Leona Grant paused, suddenly at a loss for words.

He opened his mouth to speak, but it was as if he’d lost his voice; not a single sound came out. All his earlier bravado deflated like a popped balloon, leaving only an empty shell.

After a moment of silence, he could only manage one sentence. "I’m willing to do everything I can to make it up to you."

Annabelle Linton scoffed as if she’d just heard the world’s biggest joke and shook her head.

She had no time to waste on him. She walked to the door, opened it, and then gestured outside with her chin. "I understand," she said coldly. "You can go now. I have things to do, so I won’t see you out."

Leona Grant stood rooted to the spot, his lips pressed into a thin line as he stared intently at her, unable to move a single step.

Thinking of the past, he closed his eyes wearily. "I mean it."

"I never said I don’t believe you. But thank you, I appreciate the thought." ’Just don’t bother me again.’

Annabelle Linton didn’t say the last part out loud, but anyone could understand her unspoken message.

Leona Grant stared fixedly at her cold face, his heart aching terribly.

Her indifference seemed casual, but in reality, it was like a thousand knives piercing his organs. He felt that if he met her gaze for even a second longer, the chill in her eyes would force him into retreat.

He looked at her, and she looked back at him. His face was clearly reflected in her wide eyes, so why did it seem that no matter what he did, she would never truly see him?

Her eyes were too serene, so tranquil that not a single ripple disturbed their surface. So serene that he couldn’t see through them at all.

Even hatred would have been better, but there was nothing. Her complete nonchalance was what made his heart ache.

This wasn’t the outcome he wanted.

The mist in Leona Grant’s eyes thickened. He looked at her, hunched over in agony, and grabbed her hand again. His eyes shimmered with unshed tears as he spoke. "Annabelle Linton, why did we end up like this?"

"You used to love me so much. Why are you marrying someone else now? Why are you leaving with him?"

"I don’t know how to let you go. Don’t go. Don’t leave me, okay?"

Finally, his eyes could no longer hold back the liquid within them, and tears streamed down Leona Grant’s face.

He backed her into a corner, hugging her helplessly. He placed her hand over his heart and spoke through his sobs, "I love you so much too! You loved me for so many years. Even if I didn’t love you back, you still would have had a chance to be with me. So now that I love you this much, why are you leaving?"

"Please don’t go, okay? If we can’t be lovers, we can be friends. Won’t you at least give me that chance?"

He held her, his tall frame slightly hunched as he greedily inhaled her scent, and asked again through his sobs, "Annabelle Linton, why did we end up like this?"

Annabelle Linton remained still in his embrace, not moving. Scenes from her past life flashed before her eyes like a hurried montage, and in the end, only a cool detachment remained in her expression.

Annabelle Linton smiled again, a faint one, and said softly, "You understand."

Leona Grant’s body went rigid.

Annabelle Linton didn’t push him away. Perhaps she felt there was truly no point in arguing with him in his current state.

She smiled again. "Leona Grant, you understand everything, so why deceive yourself? We can’t go back. What’s the point of being so stubborn and pestering me?"

"It’s true that I once loved you, that I was willing to give everything for you, to go through fire and water, even to die. But it’s also true that when that passion cooled, my heart died and froze into a block of ice that can never be thawed. Now, even looking at you feels like a waste of effort."