Mason pushed the door open and stepped out.

He was wearing a dark gray casual coat that day, his stature tall and straight, radiating an aura of total dominance.

Seeing this scene, his gaze darkened, and he walked over with long strides, pulling Sienna behind him before kicking Julian on the shoulder.

"Get lost!".

Julian was kicked and flipped onto the ground, but he quickly crawled back up, kneeling on the floor with his eyes still fixed stubbornly on Sienna.

"Sienna..." he mumbled, as if enchanted.

Sienna patted the corner of her coat that he had grabbed and wrinkled, suddenly thinking of something.

She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a transparent plastic sealed bag containing a cheap plastic hair clip.

It was the kind of street-stall item that cost ten yuan a bundle, and the rhinestones on it were almost all falling off.

Julian’s pupils contracted—.

That was from college, when he had casually bought it at a night market to coax her. At the time, he hadn't even paid for it; the boss had given it to him for free because he looked well-dressed.

He had long since forgotten, but she had kept it all this time, treating it as a treasure.

Sienna held that hair clip and walked to the edge of the release pond.

The pond water was bottomless, and koi were swimming.

"Julian," Sienna looked at the pond water, her voice very light, "You are just like this hair clip: cheap, inferior, and it fades.".

Having said this, her hand loosened.

With a light "plop," the hair clip fell into the water, creating a small splash, and was instantly swallowed by the gluttonous koi, leaving no trace behind.

"If it's lost, it's lost." Sienna turned around, her eyes indifferent.

"Don't come and disgust me again.".

Julian looked at the place where the hair clip had disappeared, his soul seemingly pulled out of his body.

He stared blankly for a long time, then suddenly began to laugh in a low voice.

The laughter grew louder and more frantic, until he was shaking all over, his face covered in tears and snot.

"Haha... Hahaha...".

As he laughed, he suddenly bent over and spat out a large mouthful of blood, staining the bluestone in front of him red.

Mason protected Sienna and stepped back, frowning: "A lunatic.".

Sienna took one last look at him.

In that gaze, there was no love and no hate, only endless emptiness.

It was as if he were just an eyesore of a stone on the side of the road.

"Let's go." She pulled Mason's hand.

Mason nodded and supported her as they walked toward the parking lot near the observation deck.

Julian swayed and climbed up, following behind them like a ghost.

The bodyguards wanted to block him, but Mason waved his hand: "Let him follow. Some things need to make him give up hope entirely.".

The observation deck was a glass walkway cantilevered over a bottomless valley, shrouded in clouds and mist.

Sienna stood by the railing, looking at the distant scenery.

Julian stopped a few meters away from her, leaning against the railing and gasping for air.

"Sienna..." his voice was shattered, torn to pieces by the mountain wind, "Do you remember? Back during the landslide, when I was above the ruins... I saved Chloe first.".

Sienna stood with her back to him, making no response.

Julian looked at the abyss, his eyes hollow and desperate.

"I was so stupid back then... I thought it was responsibility, but actually, I was severing my own lifeblood." He smiled miserably, "Sienna, I owe you a life, I owe our child a life.".

He suddenly flipped over the railing and stood on the edge that was only tens of centimeters wide.

Mason’s gaze sharpened, and he subconsciously stood in front of Sienna.

Julian looked back at Sienna’s back, revealing a look of relief and even a trace of fawning on his face.

"Sienna, I am returning it to you, okay?".

"If I die, will you be willing to forgive me?".

Before the words had faded, amidst the gasps of everyone, he closed his eyes, spread his arms, and fell straight down toward the boundless abyss!.

Chapter 18

"Julian!"

Mason barked a sharp command and instinctively reached out, but grabbed only air.

The wind roared.

That figure vanished instantly into the clouds and mist.

Sienna’s body stiffened, her complexion paled slightly, and her fingers gripped the railing tightly.

Mason immediately pulled her into his arms, covering her eyes: "Don't look."

