Seraphina still loved him, didn't she? She absolutely did!

The corners of Ethan's mouth curved upward into a gentle smile, and through his tears, he pressed the note tightly against his chest.

Watching this, Leo couldn't help but turn away to wipe his own tears. He had never seen Ethan wear such a relaxed, genuinely happy smile before, yet it was a profound pity that Seraphina wasn't here to witness it; she would have been so happy...

After Ethan was discharged from the hospital, aside from the villa he shared with Seraphina, he sold every single property under his name, ultimately depositing all the funds into a single bank card.

He found Julian Vance, who was already the sitting CEO of Vance Enterprises, and hurled the card onto the executive desk where he used to work. "The expenses for everything from Seraphina's rescue to her medical treatments abroad."

Julian froze slightly. "What do you mean by this?"

Ethan lifted his jaw slightly, a firm determination within his gaze upholding an unprecedented pride. "My wife has no need for an outsider's money."

Hearing this, Julian was left stuck between a tear and a smile, never imagining that Ethan could possess such an unyielding, stubborn side. Yet, recalling the bank card Seraphina had handed him, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

In certain aspects, the two of them were perhaps remarkably alike.

Ethan did not choose to work at Vance Enterprises; instead, he joined a small, obscure firm, starting from the very bottom as a humble assistant.

He declared that he would absolutely reclaim Vance Enterprises one day, but he would use a different corporate empire—one built entirely by his own hands—to welcome Seraphina home.

Slowly, Ethan developed a habit of wandering down to the beach to pick up seashells, watching instructional videos online to teach himself how to craft wind chimes.

Eventually, every single night, he would spend his hours assembling wind chimes while listening to the past recordings of the radio show Seraphina used to host.

Every single day featured a story from a stranger. He didn't know how many hundreds of stories he had listened to, and several times he desperately wanted to call in himself, to tell the world the story of Seraphina and him, yet he never knew where he should begin.

He listened from the end of one year to the start of the next, through two absolute cycles of the seasons, until the handcrafted seashell wind chimes completely filled every single corner of the foyer and living room.

It wasn't until the second New Year's Eve that Ethan returned home after an exhausting day, collapsing entirely onto the sofa. The soft, gentle chiming of the wind chimes smoothed away the lingering fatigue of his body and soul.

Early this morning, Julian Vance had sought him out, stating that Janice had been detained for misappropriating her company's public funds, pleading for Ethan to step in and help her.

Yet, he had absolutely no intention of interfering; she was merely reaping what she sowed.

Ethan took a deep breath, checked the time, and switched on the radio.

Whispers of the Night had already cycled through a new female host. Her voice shared a few hints of similarity with Seraphina's, and several times Ethan had mistakenly believed it was Seraphina hosting the show.

Seraphina...

A soft, tender space inside his chest seemed to be gently brushed, and his gaze gradually turned soft and gentle.

He wondered if her health had improved, and if she could speak again.

"Next is our Letters of Affection segment. Let's see which friend we have tonight..."

Letters of Affection was simply a segment where listeners wrote letters to the station, and the host would read them aloud to transmit their feelings across the airwaves.

Ethan leaned back against the sofa, lifting his head to gaze at the seashell wind chimes beside him, listening in absolute silence.

"Tonight, we actually have a letter sent from overseas..."

The host paused for a brief few seconds before adding, "And it is exceptionally simple and brief..."

The moment the word "overseas" echoed out, Ethan's heart violently skipped a beat.

"Dear Mr. Vance, I am leaving my 'I love you' in a country far beyond the mountains and seas, because on this New Year's Eve, I want to hear those three words from you instead. Yours lovingly, Miss Cross..."

Ethan's pupils contracted sharply, his breathing seemingly coming to a sudden halt.

Was it her?

Knock, knock, knock—

A sharp knocking suddenly shattered the silence. Ethan froze, standing up in a complete daze. Amidst a frantic excitement that felt as though his heart would leap straight out of his chest, he threw the door open.

Standing quietly outside the door was the person he hadn't seen in two long years, her radiant face adorned with a beautiful, endearing smile.

A voice as gentle as a spring breeze brushing across a crystalline lake drifted through the air, perfectly echoing the fireworks exploding in the far distance.

"Ethan, I'm home."

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The End