He pursed his lips and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Eloise didn't linger. She strode toward the main gate without batting an eye at him and coldly replied, "To wrap up some personal business."

Her unfeeling tone only deepened Jonathan's frown.

He forcefully yanked her arm, questioning, "What kind of tantrum are you throwing this time? You were the one who repeatedly gave Sonia a hard time. Can't you cut her some slack?

"Please, she's already pitiful enough! And who do you think will buy that pathetic look you're pulling right now?"

Was Sonia pitiful? Of course. She had heart disease at an age when her peers were out living their best lives.

But what about Eloise? Wasn't she also a terminal patient with late-stage liver cancer? Where was that same pity Jonathan showed Sonia?

Eloise kept her thoughts unvoiced. She simply stared at Jonathan quietly, wishfully trying to see the young man she once adored deeply reflected in the eyes of this mature and cold man before her.

She longed for the young man who once loved her to the bone.

"Hey, Ellie? If I regain my mind and become that cold and aloof man you talk about, would you still love me?"

"Of course! Now the question is—will you feel the same for me, Jonathan?"

"You don't even have to ask! Jonathan will love Ellie forever and ever, and we'll never separate!"

Of course, forever was a lie.

"Goodbye, Jonathan," Eloise said softly.

It was a farewell meant for both the man standing before her and the young man she had wholeheartedly loved for five years.

Without a word, Jonathan watched as her figure faded into the distance. Then, a dull ache stirred in his chest.

For some reason, he couldn't shake off the feeling that Eloise's farewell hadn't been a normal goodbye. The way she looked at him felt almost foreign, like she wasn't looking at him.

On top of that, it felt like she didn't want him anymore.

That thought flashed through his mind, sending him into a panic. He took a hurried step and chased after her.

By the time he arrived, Eloise had already opened the car door and gotten in, leaving only a blurry silhouette behind. Gone was her figure from his sight.

Just then, Sonia, wrapped in a thin blanket, slowly appeared from the side. Having been soaked earlier, she looked fragile, each step seeming as if the wind could knock her over.

"Sorry, Jon. I was late."

Jonathan's gaze fell onto her. "It's fine. The gate happened to be open, so I was just out here, waiting for you."

When he took Sonia to the hospital today, she suddenly expressed a desire to see where he had lived for the past five years. Truthfully, he hadn't expected to run into Eloise here.

He noticed her face seemed rather swollen and couldn't help but wonder if he had been overtly rough with her.

Fine. He would apologize to Eloise after comforting Sonia. The former was always kind and rarely stayed mad. At worst, she would just hit him back.

At that thought, a smile spread across Jonathan's face. He reached out a hand to Sonia, and they walked hand in hand into the villa.

Meanwhile, on the freeway, Eloise gripped the steering wheel with one hand and stepped on the accelerator. The car sped forward, heading toward the airport.

Four hours later, she touched down at Valoria Airport. Six hours later, she lay on the operating table.