Kayla spent the night at the hospital with Beatrice. The next morning, they returned to the Tate residence to pack their things.

They had just finished sorting half their belongings when Darren walked in. He paused at the doorway, watching them quietly.

After a long pause, he finally spoke. "You're in such a hurry to leave?"

Kayla didn't look up. "We're no longer employed here. We have no reason to stay."

Darren went silent for a moment. Then, suddenly, he stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. "Weren't we supposed to spend a day together? I'm free today. Let me make it up to you."

He glanced at the packed boxes and added, "Let me have the maid handle this."

Kayla instinctively wanted to refuse, but Beatrice gently nudged her and whispered, "Go."

She reluctantly got into his car.

The ride was heavy with unspoken tension.

Darren rode in silence for a few moments, then glanced at her while gripping the steering wheel. "So, what do you want to do? Get lunch? Catch a movie? Go to an amusement park?"

She shook her head. "Take me to Willowridge High."

He blinked at her request but didn't argue. Instead, he made a turn and headed toward the south side of the city.

When they arrived, Kayla walked straight across the overgrown field toward a sycamore tree by the track. She crouched down and started digging at the dirt with her bare hands.

Darren finally couldn't hold back. He frowned and asked, "What are you digging for?"

She didn't answer. A moment later, her fingers brushed against something metallic. She dug it out and opened the rusted tin box. Inside was an old, yellowed letter.

She looked up at him, her voice barely above a whisper. "A love letter. I wrote it to you back then."

Darren's breath caught in his throat.

Kayla stood and held the letter out to him. She said calmly, "You already knew I liked you, didn't you?"

He swallowed but said nothing.

She continued, her words calm and deliberate. "I still don't know when I started liking you. Maybe it was when you defended me from rumors. Maybe it was when you brought me milk every morning. Maybe… it was just that first smile you gave me."

She lowered her head with a faint smile, but her eyes were hollow, stripped of warmth. "But don't worry. You don't have to feel guilty. I'm done liking you."

She met his gaze. Her voice was clear. "I hope you and Winona are happy together."

Then, right in front of him, she tore the letter into pieces. The scraps fluttered to the ground like a quiet snowfall, soft and final.

"Today's date ends here," she said, straightening up. "Thank you for giving me a proper goodbye."

Darren felt a sudden tightness in his chest. He opened his mouth to say something, but just then Darren's phone buzzed with Winona's call.

The call connected, and Winona's sweet, flirtatious voice came through the speaker. "Darren, where are you? I miss you…"

Instinctively, Darren glanced at Kayla, but she had already turned away.

"You go ahead. I'll get home myself," Kayla said.

He wanted to call out to her, to say something—anything at all. But in the end, not a single word came.

Finally, he whispered, "See you at school."

Kayla shook her head ever so slightly as she walked away. Her heart was already certain that she would never see him again.

That evening, Kayla saw Beatrice off on the train back to Teginia.

"Mom, wait for me. I'll come get you once I finish school."

"I'll be waiting, Kayla," Beatrice replied.

As the train pulled away from the station, Kayla stood on the platform until it vanished into the distance. Then she turned, dragging her suitcase behind her as she hailed a cab to the international terminal.

When the plane lifted into the sky, the city below glimmered with a sea of lights.

She pressed her forehead to the cold window and took one last look at the city that had held her entire youth.

The girl she had once been—the one who followed behind Darren with quiet, careful steps—was gone. So was the decade of unspoken love she had carried alone.

It all stayed behind, buried in the hum of the engines as the plane climbed toward the unknown.

The most sensational news that had sparked out in Journ City recently would have to be the time when Tristan Colton, CEO of Colton Group, won the ultimate bid on a 100-million-dollar necklace just to appease his beloved wife.

Tristan and his wife, Leticia Monroe, had been married for seven years. They were the epitome of true love. The entirety of Journ City often sang praises of their romantic tales.

At the moment, the man of the hour was sitting in a luxurious boutique that was located in a mall he had reserved in advance. He was accompanying his darling Leticia in trying on new clothes.

While the boutique's employees waited for Leticia outside the fitting room, they couldn't resist discussing with each other in hushed whispers.

"Is Mrs. Colton wearing the 100-million-dollar necklace that was on the news? Judging from the color and the material, it really is the best necklace in the world!"

"Mrs. Colton really is lucky! How did she get Mr. Colton to fall head over heels for her? Mr. Colton is extremely handsome and has a great figure! After all, many women have failed to seduce him over the years!"

