Now, she didn't want to waste anything else, regardless of what it was.

Lydia frowned and pulled her hand back, taking a tissue to meticulously wipe her hand clean with disgust.

"Julian, don't do this. It’s pathetic."

Julian’s kneeling body stiffened, and his forced smile became strained.

"Lydia, what do you... mean by that? Do you not love me anymore? Back then, I didn't know someone had forced you to leave again. I don't blame you; I only blame myself for not being strong enough to keep you."

Julian was in so much pain that speaking was difficult, but he still looked at Lydia urgently.

The dagger was still lodged in his arm, but he seemed oblivious to it, his eyes filled only with her.

"Lydia, I promise you, no one will ever separate us again. We still have fifty or sixty years to spend together. Didn't you say before that you wanted to live in seclusion? I’ve already..."

"Julian, no one forced me. I chose to leave on my own."

Chapter 23

Julian’s voice vanished the moment Lydia spoke.

He didn't want to wear a miserable expression in front of her, but he couldn't force his mouth to smile.

"Lydia, what do you mean, you... chose to leave? Don't be afraid. Now, even the members of the family don't dare to threaten you. Tell me..."

"Julian! Get a grip. I said, I chose to leave of my own accord."

"As for exactly why, I don't think I need to say it. You know very well in your heart."

Julian did know very well, because of Sienna, because of the child, and even more because of his momentary lapse in judgment.

It was his indulgence of Sienna’s harm that caused Lydia to lose hope in him time and again.

But now he knew he was wrong; he really would never do it again.

However, Lydia’s gaze was icy, chilling his heart.

A sudden, massive surge of panic rose in Julian’s heart, as if something was slipping away—something he couldn't grasp no matter how tightly he clenched his fist.

His neck turned red with anxiety, his helpless appearance as heart-wrenching as a lost puppy.

But it failed to stir any pity in Lydia.

He wanted to take Lydia’s hand, but he pulled back when he saw the blood on his own.

He wiped his hand over and over again on his million-dollar bespoke suit and shirt before carefully clutching her hand.

"Lydia, it’s okay. It doesn't matter if you were active or passive. As long as we are fine now, I don't care about anything in the past."

"Let go."

Lydia couldn't understand.

Back then, Julian clearly loved Sienna so much that he was willing to hurt their own child just to pave the way for Leo.

So she let go, willing to fulfill their happiness.

Why was Julian now acting as if he couldn't live without her, even to the point of sending Sienna to prison?

After thinking for a long time, she reached a conclusion in her mind.

"Julian, in reality, you don't love me at all. You just can't accept that someone who loved you very much would one day stop loving you, no matter who that person is."

Lydia’s words held no emotion, only a plain statement of fact.

But it was precisely this tone that made Julian’s heart ache even more. "It's not like that, it's not..."

He stood up hurriedly to explain, but his lips trembled for a long time without managed to say exactly what wasn't the case.

Lydia had no desire to wait for him to come up with an explanation; she turned to push the door open.

Just as she touched the handle, Julian’s voice, thick with tears, came from behind her.

"Lydia, don't go. I beg of you..."

As he spoke, he gripped the hilt of the knife tightly. "Do I have to die here before you’ll agree to listen to me finish everything? Before you’ll agree to give me another chance?"

Julian had no other choice.

Even now, when he remembered the period after Lydia's supposed death when he was in the most pain, and then receiving his divorce papers, he still felt a suffocating heartache.

At that moment, a suspicion had vaguely formed in his heart that Lydia might no longer want to love him.

But thinking it was one thing; hearing her admit it now was quite another.

He didn't know how she survived and escaped the explosion, nor did he know why she hadn't come looking for him in these three years.

But he didn't care anymore; he only wanted his Lydia to be alive.

As long as she would look at him again, as long as she would give him one more chance.

However, the person before him, who used to be completely devoted to him, remained unmoved even as he held the knife to his heart.

Julian tightened his grip on the knife, a flicker of despair suddenly flowing in his eyes.

He wanted to say a few more words, but Lydia had already turned away resolutely. "Julian, don't be so childish."

This sentence inexplicably mirrored the one he had said to her three years ago: "Lydia, don't be so headstrong."

At this moment, Julian seemed to experience the pain Lydia had felt back then.

He didn't hesitate; he dropped the knife and followed her.

The blood from his left arm left a trail on the floor, causing the employees in the elevator to stare at each other in shock.

