---- Chapter 21 After asking the property management, Eva learned that Jake had waited outside Vernon's villa every day. He even inquired about her with various excuses. She knew well that Vernon preferred tranquility over noise, especially in his advanced age, and couldn't handle much commotion. She was annoyed and rushed back to Vernon's villa area. At the entrance to the parking lot, Jake stood there. His pale, exhausted face managed a faint smile as soon as he saw her. He was crazy. Eva slammed the accelerator sharply and sped towards Jake. Yet, he didn't flinch or dodge. He even closed his eyes at the moment of near impact. He looked relieved and peaceful. Screech! The car came to a sudden halt and was parked just a centimeter away from Jake. Eva stormed out of the car, fuming. "Jake, do you have a death wish?" Jake wasn't angry at all. He just asked her, "Would you forgive ---- me if | were gone?" Eva was silent for a long while. It was so long that Jake began to feel panicked before Eva finally said, "Jake, we have no connection anymore. Whatever you do from now on, whether you live or die, it has nothing to do with me." Jake seemed to lose his backbone. He struggled to be on his feet and catch his breath. "How can you say that? Eva, we, we're always family." Eva's eyes softened with pity. "By blood, we have no connection. And legally, we have none either. Your parents raised me, and | will fulfill my duty to care for them in their old age. But the debt | owed you was repaid in those three years." "No! No!" Jake cried out, "Eva, you can't do this to me. |, | regret it..." Eva couldn't bear to see him in such a humbled, pleading demeanor. He had always been her most solid support. He was the anointed one, the one in charge, the one who gave orders for twenty years. But now, he lowered himself into the dust to win her back, and she was a little sad. If only he had regretted it sooner, why had he done those things? ---- Eva swallowed the bitterness in her heart and forced herself not to look at him. "Jake, just leave. Jacob and your parents have agreed to let me leave your family and live the life | want. Jake, do you think you alone can make me go back?" Jake hesitated. "I, I'm different from them." Eva looked at his evasive gaze but felt indifference. She had been hurt deeply. She had loved Jake for so long. She had thought she would need a long time to heal when she was leaving the Stephens family. But the moment she stepped into Veryland, she let go of Jake completely. The world was vast. How had she once abandoned the beautiful world offered just to stay with Jake back then? The world was so wonderful, with the air so fresh. Especially when she met Vernon and senior psychologists and witnessed them devote themselves wholeheartedly to the field they loved, she realized how foolish she had been to waste so much precious time trying to make Jake love her. She felt grateful that she still had a chance. So she quickly immersed herself in her studies. She was busy discussing classic cases with Vernon and attending various ---- lectures with senior psychologists. She had learned a lot. She hadn't thought of Jake at all. That day, when she looked up, he suddenly appeared in her sight. She felt she had been in a different lifetime. Oh, it was him. "There's nothing different. | was Jacob's granddaughter, Mr. and Mrs. Stephens's daughter, and your sister..." "No way. You are not my sister. Eva, you were never my sister."