Chapter 7

Sebastian returned to Dove Garden and sat on the couch without turning the lights on. He rubbed his temples tiredly and napped briefly before jolting awake. Oddly enough, he'd had another nightmare about Alyssa. He'd dreamed about her dying, and it had seemed so real… Sebastian checked the time on his phone. It was only 4:00 am. He remembered that day was when the divorce cooling-off period ended—he and Alyssa were supposed to finalize things that day. Unable to control himself, he texted her. "Don't forget we're supposed to finalize the divorce today." Alyssa was already drifting in and out of consciousness when she received the text. She forced herself to stay awake as she replied with a voice message. "Sorry, but I might not make it. Don't worry, though. The divorce will still go through…" Once she was dead, their marriage would be void. Sebastian felt oddly relieved when he heard the voice message. He'd been silly. How could Alyssa die? Not only would she be reluctant to die, but she would also be reluctant to divorce him. He called her. Alyssa rarely received calls from Sebastian over the years. He'd always been short with her and communicated with her via text. He almost never called her. She answered the call. Before she could say anything, he said coldly, "My patience is limited, Alyssa. You're the one who asked for a divorce, yet you're now going back on your word. "Is it because I didn't pay you? You're marrying someone else, but 30 million dollars shouldn't be enough to satisfy you, right?" Alyssa couldn't say anything. Suddenly, she couldn't hear anymore. She was on the brink of death and didn't want to bear the blame for things she hadn't done. Mustering the last of her strength, she said, "I never married you for money, Seb… Now, the divorce isn't because of that, either… "You might not believe me, but I still want to tell you… I knew nothing about my mother and brother going back on the agreement… I won't marry anyone… for 30 million dollars…" She had to stop for breaths between words. Sebastian heard the billowing wind and rain on her end of the line. He asked, "Where are you?" Alyssa couldn't hear him. All she did was clutch the phone tightly and explain, "If… If I'd known about the things my mother and brother did, I never… never would've married you… If I'd known about your feelings for Daisy, I never… would've married you, either… "If I'd known my father would get into an accident on my wedding day… I never would've married you!" She repeatedly told him she would never have married him if she could predict the future. Sebastian heard her intense grievance and suffering from her words. He could also tell that she genuinely regretted marrying him. Suddenly, he felt like something was lodged in his throat. "What right do you have to feel regret? You were the one who tearfully begged to marry me, weren't you?" he rasped, his voice hoarse. Alyssa's voice was growing smaller. He could barely hear her. "Where the hell are you, Alyssa?" He didn't receive an answer. All he heard was her saying, "I've always… hoped for your happiness." The phone fell from her hand and landed on the ground. The rain pitter-pattered on it, and it eventually went dark. … Sebastian couldn't help feeling anxious as he looked at the disconnected call. He called Alyssa back, but all he heard was a cold, robotic voice. "Sorry, the number you have dialed can't be reached. Please try again…" He got up and grabbed his coat. He was about to leave the house when he stopped. Alyssa had to be playing hard to get! Besides, they were going to divorce soon. What did her business have to do with him? He returned to his bedroom. For some reason, he just couldn't fall asleep. Alyssa's words reverberated in his mind. "If… If I'd known about the things my mother and brother did, I never… never would've married you… If I'd known about your feelings for Daisy, I never… would've married you, either… If I'd known my father would get into an accident on my wedding day… I never would've married you!" Sebastian got out of bed and headed to Alyssa's room. It had been over a month since she'd left. He pushed the door open and felt like the darkness inside was particularly oppressive. He turned on the lights. The room was empty—Alyssa hadn't left any personal belongings behind. He sat down and opened the bedside drawer to see a notebook inside. Only two sentences were written inside. "I think the one who chooses to leave is the one who suffers the most. Her heart must've already struggled countless times before coming to a decision." Sebastian sneered at her dainty words. "Suffering? Haven't I suffered after all these years with you?" He threw the notebook into the trash can. But when he left the room, the notebook was back in the bedside drawer. He didn't manage to fall asleep after leaving. … Cameron wasn't having a good night's sleep, either. He felt something was wrong with Alyssa these past few days but couldn't