No matter how bitter his days were, they could never compare to mine. He always hoped I could study diligently and rise above the ordinary. But I didn't, I didn't focus on my studies in university, and after the family went bankrupt, I told him I no longer wanted to continue my education. Yet, he still took the time to educate me. He was a farmer, yet he spoke like a scholar. In a time when our family was already in ruins, why did fate have to burden us even more?

My mother, too, shed tears, and I felt as though the world had forsaken both her and me. When Elena saw me crying, she held me and wept with me. After a long while, Elena took out a tissue and gently wiped the tears from my face, saying, "Your father will be fine, Ryan."

I asked Sophie, "How much did you pay earlier? I'll reimburse you." I fumbled for my phone.

"Auntie has already given it to me," Sophie replied, and it was only then that I remembered I had already transferred all the money to my mother. My phone buzzed with an unread message. I opened it, and saw that Sophie had transferred one hundred thousand to me. I hesitated to accept it, unwilling to accept such kindness from her. I'd rather borrow from Elena than from Sophie.

"Elena said your boss came by earlier, he left in tears," Elena softly informed me.

It dawned on me that I had come straight here from the airport and hadn't thought to check on her. I muttered, "Perhaps he didn't want to disturb us."

Elena seemed to sense something, but said nothing. She gently stroked my hair and said, "Let's have Mom go home first."

I didn't immediately realize the oddness of her choice of words. I walked over to my mother and said, "Mom, we don't know how long Dad's surgery will take. Why don't you go rest at home for a while? We'll wait here, and we'll call you when he's out."

"No, I need to see him come out," my mother cried. "No matter what happens, I must see him come out." She had suffered with him, never enjoying a moment of happiness, always enduring hardship alongside him. She stood by him even as he was dragged into the depths of misfortune. She had left behind the life of a wealthy woman to work again to repay debts, all with little education and now advanced in age. She had taken on the life of a cleaner just to sustain our household, while my father's wages were directly transferred to the bank each month, leaving us barely enough to survive.

Then, my father was wheeled out, but his head was covered by a white cloth… My world collapsed. So did my mother's. The doctor came out and said, "We did everything we could." I don't know how I managed to hold myself together and comfort my mother. We followed the stretcher into the morgue. Elena's parents arrived shortly after. Seeing us like this, they too shared in our sorrow. All the tears I had held back over twenty years were finally shed that day. I knelt on the floor, unwilling to rise. Trembling, I sent a message to Sophie: "I need to take some time off."

She replied, "How is your father?" I didn't reply. I couldn't. The phone fell to the ground, broken. I could hear the message notifications but couldn't see the screen.

Thankfully, Elena's father helped us take care of the funeral arrangements. Without his assistance, I truly wouldn't have known how to face this sudden tragedy and the overwhelming grief. Elena took on the role of a daughter-in-law, tirelessly running errands and welcoming guests.

The man who had killed my father was apprehended by the police. He had been one of my father's subcontractors, and when my father went bankrupt and couldn't pay him for the work, the subcontractor's life had fallen apart as well. His family had been torn apart, and his hands were empty. After years of waiting for the payment he was owed, and with the onset of cancer, he decided to resort to drastic measures in a desperate attempt to reclaim what he was owed for his son's sake. Yet, our family, now destitute, was all he could turn to, and in his frustration, he resorted to violence, convinced that if he couldn't have what was owed, no one would. In the end, who can I blame? Who is to blame for this? Perhaps it is simply fate. I feel sorrow not only for my father but for the killer as well.

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The day of the funeral, the sky was gray, as though the heavens too were mourning my father's passing. As I drowned in my endless sorrow, Sophie suddenly appeared. I don't know how she learned of the news, but there she was, standing before me with tears shimmering in her eyes. She walked up to my father's body, bowed gently, and then turned to me, choking on her words: "Auntie, please take care. I'm so sorry, we're late."

In that moment, I saw the sincerity and guilt in Sophie's eyes. Her arrival, though unexpected, gave me a sense of her care and support. But when Sophie saw Elena standing beside me, interacting with the guests as a family member, her tears began to flow once more, even more vehemently than before. She simply muttered her condolences and hastily left, leaving me standing there, my heart heavy and conflicted.

In front of my father's memorial, my mother said to me, "Your father always hoped you would marry Elena. He had even planned to talk to you about it soon… but alas, he never got the chance."

Since that moment, I could never bring myself to push Elena away. During my darkest hours, it was she and her family who extended endless support and assistance to both my mother and me. Though neither of us ever voiced it, my mother and I had already come to regard Elena as a part of our family.

Half a month later, I returned to work. However, when I saw the sorrowful look in Sophie's eyes, a sudden realization struck me—perhaps I was no longer suited to continue as her assistant. Summoning all my courage, I said to her, "Sophie, I think I'm no longer fit to be your assistant. Would it be possible for you to arrange another position for me?"

The moment my words fell, Sophie's tears began to fall. She cried as she asked, "Why is this happening? Why are you doing this to me?" I watched as tears streamed down her face, a wave of inexplicable emotion rising within me. I attempted to explain, but found myself at a loss for words. Sophie continued to sob, "I've been searching for you for seven years, waiting for you for seven years, and this is the result? Ryan, how could you be so heartless?"

Her words left me stunned, and I found myself drifting back into the past. Seven years! That number echoed in my mind, pulling me into deep reflection. I thought of the moments we had shared, yet I also vividly remembered the pain and harm I had caused Sophie. I didn't know how to confront all of this, so I simply stood there in silence.

Sophie, however, seemed unwilling to let me off so easily. She went on, crying bitterly, "Do you know how I've spent these seven years? I hate you, Ryan—hate you with a passion so deep it consumes me. But I also long for you, to the point of madness. I know I love you—I fell for you, you bastard! When I found out you were here, I did everything I could to establish myself here. I came with a heart full of joy, hoping to find you. But I never imagined this would be the outcome."

Hearing her lament, I was overwhelmed with guilt and remorse. I knew I had made mistakes, causing Sophie irreparable harm. Yet, I also understood that the past could not be undone, and all I could do was try to make amends for the present. Taking a deep breath, I sought to calm my tumultuous heart, then said, "I'm sorry. I've wronged you, and I've always felt that you despised me, which is why I never dared to say that I loved you. I feared you would hate me even more. I still remember the first day you entered university, wearing that white dress. I thought, why is there such a beautiful woman in the world? She must be the only one for me. I also remember the helpless look on your face that day you were threatened. It was through despicable means that I won you, but I could never win your heart. The look of contempt in your eyes… I regret it so deeply. I regret severing my own love. When my family went bankrupt, I felt it was fate, and so I didn't go back to school. I was afraid of seeing you, truly afraid. Even now, I'm afraid of you."

My words left Sophie in silence. She looked at me, her eyes glimmering with a multitude of emotions. I wasn't sure if she could comprehend the depths of my sorrow and helplessness, but I knew I had done all I could. Whatever the future held, I would face it bravely, striving to rectify the wrongs of the past.

She gazed at me through tear-swollen eyes, her voice choked with sobs. "Ryan, you can't leave me! Ryan, you can't do this! You can't make me fall in love with you and then abandon me!"

In that moment, my heart felt as if it had been cleaved in two. I took a deep breath, trying desperately to calm myself, and spoke as steadily as I could, "I'm sorry, Sophie. Elena's family has helped mine immensely, and my parents have made a promise to them. I will marry her. We are truly fated to be apart." I couldn't stop the tears from falling. She had once been the only one in my heart, my shining light, but now, we had drifted apart forever.