Annabelle Linton smiled and took his hand.

Then, Aaron Wyatt lowered his gaze and whispered something to her. Leona couldn’t tell what it was, but whatever he said made Annabelle Linton smile.

Finally, through the supermarket’s bright glass doors, he saw Aaron Wyatt call out, "Annabelle."

Annabelle Linton looked up, and Leona read his lips as he said to her, "It’s so good to have you."

Annabelle Linton’s back was completely turned to him, so he couldn’t see what she said in reply.

But she must have said something like, "Me too," because he saw the corners of Aaron Wyatt’s mouth curve up again before he pulled her in for another kiss.

Then he watched them slowly walk away.

It was only then that he realized he was near Annabelle Linton’s home. No wonder he had run into them.

Leona Grant didn’t know how he managed to leave the store. He had forgotten why he’d even come in, and simply walked out.

It was as if in that one instant, all the strength had been drained from his body. Even walking felt airy and weak.

Seeing the two of them so inseparable sparked a strange feeling in his heart. He wanted to cry, yet he also wanted to laugh.

Ultimately, it coalesced into a heart-wrenching pain that spread, bit by bit, through his entire body, leaving him feeling battered and bruised.

He glanced back at the supermarket, a faint daze clouding his eyes.

He used to go grocery shopping with Annabelle Linton, too, always at his grandfather’s arrangement.

Back then, he’d always found his grandfather meddlesome, always managing and arranging everything. But now he understood. His grandfather hadn’t been meddlesome at all; he had been truly farsighted.

He deeply regretted why he had never listened to his grandfather.

Back then, whenever he went to the supermarket with Annabelle Linton, she would always point things out excitedly, but he would give her the cold shoulder, even taking his frustrations out on her.

He ruined the atmosphere every single time.

Now, seeing her shopping with another man, he finally realized how many beautiful and happy moments he had truly thrown away.

Leona Grant let out a weak sigh and wandered aimlessly for a long time before finally going home.

These days, he couldn’t muster the energy for anything. He felt listless and had no idea what he was supposed to do with himself.

He was just existing—breathing, eating, drinking, and sleeping on schedule.

He couldn’t find a reason to take anything else seriously.

When he returned home, everyone else was already asleep. In the living room, Patrick Grant was talking with Butler Zane.

"Mr. Zane," Patrick Grant said sorrowfully, "is that girl, Annabelle, really going to have nothing to do with our Grant Family anymore?"

Regret filled Butler Zane’s eyes as he replied tactfully, "Sir, the Young Master will find someone better."

"There is no one better..."

Patrick Grant gave a weary smile, picking up the invitation Annabelle Linton had sent over that day. He coughed a few times. "To be honest, in all my years, I’ve never met a better girl than her.

I took great pains to groom her from a young age, and she was worth every bit of the effort. She yearned for Leona, but Leona simply refused to see it. Now, after all this time, Leona has finally come around and fallen for her, but the girl is marrying someone else. All those years of waiting have amounted to nothing. I can’t say whose fault it is... it’s just a shame. Such a shame..."

"Miss Linton is indeed an excellent young woman, but I suppose it just wasn’t her fate to be part of the Grant Family."

Butler Zane added politely, "Besides, the Young Master is an excellent man himself. You needn’t worry about his marital prospects, Sir..."

"How can I not worry?" Patrick Grant opened the invitation, his sadness deepening as he read the words inside.

[Camilla Monroe: Congratulations to [healer] in the comments for being the first to answer the question correctly and winning 100 book coins! Please join the group (group number is pinned) and contact the admin to claim your prize. Also, the next Chapter will be updated at 2:00 PM sharp. The updates will follow this schedule for the next few days. I’m too busy to change it, so please bear with me. Once this period is over, I’ll pull an all-nighter and write a ton of new Chapters for you. Love you all!]