He then turned back and roared: "Call the rescue team! Quickly!"

The wait was suffocatingly long.

The mountain wind was bitter, ruffling Sienna’s hair.

She leaned into Mason’s embrace, her body trembling—not out of heartache, but from an instinctive, physiological tremor.

Mason kept stroking her back, whispering comfort: "It's okay, I'm here."

An hour later, the news came up from the rescue team: "We found him! He’s stuck in the gap between a pine tree and some rocks halfway down the slope. He’s not dead yet, but..."

After a long time, several rescue team members arrived, struggling as they carried a stretcher up the slope.

The man on the stretcher barely looked human anymore.

He was lucky to have been caught by the tree, but his left leg was twisted in a grotesque manner, he was covered in blood, his face was shredded by branches, his chest heaved violently, and blood kept gushing from his mouth.

Seeing Sienna, his unfocused pupils miraculously gained clarity.

He gathered his last ounce of strength, lifting his blood-soaked, mangled hand to reach for the hem of Sienna’s dress.

"Sienna... Sienna..."

His voice was a mere thread, coughing up blood with every word.

"For... forgive... me..."

Everyone looked at Sienna.

Sienna stepped out of Mason’s arms and tidied her wind-tousled hair.

Step by step, she walked to the side of the stretcher, looking down at the man who had jumped to "atone" for his sins.

The hope in his eyes was so obvious, as if he would be happy to die if only she nodded.

Sienna looked at him for a long time.

So long that Julian thought she had softened.

Then, she slowly squatted down.

A ecstatic light burst into Julian’s eyes, and his fingers trembled as they reached toward her.

However, Sienna merely extended one finger and disdainfully flicked aside his hand, which was covered in mud and blood.

The motion was gentle, yet cold to the extreme.

"Julian," she looked into his eyes, enunciating every word with perfect clarity, "I do not forgive you."

"Not even in death."

The light in Julian’s eyes extinguished instantly, replaced by a gray, dead despair.

A wheezing sound emerged from his throat, like the final labored breath of a broken bellows.

Sienna stood up, stopped looking at him, and turned to walk toward Mason.

She stopped in front of Mason, raised her face, and looked at the man who had stood behind her regardless of the circumstances.

"Husband, let's go home."

Mason looked at the determination in her eyes, felt his heart stir, and bowed his head to kiss her lips.

Right in front of the dying Julian.

The kiss was gentle, lingering, carrying the relief of surviving a disaster and a promise for the future.

On the stretcher, Julian glared at the scene.

He watched her bloom in another man's arms, watched her give all her tenderness to someone else.

The immense pain and jealousy made his whole body convulse, his eyeballs nearly bursting.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of dark blood sprayed out, his head tilted to the side, and he passed out completely.

A single tear of blood rolled down the corner of his eye, mixed with dirt, appearing exceptionally desolate.

Chapter 19

One year later.

A closed mental health center in the suburbs of the capital.

This was a restricted area for patients with severe mental illness, the air permeated with the smell of disinfectant and the mustiness of places that never see the sun.

Chloe huddled in a corner behind iron bars, wearing a baggy blue-and-white striped hospital gown. Her hair was chopped unevenly, and her face was covered in unidentifiable stains.

Her eyes were dull, she clutched half a leftover steamed bun in her hand, and she kept mumbling to herself:

"Julian... save me... they are stealing my food... I am Mrs. Fu... I am the young mistress of the Fu family..."

A passing nurse knocked impatiently on the iron bars: "What are you shouting about! 'Mrs. Fu,' indeed. That lover of yours threw you here and stopped caring long ago! Even the medical bills were paid by that Mr. Qin for the sake of 'charity,' saying he wants you to 'live a long life' here!"

The crazed patients nearby rushed over, snatched the bun from her hand, shoved her to the floor, and let out grating, strange laughter.

Chloe stopped resisting. Like a broken doll, she curled into a ball, staring hollowly at the sky through the small square iron window.