Elena pursed her lips:

"…Can you let him stay here?"

She could tell that Julian’s illness was because of her.

Even if it was just out of past affection, she didn't want to see Julian go down a path of no return.

Sebastian looked at her for a moment, sighed, and hung up the phone.

Julian smiled and fell straight backward.

Chapter 14

Elena sat in front of Julian’s bed, watching him in silence. His complexion was bloodless, and her gaze was complex.

Sebastian handed her a glass of water:

"Tomorrow, we’ll return to our country together."

Elena didn't ask further; she simply nodded.

The phone suddenly rang. Elena glanced down at it, frowned, and stepped outside.

She answered the call from the owner of the underground boxing ring:

"How did you find me?"

The owner laughed:

"I naturally have my ways. Elena, I’ve tried to persuade 'Black Hawk' already, but he refuses to come back.

"I hope you can talk some sense into him; after all, you’re his apprentice."

Elena’s eyes grew cold:

"I'm not anymore. Whether he goes back or not is his own business. The deal between us is finished."

She hung up directly, though her heart was still pounding.

The moment she heard the other party’s voice, she felt as if she had been thrust back into those bloody, violent days of the past.

If Elena hadn't experienced her current peaceful life, perhaps she wouldn't have felt such strong resistance.

But once someone has seen the sun, they never want to return to the darkness.

She took a long time to steady herself before turning around.

Sebastian was standing right behind her.

Elena froze, her expression flustered:

"Why are you here?"

She was suddenly terrified that Sebastian would learn of her past.

He was a man who stood in the light; how could he accept what she had been through?

But Sebastian only glanced at her before turning around:

"Just passing by."

Behind his lenses, his gaze was nearly ruthless.

The moment Julian appeared, he had realized Elena wasn't living well, and this return to their country was also to get to the bottom of it.

The next day, they boarded the cruise ship back home.

Elena had assumed Sebastian was returning because of business back home, but ever since their return, he had been by her side almost every moment.

On their first day back, he took Elena to the most famous local temple.

Elena asked curiously:

"Doctors believe in this too?"

Sebastian smiled:

"This one is very effective."

Elena followed his example, lit a stick of incense, and closed her eyes to make a wish.

She had thought her mind would still be filled with Julian, but in the end, it was a total blank.

"I hope the rest of my life is peaceful and smooth."

【Does no one else think our Elena and the doctor are a perfect match? Just saying...】

【I do, I do! Elena, don't ever live a life of licking blood off a blade again, sob.】

Elena opened her eyes and exchanged a smile with Sebastian, who was watching her.

When they returned to the hospital, Julian was already gone. The nurse said he had left early in the morning.

While Julian was in his coma, he had hazily seen Elena with frost on her brows and lips turned purple.

Her life was slipping away before his eyes. He wanted to hold her to warm her up, but his hand passed right through her shoulder.

"Summer, don't be angry, okay?"

He turned his head stiffly to see himself coaxing Summer, who was angry because he had hung up on Cole.

Julian awoke with a start, his chest heaving violently.

A long while later, he slowly covered his face.

What had he done...

Julian left the hospital, found an ice storage room, and locked himself inside.

The extreme cold gradually encroached upon his limbs and bones. In a trance, Julian saw Elena’s figure.

His lips were frozen blue-violet as he trembled slightly:

"…I’m sorry."

His consciousness gradually drifted away, and several lines of text appeared blurrily before his eyes.

【The second male lead is quite pathetic too. Why doesn't the second female lead just forgive him?】

【Right, he’s already tormented himself to the brink of death. Most importantly, he already knows he was wrong!】

【What’s pathetic about it? What he’s enduring is only one percent of what Elena went through. And you feel sorry for him already?】

Julian’s gaze lingered on the words "one percent," and his heart felt even colder than the chill on his body.

Chapter 15

After returning to her country, Elena always had nightmares, dreaming that she was back in the boxing ring, being knocked down over and over again.

And Julian would be sitting under the ring, covering Summer’s eyes, coaxing her gently:

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..."

After waking, Elena would sit up and stare into the darkness for half the night.

Sebastian soon noticed the dark circles deepening under her eyes and frowned every time he asked, but Elena only shook her head.

He knew that if Elena didn't want to talk about something, it was useless no matter how much he asked.

After all, two years ago, when she saved him, she hadn't even left her name.

But compared to her previous life, Elena was very satisfied with her current one.

What she hadn't expected was to bump into Summer on the street.

Summer was without Cole, and in less than half a month, her already thin frame looked even more fragile.

The moment their eyes met, Summer froze violently.

Elena didn't know how to treat the person who had indirectly led to her miserable experience, so she simply turned to walk away.

But Summer squeezed through the crowd and grabbed her sleeve, her voice trembling:

"Sister Elena, is that you?"

Elena sighed and turned around.

Summer stared blankly, tracing the lines of her face, before suddenly bursting into loud, wailing tears:

"Sister Elena, you’re back, you’re finally back..."

People around them glanced over, but Summer, who had always been thin-skinned, paid them no mind, crying louder and louder.

Elena had no choice but to let her clutch the corner of her shirt and bring her back to the hospital.

She found an empty room, but when she tried to pry Summer’s fingers off her clothes, she couldn't break her grip.

Elena sighed:

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

Summer gave her a sobbing look and suddenly fell to her knees with a thud:

"Sister Elena, it’s all my fault... If I hadn't invited you to the wedding, you wouldn't have been hurt!"

"If it weren't for me, Julian wouldn't have been so bad to you... Beat me, please, do whatever you want!"

Elena’s originally complex mood was reduced to nothing but a headache from the crying.

【Sigh, the heroine baby doesn't know how many times she’s cried...】

【She’s not crying just because of Elena. Isn't the fundamental reason that Cole has become increasingly cold to her after marriage?】

【I say she’s just shedding crocodile tears. Elena better not forgive her!】

Elena’s gaze paused:

"Did you fight with Cole?"

Unexpectedly, Summer wiped her tears and said softly but firmly:

"I want to divorce him."

Elena stared at her in disbelief.

Being able to stay together with the one she loved had been her own dream in the past.

But seeing Summer’s reluctance to say more, she didn't continue to ask.

As the two sat in silence, the door was suddenly pushed open. Julian, looking worse than ever, walked in slowly.

Since leaving the ice cellar, he had discovered he could see some of the bullet-screen comments.

The fragments of information revealed a heartbreaking fact: Elena had endured countless sufferings unbearable to ordinary people.

Julian had originally thought that as long as his heart was sincere, he could move Elena.

But now, he suddenly didn't know what he should do...

His gaze fell on Elena, and he couldn't help but pause.

Upon seeing Summer, he said sharply:

"Who told you to come here?! Why aren't you staying properly by Cole’s side and running here instead?"

He was terrified that if Elena saw Summer, she would be reminded of the past.

But Elena’s expression was indifferent, showing no sign of anger.

Julian’s gaze suddenly fell on the maple leaf necklace around Summer’s neck, and he frowned:

"Return the necklace to Elena. That is the token of love between her and me."

Summer was startled at these words, and she hurriedly took off the necklace and shoved it into Elena’s hands:

"I'm sorry, Sister Elena, I didn't know..."

When Julian gave her this necklace, he had only said it was a farewell gift from Elena, and she had never thought twice about it.

A token of love... that must be very important.

Elena looked down at the so-called "token of love." The cold silver chain still carried a body temperature that didn't belong to her.