"Not only that, but Mr. Colton pampers his wife so much! Mrs. Colton has tried on so many clothes for such a long time, and yet Mr. Colton keeps giving her serious feedback on all the clothes she's tried on so far! Other men would've grown impatient at this point!"

One of the employees doubted Tristan's love for Leticia.

"Do you really think a man will love a woman this much for so long? I refuse to believe that. Isn't there a phrase called the seven-year itch? Say, since Mr. and Mrs. Colton are soon approaching the seven-year mark of their marriage, do you think their marriage will take a turn for the worse?"

As the discussion went on, an employee began to develop ideas she shouldn't have. It was rare for her to have such a good opportunity to get close to Tristan, so she offered to pour him a glass of water.

When the employee approached Tristan, she pretended to twist her ankle so that she could fall into his arms.

But the moment she was about to succeed in her mission, Tristan responded quickly by scooting to the side, a displeased frown already gracing his features. The employee ended up crashing to the floor heavily.

Disgust appeared in Tristan's eyes as he gazed into the employee's seductive eyes. He turned to wave at a bodyguard, who stood next to him.

"Deal with her."

The bodyguard went forth and dragged the employee out of the boutique immediately.

Even so, Tristan felt that it wasn't enough. He took off his suit jacket before ordering his bodyguard to bring him a new one.

"Letty will think of me as filthy if she sees me wearing the same thing after what happened just now. She won't want to hug me anymore."

The onlookers dared not respond to Tristan at all. All they did was whisper among themselves while keeping their heads lowered.

"Mr. Colton loves Mrs. Colton to the core! Why else is he putting her on such a high pedestal?"

Leticia happened to have witnessed that particular scene after emerging from the fitting room. She stood there, looking a little dazed.

Oh, right. The entire city knew very well just how much Tristan loved her. He'd always made sure she felt safe and reassured no matter what.

Since Leticia didn't like the taste of alcohol, Tristan no longer attended business gatherings, nor did he drink any alcohol anymore. Because of this change in lifestyle, he ended up losing a project that was worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Tristan didn't want Leticia to get jealous, so he never looked at other women directly. All he cared about was her.

Even if another woman were to touch Tristan, he'd tentatively apologize to Leticia. It was as though he was worried that she no longer wanted to be with him.

Back then, the older generation of the Colton family forbade Tristan from dating Leticia. As such, he used every trick in the book to let everyone know that Leticia was his one and only woman.

His passionate love and sincere antics were the only reasons why Leticia was willing to give everything up just to stay with him.

No one knew that she didn't come from this world at all.

A few years ago, Leticia had died in her original world. Her soul was bound to a system, which transported her into this particular world where Tristan existed. If she could successfully ensnare Tristan's heart, she'd be able to get revived in her original world.

Leticia spent many years bonding with Tristan and putting in hard work to capture his heart. That was how she finally became his true love and how he ended up loving her with all his heart.

Seven years ago, Tristan's archnemesis had his goons kidnap Leticia. The archnemesis demanded that Tristan crippled his own legs in exchange for her freedom.

Back then, Tristan didn't hesitate to cripple himself. Blood flowed out of his wounds like crimson rivers. Those injuries almost cost him his life.

Since then, the man who had it all was reduced to nothing but a cripple. He was condemned to a life of wheelchair assistance.

It was also at that moment that Leticia's efforts finally bore fruit. But she hesitated when she gazed at Tristan, who loved and cared about her more than his own life.

She couldn't bear to leave this world and Tristan behind.

Before the system disappeared, it had asked Leticia two questions.

Did she really want to remain in this world? What would she do if Tristan were to betray her in the future?

Back then, Leticia nodded heavily while looking at Tristan, who obviously loved her deeply.

"I've decided to stay."

But she didn't answer the second question.

That was because she failed to imagine the possibility of Tristan, the man who was willing to cripple himself for her sake, betraying her.

Since that day, the system left the world entirely. It never showed up in Leticia's life after that.

It was true that Tristan loved Leticia with all his heart for so many years. He prioritized her no matter what.

Everyone thought that Leticia should be the happiest woman alive because of how deep her husband's love was for her. She should be smiling happily as well.

But at that moment, Leticia couldn't even bring herself to smile at all.

After recomposing herself, Leticia slowly walked out of the fitting room.

Tristan looked at her instantly. His cold gaze melted away, revealing the tenderness in his eyes. His attention was solely on her right now.

After that, the couple went to the restaurant they had made reservations at for lunch. But Leticia remained glum the whole time.

Tristan thought Leticia had witnessed what happened in the boutique earlier, so he quickly apologized to her.

