---- Chapter 3 I just wondered whether Leon would be able to endure the coming hardships. My family might have been neighbors with the Stanes, but as long as I did not take initiative, we would rarely meet. I only saw Hedgar again a week later. Leon was supporting her on a stroll around the area. We ran into each other when I was coming back with my mother from a grocery run. "Ma'am, allow me to introduce you to my other half, Leon." Hedgar's voice was full of joy, even though her face was still wrapped in bandages. I could see the happiness in her eyes. ---- Both my mother and I gave them our blessings, but Leon discreetly stopped holding Hedgar's hand. "Don't say that, Hedgar." Leon shifted uneasily. " My parents don't know about this yet." After so many years, I finally saw Hedgar smiling happily like she did when she was a teenager. "Leon, as long as you want to, we can get married tonight. We've already promised to be together forever." When I saw how immersed Hedgar was in the cage of happiness she trapped herself in, I found myself not having the heart to break it. When we got back, my mother lamented, "Hedgar sure has it rough. She was such a beautiful girl before, but now..." I shook my head and gave a noncommittal remark. "This is the path she chose for herself." ---- No matter which life it was, she always chose the same path. My mother looked in the direction of the Stanes' house and sighed nonstop. "James is so pitiful too." I looked in the direction of her gaze, only to find James sitting alone in a wicker chair in his courtyard with an empty look in his eyes. At some point, his temples had turned gray. I remembered how Hedgar always complained that if I had not gotten in the way, she would have gotten married to Leon a long time ago. Thad retorted back then, "You're the one who said that I got injured because of you and wanted to be responsible." Constantly doing good without getting anything back leads to resentment. I supposed that was the principle behind it.