Leona Grant gazed at her deeply, her eyes full of tenderness.

Annabelle Linton pressed her lips together, watching Leona without a word.

A rare moment of harmony settled between them.

’But the more peaceful things are, the more heartbreaking it is, isn’t it?’

’She’d never been able to speak to her so calmly. Now that she finally could, it was only to convince her to give up.’

’She couldn’t find a single reason to keep trying, yet here she was, chipping away at Leona’s resolve...’

Annabelle Linton sighed. "We can’t go back to the way things were."

"If you want to, we can."

"I don’t love you anymore."

"But I love you."

Annabelle Linton’s brow furrowed. "I have a boyfriend now. We have feelings for each other."

A sharp pain pierced Leona Grant’s heart. Her gaze darkened as she stared at Annabelle and said through gritted teeth, "I don’t mind."

"I’m serious about him."

"And I’m serious about you."

Annabelle Linton rubbed her temples, a headache forming. "Don’t be like this."

"Like what?"

Annabelle was growing agitated, a flicker of impatience in her eyes. "You should just take this seriousness you feel for me and give it to some other woman."

"Then why can’t you take the seriousness you feel for him and give it back to me?" Leona Grant pressed, refusing to back down.

"There’s nothing between us anymore! We’re divorced!"

"But we can! We can get remarried!"

This conversation was going nowhere. Annabelle Linton suddenly shot to her feet. "You need to face reality! There’s no way we can go back to how things were. Besides, I don’t want to remarry you!"

"You loved me once, and I love you now! That’s why we belong together! You gave all your love to me. You can’t love anyone else!"

A faint pang of pain pricked Annabelle’s heart, its source a mystery to her.

She knitted her brows impatiently. "Being this unreasonable is pointless!"

"So in your eyes, me loving you is just being unreasonable, is that it?" Leona Grant grew even more distressed, her expression heartbroken as she looked at Annabelle.

"Leona, I’m with Aaron Wyatt now. He’s done so much for me, I could never repay him."

Annabelle looked at her, her expression finally shifting from distant indifference. The mask was gone, replaced by a raw outpouring of emotion. "You’re right. Just as you said, I’ve lost the ability to love. My heart is completely dead, and I see right through all this romance nonsense. But he’s too good to me. I plan to spend the rest of my life repaying him. As long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters. I can’t let him down. I can’t hurt him!"

"Then what about me?"

Hearing her plan, Leona Grant felt as if her heart had been ripped from her chest. The sorrow was palpable.

’What a grand plan. What a bright future. But there was no place in it for her.’

’The woman she loved had planned a future that didn’t include her. There was no role for her to play.’

Her pained expression was impossible to miss. "You’re with him, you’re considering his feelings, you don’t want to hurt him... So what about me?"

"Am I not even a factor in your decision?"

Annabelle didn’t answer, her lips pressed into a thin line as she looked at Leona.

The rims of Leona Grant’s eyes grew redder. She turned away, looking as vulnerable and wronged as a child.

’If she really wanted to, she could use her power to force Annabelle to stay by her side.’

’There were a hundred ways, a thousand tricks she could use to keep her here, but she hadn’t resorted to any of them! And still, Annabelle was this cruel, refusing to give her even the slightest chance.’

’Idiot! Just let her go! It’s not like she’s the only woman in the world!’

Leona Grant snatched a card from the table and threw it at her. "Get out! Get out right now!"

Annabelle watched her for a moment, sighed, then opened the door and walked out.

Seeing her leave, Leona Grant gave in, shamelessly pulling Annabelle into a fierce hug from behind. "Don’t go."