"A Second Chance at the End of the World" Chapter 16
Selene shook off his hand and continued walking outside; Julian was still waiting for her.
Just then, a little boy came running over in a hurry, wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt with a little duck pattern, colliding with Selene’s leg like a small cannonball.
The boy looked up, a trace of panic on his tender face, "I’m sorry, Auntie!"
Selene staggered back half a step from the impact, looking down at the child instinctively.
As her gaze fell on the little boy’s face, her pupils contracted violently; something seemed to explode within her mind.
Those blurred memory fragments surged like a tide; the sounds of the fire and explosion in the academy training room rang in her ears, the vision of sky-high flames flashed before her eyes, followed by the ice-cold, biting darkness of the zombie king’s lair.
"Mommy don't cry, Andy won't cry either."
"Mommy, Andy is fine."
"Mommy..."
Tears rolled uncontrollably from her eye sockets. Her body trembled slightly, her fingers clutching the hem of her skirt until her fingertips turned white.
The face of that child finally overlapped with the figure in her memories.
"Andy... Andy..."
She murmured to herself, her voice trembling until it was almost inaudible.
The little boy’s parent ran over in a panic, apologizing while pulling the child away: "I’m sorry, I’m sorry! He was running too fast, didn't bump you, did he?"
Selene seemed not to have heard, standing blankly where she was, tears falling incessantly.
How could she have forgotten?
That was her child, her Andy!
Silas watched her expression, his face instantly turning deathly pale.
He realized she remembered everything.
"Wife..."
He took a step forward, his voice raspy and urgent, reaching out a hand wanting to grab her. "You remembered, didn't you?"
Selene lifted her head abruptly, a pair of scarlet eyes staring straight at him, the emotions in her gaze so complex they made one ache.
Her voice was cold and trembling: "I am not your wife."
Silas’s hand froze in mid-air, as if pierced sharply by her words.
A trace of panic flashed in his eyes, wanting to explain.
But just then, a cold voice cut in: "You again?"
Julian Vance walked over, his gaze sweeping coldly over Silas before landing on Selene’s tear-filled face.
His brow furrowed tightly, his tone carrying obvious hostility:
"Why are you looking for her again? What exactly did you do to her?"
Silas pressed his lips together, looking at Julian with a gloomy gaze.
He finally recognized this man—it was the senior brother who had died to save her in his previous life.
Selene grabbed Julian’s hand, her voice filled with a trace of pleading: "Senior Brother, take me away. I don't want to see him."
Julian nodded, pulling her shoulders into his embrace, his gaze sweeping coldly over Silas: "Don't pester her again, or don't blame me for being impolite."
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Silas stood where he was, watching helplessly as they left, his heart feeling as if it were being fiercely torn apart. His fingers were clenched into fists, his knuckles white, his eyes gradually growing gloomy.
Just as Selene Rivers was about to disappear at the end of the corridor, he suddenly spoke, his voice low and cold: "Is it because of him that you don't want to see me?"
Chapter 27
Since that day when she didn't answer him and turned to leave.
For a month, Silas had been pestering her. She knew he was filled with guilt, trying to make amends.
But she was unwilling to forgive, and even more unwilling to see him ever again.
"Silas, I will say this one last time: stop coming after me."
Selene Rivers could take it no longer. Standing on the roadside, she looked at him coldly.
He wanted to say something, but seeing the determination in her eyes, he felt his throat tighten as if blocked by something, and he couldn't utter a word.
Just as they were locked in this stalemate.
A sharp, piercing sound of an armored vehicle’s horn echoed from afar.
Selene turned her head instinctively.
A runaway armored vehicle was speeding directly toward her.
Her mind went blank, her feet seemingly nailed to the ground, unable to move a muscle.
"Watch out!"
Silas’s voice exploded in her ears.
Immediately, she felt a massive force pushing her aside.
She fell to the ground, a screeching sound of brakes and a heavy impact ringing in her ears.
Her heart nearly stopped. Slowly lifting her head, she saw Silas’s body sent flying by the armored vehicle, landing heavily on the ground.
Her pupils contracted sharply, her body trembling uncontrollably.
An ambulance soon arrived and rushed Silas to the medical station.
Outside the operating room.
Selene sat on a bench, gripping her hands tight, the image of him pushing her away playing on a loop in her mind.
The physician emerged, his expression grave: "The patient is temporarily out of life-threatening danger, but his hands have sustained severe damage. Due to the backlash of his healing ability, amputation may be necessary."
Selene froze. The memory of her own hands being crippled in her past life due to his revenge, along with those 99 acts of vengeance, surfaced in her mind, leaving her heart filled with complex emotions.
After Silas woke up and learned that his hands could not be saved, he remained silent for a long time.
Selene bit her lip, saying nothing.
She looked at his pale face, feeling both guilty and relieved at the same time.
After Silas was discharged, he disappeared from her life, as if he had never existed.
Selene’s life finally returned to peace.
She helped her senior brother, Julian Vance, avoid the zombie tide from her previous life, and their relationship gradually warmed, eventually leading to them becoming partners under the witness of the base.
After they were married, she worked hard to emerge from the shadows of the past, trying to embrace a new life.
One sunny afternoon, Selene and Julian were taking a walk past a welfare camp.
In the yard, children were chasing and playing, their laughter filling the air.
Selene’s gaze inadvertently swept over a little boy sitting in a corner, and she suddenly froze.
The child was bowing his head, and the profile of his face gave her heart a shock.
Her heartbeat accelerated suddenly, her eyes instantly turning red.
She couldn't help but step forward, crouching down, her voice choked with emotion as she asked: "What is your name?"
"My name is Andy."
——End——
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