"Are you mad at me, Letty? I didn't let that woman touch me just now. Please don't ignore me, okay?"

Leticia didn't respond to Tristan, which made him even more nervous.

"What's wrong with you lately? Why do I have a feeling that you've been moody for so long? Is it because I didn't get to spend time with you due to how busy work has been?

"I'm sorry about that, Letty. I've been busy handling a project lately. It'll be over soon. After that, I can focus all of my efforts on spending time with you."

Leticia slowly looked up at Tristan, her expression still impassive.

"Tristan, are you sure you don't have anything to tell me?"

Tristan didn't know why Leticia would ask him that kind of question. He was stunned for a moment, but he subconsciously rubbed his thumb against his forefinger as well.

It was an action he always did whenever he was nervous. Leticia obviously picked up on it, but she soon saw Tristan shaking his head.

"Nope."

Leticia's heart throbbed slightly at the answer, but she didn't ask Tristan any questions after that.

At the end of dinner, a server wheeled in the cake that Tristan had already ordered in advance. He had Leticia make a wish before blowing out the candles on the cake.

It wasn't her birthday today. Tristan made it a habit to celebrate every holiday and anniversary formally over the years.

The lights were turned off. The moment Leticia closed her eyes and made a wish, the vibrating noises of a phone could be heard piercing through the silent atmosphere.

She opened her eyes just in time to see Tristan sliding a finger across the screen to activate the phone. After that, he read the latest text message he just received.

The restaurant was dark enough to let the brightness of Tristan's phone reflect the screen onto the window behind him.

The text read, "Tristan, what should I do? There's a blackout here! I'm so scared!"

Leticia spotted Tristan's lips curling into a small smile the next moment. He even let out a soft chuckle.

Then, she could hear his thoughts ringing out loud and clear.

[She really is a scaredy cat. To think that she's afraid of a mere blackout… Whatever. I should go check on her later. After all, she's pretty clumsy on her own.]

Leticia's complexion went pale. She felt her heart getting crushed by an invisible hand.

No one knew that the system had bestowed upon her an ability to hear Tristan's innermost thoughts before disappearing from her life.

All these years, Tristan loved and cared about Leticia and Leticia only. But three months ago, there was another woman's name which frequently appeared in his mind—Chelsea Pool.

Chelsea was Tristan's best friend's younger sister who had just graduated from university. Recently, she had started working as an intern in Tristan's company.

Leticia had yet to snap out of her trance when she heard Tristan's thoughts booming next to her ear once again.

[But today's my and Letty's seventh-year anniversary. Isn't it bad to leave her here right now?]

While Tristan was stuck in a dilemma, his phone screen lit up again. Apparently, Chelsea had sent him a few more messages.

This time, she didn't write anything. All she did was send him a few stickers of animals acting cute and pitiful. There were even stickers of a cartoon character crying.

Tristan finally couldn't endure it anymore. He toggled the screen off before telling Leticia something urgent came up in his company and that he had to deal with it. After that, he had his assistant wheel him out of the restaurant hurriedly.

Leticia's heart sank to the pits of her stomach as she watched Tristan's silhouette fading into the distance. She remained slumped in her chair, feeling her blood turning to ice.

Tristan had never lied to her throughout their seven years of being together. But ever since Chelsea appeared in his life, he began lying to Leticia time and again.

Leticia had never felt this panicked and alarmed before. She tried to call out to the system, hoping to see the percentage that was left on Tristan's affection bar toward her.

But no matter how many times she had called out to the system, it never responded to her.

Only then did Leticia realize that the system had completely vanished from her life ever since she decided to stay in this world.

Back when she made the decision, she bet all of her stakes on Tristan because she had full faith in him that she would never lose the gamble. But now, she dared not put her trust in him anymore.

That night, Leticia couldn't sleep well. Thunder rumbled loudly all of a sudden in the middle of the night. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrapping around her tightly.

It appeared that Tristan had returned home since who knew when. Perhaps he didn't want to wake her up, for his movements had been very soft and quiet. That was why she only found out about his presence at that moment.

Tristan knew very well that Leticia was terrified of stormy nights. That was why he'd still pull her into his arms reflexively despite being fast asleep. It was his way of reassuring her that he was there for her.

As Leticia turned back to gaze at the handsome visage of her sleeping husband, she fell into deep thought once again.

Would a man who was deeply in love with her be capable of falling in love with another woman?

She returned the hug tightly before burying her face into the crook of his neck. But the next thing she knew, she found herself staring at a trail of bright red love bites littering his neck.