Chapter 20 Elise's POV. I listened quietly to Lucian without saying a word. Only after he finished speaking and looked at me with hopeful eyes did I finally respond. "I'll never forgive you all for what has happened, but I won't hold onto the grudge either. I have my own life to live, and I don't want to waste any more time on this mess." Lucian stayed silent for a long while before he let out a heavy sigh. Then, he pulled a worn journal from his bag. I recognized it immediately. It was the very first gift I had bought Kieran with the money I earned from my part-time job when we had just started dating. Back then, Kieran had been so excited. He promised he would treasure the journal and fill it with every moment we shared. He said he wanted to show it to our future pups someday so they would know how much their parents loved each other. "After you left, Kieran went a little crazy. He wrote in this journal every single day," Lucian explained, his voice heavy with exhaustion. "I don't know exactly what he wrote, but the day he came looking for you, he said he'd show you the journal once he brought you home. Since he can't do that now, I think you should have it. If you can, take a look." With that, Lucian left and stepped into Kieran's hospital room. I sat there staring at the journal in my lap, feeling its weight like a stone in my hands. After what felt like an eternity, I slowly opened the yellowed pages of the old journal. [March 20, 2018. Today, Elise and I made it official. This journal is her first gift to me. I'm so happy and excited. I'll treasure it, just as I'll treasure her, and I'll never let her down.] For the next three years, Kieran kept that promise. Every page overflowed with his deep love for me, from small gestures like a single rose to grand displays like fireworks lighting up the entire sky. However, that love came to an abrupt halt the day we tried to run away together. [June 12th, 2021. I knew the Elders were completely against our relationship, but I never imagined they'd go so far as to threaten mass suicide. These are the men who raised me, and Elder Lucian has been like a father to me. I can't just watch him die. [Maybe Elise understood how impossible my situation was, because she offered to break up with me. But I can't accept it. I can't let go of the three years we've built together. If she really leaves me, I'll lose my mind.] So, that was the day he had convinced me to run away with him, though we had ultimately failed. After that, several pages sat completely blank. Then scattered entries appeared, filled with pain, anger, and helplessness. I knew it was during the time they forced him to lie 1/2 Chapter 20 with Cecelia and give the family heirs. I flipped ahead a few more pages and found two pages completely torn through by massive letters. [Elise, I'm sorry.] That must have been the day he finally gave in to the Elders' Council and compromised everything we had. From that moment on, my nightmare had truly begun. For a full year and a half, the journal remained completely blank. It was not until the day Kieran came to find me in the mountain village that his handwriting appeared again, this time responding to my goodbye letter. [Elise, I'm so sorry. I know you've suffered so much over these years while I kept asking you to just hang on a little longer. At first, I thought I could just get it over with quickly... Take care of her, sleep with her, get her pregnant, and then we'd both be free. [But after Tyra was born, my heart started changing. She was my first pup, and knowing she'd never even get to meet her father... I got soft and agreed to spend more time with her. Later, the Elders decided a daughter wasn't enough... They wanted me to have a son, too. [Cecelia pretended she wanted to help me, dragging me to bed right after she finished recovering from childbirth. My heart went soft again, thinking about this woman who wanted nothing official, who was willing to sacrifice her body for me like that. [I felt guilty and tried to be kinder to her during that time. But every moment of weakness just turned into knives stabbing straight into your heart, which must have been why you left so decisively. I've always wondered... if I hadn't given in that day, would we have had a completely different ending? [We could have gotten married, had pups of our own, and traveled to anywhere you wanted to go instead of ending up like this. But I know it's too late now. All I can do is try to make it up to you somehow. Maybe someday you'll soften up and forgive me.] The clock on the wall ticked through a full hour before I finally closed the journal. Just then, a group of medical staff wheeled Kieran out on a gurney. Lucian planned to take him back north for treatment, where the facilities were better and his chances of waking up would be higher. It might be the last time I would ever see Kieran. I handed the journal back to Lucian with steady hands. "Elder Lucian, if he ever wakes up, please give him a message for me. Tell him that everything from the past ends here. From now on, we're like two parallel lines that will never cross, and we will never meet again." Without another glance at Lucian or the unconscious Kieran on the gurney, I turned and walked firmly in the opposite direction. I was ready to start my new life. This was our final goodbye, and we would never see each other again. 2/2