---- Chapter 24 Eva said, "That was why you started a relationship with Ryann, just to distance yourself from me? That was why you allowed Ryann to bully me?" "No!" Jake hurriedly denied. Eva bit his lip and dredged up the painful memories she'd buried deep within herself. "So you eventually fell in love with Ryann and managed to break free from me. And then, when our parents forced you to end it and marry me, you completely hated me. You ignored me, subjected me to cold violence, cheated on me during our marriage to be with her again, and even hurt Grandpa again and again for her sake. Is that how you love me? Jake, your love is terrifying." Jake's face turned pale. He was influential in the business world and could make opponents surrender with just a glance. But he was like a homeless dog at that moment. His eyes were filled with panic. "Not that, Eva." He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were full of pain. "| thought our love wouldn't be accepted by the world. | was afraid that you'd be scorned, so | hid my feelings for you and had been in fear for many years. Ryann told me that my thoughts were dark and twisted. You ---- don't know how many sleepless nights | spent in agony trying to convince myself that | didn't love you. But then, you said you loved me, and I..." "Did you think it was unfair?" Eva interrupted, taking over what Jake was struggling to say. "You thought | only had sibling affection for you, so you suffered alone in unrequited love. But you never knew that | had long been in love with you. Then you realized your suffering for years was self-inflicted. You thought it was unfair. So you turned your resentment towards me. You seemed to punish yourself, but you indeed punished me. | knew nothing but that you trampled my love for you, crushing and tormenting it." "Eva, |..." "But you had the chance to change everything because we were married. We became a legal couple and could have been honest about everything, yet you still said nothing. Jake, | gave you a chance. If it weren't for our marriage, | might have left you much earlier." As Eva spoke, she turned calm. She had spent three years processing her pain and could now talk about it with composure. "When | spent countless sleepless nights anxiously waiting for you to come back, where were you? When | was making soup and cooking for you in the kitchen, where were you? On the most important holiday when families gather, every home was lit up. | stood alone by the window and watched fireworks ---- that belonged to others. Where were you then? In public events, when you left me alone to be ridiculed, what was on your mind? For three long years, through more than a thousand lonely days and nights, if only you had given me a look or a hug, even if you said nothing, Jake, we wouldn't be where we are today. So..." Ignoring Jake's completely bent posture, Eva cruelly continued, "You don't deserve to say you love me. What | gave was far more than what you suffered. Leave. | don't want to see you again. | don't want to face how foolish | was to fall in love with such a coward who says he loves me and always hurts me." Eva turned and left, leaving behind the swing she had loved. She even left behind the little rabbit she once adored without any regret. As soon as the villa door closed, heavy rain began to pour outside. It was late autumn. The wind and rain carried a piercing cold. But the man under the swing seemed oblivious. He was soaked by the rain for a long while. He looked up dazedly, and his eyes were unfocused. He slowly got up and sat on the swing next to him. He softly sang the song Eva loved when she was a little girl. But through the glass, Eva couldn't hear him at all. Vernon approached her in his wheelchair. "Congratulations on ---- finally freeing yourself from your emotional burdens and letting go." Eva gave a bitter smile. "Do adults really have to rip each other apart? It doesn't look good. Why can't we keep things hidden in our hearts? At least we can maintain a semblance of dignity." Vernon chuckled but said nothing. Then he wheeled himself away. Eva slowly closed the curtains and completely shut out the desolation outside.