I was pregnant. My adoptive mother, in tears, lashed out at him with a fierce reprimand. Oliver, bruised and kneeling, promised he would take responsibility.

So he married me.

There was no engagement party, no wedding—just a marriage certificate.

I had betrayed Hudson and he had betrayed Luna. We were both wretched.

After the wedding, life settled into a dull routine. I ended things with Hudson and moved back to the Mortimer family home, living with my adoptive mother while I carried the baby.

Oliver hired a nanny to look after me and visited from time to time, but I had no clue what occupied him the rest of the time.

Until I saw in Luna’s social media posts that he was out shopping with her.

I thought this was the punishment I deserved for my greed, so I had no right to question him. I planned to give birth to the baby and then return Oliver to Luna.

They were the ones truly in love.

My health, never the best, made the pregnancy especially difficult. The baby’s position was unstable and I endured endless morning sickness and deep, unrelenting fatigue.

When I collapsed again at six months pregnant, it came with no warning.

This time, I awoke in a hospital.

Oliver was at my bedside, his face etched with a deep, haunting despair.

That was when I found out—the baby was gone.

My adoptive mother had a heart attack and also passed away.

I still can’t make sense of it.

Why did Hudson suddenly burst into my room while I was resting?

Why did he force himself on me, causing the miscarriage?

It was as if my adoptive mother was still there, calling me to get up as usual.

When I pushed open the door, I saw myself beneath Hudson, my legs surrounded by a pool of blood.

Her heart condition wasn’t good and this scene frightened her terribly; the onset of her symptoms was sudden and severe.

Oliver sat nearby, his eyes bloodshot.

“Emma, do you really like that man so much? Are you willing to sacrifice our child for him?”

I hurriedly tried to explain.

“No, I didn’t.”

But how was Hudson able to waltz into the house so easily?

How did he manage to dodge my adoptive mother and find the exact room where I was resting?

Why did he have those text messages I sent him about our date?

Every piece of evidence pointed straight to me—it was me who had betrayed them.

In the face of such damning proof, all my explanations felt utterly hollow and helpless.

He furiously tossed a divorce agreement at me, his fists clenched tight.

“I was outrageously wrong, costing my mother her life.”

“Emma, I’ll grant you your freedom. Just don’t ever show your face to me again.”

Jack drove me to a cemetery in the eastern suburbs.

It wasn’t as tranquil as the one I had initially wanted, but there were no other options at the moment.

To make matters worse, the weather was unforgiving.

Halfway through the drive, the sky opened up and rain began to pour.

I watched as Jack’s face grew ghostly pale, his hands shaking on the wheel.

It hit me—his father had died in a car accident during a downpour.

Jack must have a profound fear of storms; I could really empathize with that.

I suggested we pull over and find a nearby café to ride out the storm and kill some time.

Unfortunately, we bumped into Oliver and Luna once more. I glanced around and saw we were in a bridal shop.

“Congratulations!”

I genuinely congratulated Luna. Her face lit up with a wide, delighted smile.

“Thank you, Emma. Are you and your boyfriend here to look at wedding dresses, too?”

She emphasized the “too,” her clear eyes sweeping over Jack standing next to me.

Before I could respond, Oliver approached.

His gaze darkened as he looked at Jack’s hand resting on my waist, his tone sharp.

“I thought you were going to marry that guy. Didn’t expect you’d have moved on to someone else so quickly.”

I didn’t want to engage in the conversation.

Jack’s hand, still firmly resting on my waist, only tightened.

I looked up, waiting to hear what he would say.

“Yeah, we’ll invite Mr. Mortimer to celebrate at our wedding another time.”

I sighed at his childish need to spar and gave his sleeve a gentle tug.

“Alright, Jack.”

Oliver lowered his head, adjusting his glasses, his tone leaving no room for argument.

“Sorry, but I’ve reserved this place exclusively for my wife’s fitting today. We can’t accommodate you. Please leave.”

Jack, seething, pointed a finger at Oliver.

“You!”

I placed a hand on Jack’s arm to calm him.

“Sorry, Mr. Mortimer. We just needed to get out of the rain.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow.

“What you want to do is none of my business, but I don’t want to see you in this store.”

“Not even for a minute.”

At that moment, a shop assistant stepped forward to intervene.

“I’m really sorry, but the store is closed to the public today. Please leave.”

As Jack prepared to argue further, I looked straight into Oliver’s eyes.

“Oliver, do you really dislike me this much?”

He responded with steely resolve.

“Yes.”

“If my mother hadn’t brought you back then, none of this tragedy would have happened.”

I forced a bitter smile.

