Vincent didn't say a word after getting the call; he just grabbed Ethan and they hit the road immediately. Charlotte had picked a middle ground for the meetup, a spot near the two-bedroom apartment. "You've killed my future, now you're after my heart," Liam said, his face ashen, the very picture of despair. He slumped over the steering wheel, his voice so light it barely carried any strength.

"Charlotte, do you hate me?"

He seemed to care about the answer, yet at the same time, he didn't.

She was leaving anyway, so what did it matter if she hated him or not? Charlotte gave him the most honest answer, "No, I don't hate you." Perhaps she did hate him.

But after seeing Liam's pain, she couldn't hold on to the hatred.

It was enough for her that he wasn't completely indifferent.

That was enough to close the chapter on the naive love of her youth.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

The rest of the drive passed in silence.

They got to the apartment complex ahead of schedule.

Liam stared blankly in the direction of the apartment, his eyes brimming with profound sadness, "It would've been better if you'd never shown up."

That way he could cling to some airy fantasies, and keep hope alive as long as he never saw her body.

But Charlotte had to come back and tell him straight up again, "I don't love you anymore."

"I care about you more than anyone else," Liam blurted out as they neared their farewell, his heart in disarray.

"If I didn't care, I would have let you go the first time you wanted to resign."

But he didn't know how to express it, nor did he know what counted as caring in her book.

Charlotte remained silent.

If he had said these words four years ago, or even right after the car accident, she wouldn't have been so disappointed.

Then came a long silence. In the cramped space of the car, the scent that was distinctly theirs filled the air, thick and intertwining.

Slowly, Charlotte's throat grew tight as she watched people passing by outside the car - some alone with headphones, some couples playfully hugging, some families holding hands, some elderly pairs shuffling along. Life in all its forms.

Their lives might not be perfect, they might have their share of troubles.

But it wouldn't be like hers, losing a sister in childhood, a mother in her youth, and then a lover.

Her life seemed to be a constant series of losses, and no matter how hard she tried to hold on, she couldn't stop the relentless grinding of fate's wheel.

She was jealous of those people.

But she could never be one of them.

"Charlotte."

It was then that Liam suddenly called out her name.

For some reason, Charlotte felt like if she answered, she and Liam would end up on a different path.

Her heart was racing, a surge of emotion almost bursting through her chest.

Without thinking, Charlotte looked back at him.

She didn't say a word.

But she could clearly feel Liam's gaze soften a lot.

"I can't let you go."

He said bending down to plant a gentle kiss on the corner of her lips, "Charlotte, I can't bear to let you go."

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They hadn't been this close in so long, hadn't touched and felt each other's presence like this.

Charlotte's first impulse was to cry.

But she quickly turned her head away, not letting the tears fall.

"Mr. Parker, don't."

"I want to try one last time." Liam's voice was as still as a dead pond, "I'll take you to the airport, and you have until the plane leaves my sight to change your mind." Change her mind about what?

Staying?

Charlotte didn't argue. She just texted Vincent to take Ethan straight to the airport.

She wasn't going to change her mind.

Even though she couldn't quite explain why she agreed to Liam's odd request, she was certain, she wouldn't regret it.

The car started moving slowly, Liam driving at a snail's pace.

His tone was gentle too.

"You always said our start wasn't perfect, so our end wouldn't be either. I never agreed with that."

"Do you remember how you first treated me? You thought there was no future for us, so you were guarded and distant. Do you know, a mistress for other people could make in three days what took you half a year to earn from me." "Back then, I hated when you asked me for money. I didn't get it, though I just despised greedy people. But later, I figured it out. I just hated how you made our relationship seem so transactional."

"When I found out that you were teaming up with Thomas and Vincent against Chloe, I thought you were using me. I was really hard on you during that time, turning a blind eye to your struggles because I was just so mad. I felt like you shouldn't be doing that to me."

"Then later, in Leiventale, you were delirious with fever and you said a lot of things to me. That was the first time you showed me some real warmth, and acted all cute and needy." "But after that..."

Liam didn't finish talking about that bit of history. He skipped right to when Charlotte moved in with the Parker family.

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"You probably don't look back on that time fondly, but for me, that was when you loved me the most."

"You'd ask things of me, question why I wasn't nicer to you, make me want to love you even more." "Charlotte, you were so full of life back then."

He stopped there, his lips pressed tightly together, hands gripping the steering wheel, shaking. Charlotte wanted to stop him but didn't know how to start.

Think of it as... a parting gift, she thought.

She wanted to hear just how much Liam loved her.

But her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden ringtone. Charlotte looked down to see a message from Vincent, saying they had reached a farm near the airport, and Ethan had gotten out to see the ponies, asking Charlotte to meet them there.

With that interruption, Liam had a million things to say but couldn't get the words out.

"I won't recognize Ethan." After a while, he said quietly, "So Charlotte, don't hide from me."

Charlotte didn't respond, just quietly watched the scenery outside the window.

They soon arrived at the farm. In a large grassy area enclosed by a fence, several ponies were running around happily, but Ethan was nowhere to be seen.

"Vincent said Ethan wanted to see the ponies, isn't it here?" Charlotte looked around, confused, trying to spot Ethan.

"Over there!"

Suddenly, Liam's angry voice reached Charlotte's ears. She flinched instinctively, a wave of panic rising even before she saw what was happening. She turned her head, slowly looking in the direction Liam pointed-

Ethan was being held by a man, sitting in front of a barn, grooming a pony.

Ethan's face was streaked with tears, and the hand holding the grooming brush was red and swollen.

And the man.

It was Dylan.