pinpoint it. Then, a little past 4:00 am, he received a call from Mindy. "Cam, could you help me check on Alyssa? I just had an odd dream about her." He sat up. "What was it about?" "I dreamed that she was in trouble. She came to me, drenched from the rain. She told me not to forget to bring her home." Mindy couldn't stop her tears from falling as she spoke. "I'm worried something's happened to her. She's not answering her phone, either. "A few days ago, she told me to pick her up on the 15th. I just think something is really wrong…" Cameron thought about the things he'd observed lately and hurriedly got dressed. "Don't worry, okay? I'll go look for her right now." His place was close to the apartment Alyssa currently stayed at. He arrived ten minutes later and pushed the door open, finding it oddly silent. Alyssa's bedroom door wasn't even shut—the room was empty. She wasn't there. Where could she be at this hour? There were two envelopes by her pillow. Cameron opened them and realized they were two suicide letters. One was for him. "Cameron, I've already transferred the rent to you. Thanks for caring for me this past month. I've never had any friends since moving to Tillstone. Before our reunion, I thought it was just because I was too terrible to have friends. "It's good that I ran into you again. You taught me that I wasn't too bad, after all. So, thank you so much for that. Don't be too sad, okay? I've just gone to see my father. He'll take good care of me." The other letter was for Mindy. Cameron opened it to see an address at the very end. He bolted out of the apartment. It wasn't far from the west suburbs—it would only take over 20 minutes by car. Cameron couldn't help feeling that it was the furthest he'd ever traveled, though. He couldn't understand why someone he thought had shone so brightly had ended up choosing this path. Cameron wasn't the only one heading to the west suburbs. Heather was, too. She was only going to pick Alyssa up for the wedding and the 30 million dollars they'd received from Lincoln, though… … The rain was pouring at the cemetery in the west suburbs. Alyssa had collapsed before David's gravestone, the rain drenching her to the bone. Her dress was soaked, and she looked so skinny that it was as if she would disappear any second. Cameron ran to her in the rain. "Alyssa!" There was only the sound of wind and rain; he didn't receive a response. When he got to Alyssa and pulled her into his arms, he noticed the empty bottle of pills beside her. His hands trembled as he lifted her into the air. Why was she so light? "Wake up, Alyssa! Don't sleep!" He ran out of the cemetery while shouting. … "We've arrived, Mrs. Somner," the driver said. Heather looked out to see an unfamiliar man in the distance. Alyssa was in his arms. "How dare she!" She scowled and got out of the car, holding an umbrella above her head. She wore a red form-fitting dress today, but the rain soaked its hem. She stormed forward, wanting to berate Alyssa when she saw the latter lying limp in Cameron's arms. Her face was pale, and her eyes were shut. Heather stopped. "Alyssa…" She was about to ask what had happened when she saw the bottle that had come rolling in the wind. She hurried forward and picked it up, seeing that it was a bottle of sleeping pills. Then, she recalled what Alyssa had said a few days ago. "If I return my life to you, will I stop owing you for bringing me into this world? Will that mean you'll no longer be my mother?" Heather dropped her umbrella. She clutched the bottle tightly and glared at Alyssa in disbelief. Her eyes were wet, but it was hard to tell whether it was from the rain or her tears. "How dare you do something like this, you ingrate? I'm the one who gave you life!" Her red lips trembled. Terence was still in the car. He saw Heather standing in the rain but had no idea what had happened. He joined her and was stunned by what he saw. He never would've expected Alyssa to… He was anxious when he snapped to his senses. "What are we going to do, Mom? I've already used Mr. Cane's money to set up a new company." When Cameron heard that, he finally understood why Alyssa had become like this despite being strong and persevering. Heather clenched her fists, her gaze turning ruthless. She glared daggers at Alyssa and screamed, "Why didn't you wait until after the wedding to die? Why?" Cameron couldn't stand it anymore. He glared at Heather and Terence, his eyes bloodshot. "Fuck off! Don't make me repeat myself!" Only then did they notice that his demeanor wasn't any less domineering than Sebastian's. "Who are you?" Terence stepped forward. "She's my sister. What right do you have to tell us to fuck off?" Then, he turned to Heather. "Mr. Cane's already sent someone to hurry us, Mom. If we don't send her over soon, we'll be dead meat." Heather calmed down when she heard that. She said cruelly, "Get her into the car. We have to make her show up for the wedding even if she's dead!"