Julian seemed to have used all his strength; some of the knife wounds were deep enough to show bone.

His body began to sway, unable to stand steady, yet he was still afraid that if he were a step too slow, he would miss his Lydia.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, he rushed out impatiently.

Despite running until he was lightheaded and his stomach was churning with nausea, he didn't stop.

Until he walked out of the company gates, he finally saw that familiar figure once again.

The panic in his heart was soothed, and a few different thoughts suddenly surfaced.

A few seconds later, his gaze turned determined.

As long as Lydia remained by his side, even if it was with hate, he would accept it.

Thinking this, he pulled out his phone to call someone to intercept her, but he immediately dropped the phone when he saw something above Lydia's head.

"Watch out!"

Chapter 24

From that push, the old injury on Lydia’s wrist from three years ago made a cracking sound.

She frowned, turning to see who had pushed her, but suddenly heard the sharp sound of glass shattering.

Lydia froze for a moment and slowly turned her head.

"Julian!"

At this moment, Julian was lying in a pool of blood. The bleeding from his arm hadn't stopped, and now fresh red blood was seeping from his forehead.

Lydia was momentarily panicked when a comforting hand patted her shoulder from behind.

"It’s okay. I’ve called for an ambulance."

The moment she turned and saw it was Silas, Lydia’s heart felt a sense of stability.

But Julian’s gaze turned cold the second he saw the newcomer.

"Lydia, it hurts so much."

He didn't ask who it was, because he was afraid that if he asked, he would get the answer he feared.

So he simply kept crying out in pain, forcing out his tears.

And as expected, Lydia’s attention shifted to him.

A sense of triumph actually surfaced in Julian’s heart.

He used this trace of her softening heart to grip Lydia’s hand tightly, soaking up her hard-won concern.

This was the first time Julian felt he was despicable; he actually wanted to fake a fatal state to trap Lydia’s heart.

And he really did it.

"Lydia, I don't regret it. Don't be anxious. I just want to ask you one thing: if I really leave this time, will you still be my wife in the next life?"

He laboriously raised his other uninjured hand to wipe Lydia’s tears, appearing incredibly gentle.

Silas’s gaze deepened at those words, but he said nothing, only looking at Lydia steadfastly.

Lydia remained silent for a moment before opening her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by the urgent sound of an ambulance.

She immediately stopped, stood up, and let go of Julian so the medical staff could lift him onto the vehicle.

But even as he lay in the ambulance, Julian’s eyes were fixed on Lydia, waiting for an answer.

The next second, the smile froze on his face.

Lydia didn't speak, but he understood her meaning.

When the nurse asked who would accompany him, she took a step back and casually grabbed a company employee to go instead.

Julian’s eyes instantly welled with tears, and he used his strength to try and sit up, but was held down by the nurse.

"Lydia, you’ll wait for me, right?"

Just before the ambulance doors closed, Julian used his last ounce of conscious strength to silently ask this question.

But she remained silent, and even turned to kiss the person beside her.

That scene pierced Julian’s eyes like a needle, and his tears fell instantly.

A self-deprecating smile touched the corners of his mouth; he seemed to understand everything, yet also seemed to understand nothing.

The heart that had been sealed three years ago went completely cold at this moment.

He knew he had lost the most sincere love of his life, and he had lost the person who loved him the most.

He had lost her himself; he had pushed her away himself.

From the moment he was struck, Julian had forced himself to stay conscious just to see Lydia one more time.

But at this moment he understood that he might never see her again in this lifetime.

Only after watching the ambulance drive away did Lydia release Silas.

Silas didn't try to hold her back, but simply looked at her with a smile on his face.

"CEO Lydia, now that you've 'stamped' me, aren't you going to give me an official status?"

Lydia was momentarily embarrassed and took his arm as they walked toward the car.

"I’ll give it to you, I'll give you everything, okay?"

In the bustling crowd, Lydia could only hear his doting reply: "Okay."

A year later, Lydia moved her business from abroad back to the country.

She also became a famous "devil" project manager in the industry; as long as she was there, there was no project that couldn't be won.

However, after returning to North Capital, she rarely heard Julian’s name.

She didn't ask, but word still reached her ears.

It turned out that Julian had resigned from his position as the CEO of the family business a year ago and vanished from North Capital on the same day.

No one knew where he went, including the members of his family.

Only the young monks on a desolate mountain knew that a strange fellow had come to the temple.

He didn't speak, only chanted mantras, as if praying for this life and the next.

(The End)