“Even if what happened back then had nothing to do with me, even if I truly was—”

Oliver abruptly cut me off.

“Enough!”

His expression was strange, his hands hanging limply at his sides and he remained silent for a long moment.

“Emma, no matter what your reasons were for the past, the fact remains that my mother died because of you. I truly don’t want to see you again.”

“Not for even a minute.”

It hit me—I knew how much he hated me, knew he didn’t even want to look at me. Why would he want to hear my side of the story?

I nodded, my heart heavy.

“Okay, I understand.”

Anyway, he wouldn’t have to deal with this annoying presence much longer.

I reached out and nudged Jack’s side.

“Jack, let’s go.”

He looked at me with concern, his hand brushing my forehead. I was running a slight fever.

“But we don’t have an umbrella. You’ll get soaked.”

I managed a weak smile.

“It’s fine. It’s just a little rain. I’ll be okay.”

Rain in this season comes and goes unpredictably, never lasting too long.

“Let’s just sit in the car and wait for the rain to stop. We should have enough time.”

However, waiting in the car might not sit well with Jack.

But for now, it’s the only option we have.

Oliver stayed in the bridal shop for a long time, his gaze repeatedly drifting toward the old-fashioned car parked across the street.

Even when the shop manager reminded him several times to check the fit of the wedding dress he had ordered three years ago, he was lost in thought.

The rain intensified, showing no sign of letting up.

The car outside appeared especially forlorn amidst the storm.

He recalled the hand Jack had rested on Emma’s waist earlier and an inexplicable frustration stirred within him.

He grabbed his suit jacket and prepared to leave.

“This style is absolutely stunning. Oliver, thank you for arranging so many for me.”

Luna admired the wedding dress Oliver had custom-ordered, her fingers eagerly tracing the glimmering rhinestones.

Yet, the subtle hints of a wedding in her words made him frown in irritation.

“You’re misunderstanding. This isn’t for you.”

Oliver impatiently snatched the umbrella from the shop assistant, oblivious to the fleeting flash of malice that crossed Luna’s eyes.

He walked slowly toward the parking lot, deliberately passing by the old-fashioned car and instinctively glanced toward the passenger window.

What he saw was a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Jack was frantically holding his hand to Emma’s mouth as she lay with her eyes shut tight, blood pouring out of her mouth uncontrollably.

Oliver's heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand and pain surged through his entire being.

He immediately dropped the umbrella and dashed through the rain toward them.

“Why are you just standing there? Drive to the hospital now!”

Jack froze at his shout, but his hands shook uncontrollably on the wheel.

The relentless downpour outside felt like a wall of suffocating pressure closing in on him.

“I... I can’t. I really... I can’t do it…”

Oliver rushed to the driver’s side, flung open the door and yanked Jack out of the car.

“Get away!”

Jack was left in the pouring rain, watching helplessly as Oliver drove away with her.

When he opened his eyes again, he was met with blinding white.

I woke up in the hospital and a familiar figure sat beside me. I instinctively called out.

“Jack, water…”

A pair of clean hands quickly brought the glass to my lips and a calm voice said,

“Take it slow.”

I jolted awake, my mind clearing suddenly.

“Why are you here?”

Oliver’s smile was tinged with bitterness.

“Not your little boyfriend. Are you let down?”

I didn’t respond and he kept talking, his voice rough.

“What’s going on with you? Why were you bleeding from the mouth out of nowhere?”

It dawned on me then that he must have been the one who brought me to the hospital.

“It’s a stomach ulcer. Sorry for wasting your time.”

His voice grew cold as he clenched his fists.

“Emma, do you think I’m that easy to fool?”

“Does a stomach ulcer really cause this much bleeding?”

I turned away, closing my eyes to avoid him, while he picked up his phone and began dialing.

“I’ll call your grandmother and have her come take care of you.”

I struggled to sit up, trying to push his hand away.

“No!”

He pressed my flailing hands down with a look of frustration and muttered,

“Be good.”

Then, as if suddenly realizing how soft he sounded, he hardened his expression.

“You have no ties to the Mortimer Family anymore. I’m only calling your relative out of basic humanity, so don’t be ungrateful!”

It felt like a knife had plunged into my heart, leaving me frozen in shock.

“My grandmother, she…”

“She’s no longer here.”

I let my head fall in defeat and he hesitated with the phone in his hand, his voice dry and his expression stiff.

“When did it happen?”

My eyes burned with unshed tears, the pain too much to hold back.

"Three years ago, the day after my miscarriage."

He stood there, mouth slightly open, unable to speak for a long while.

I gave a self-deprecating laugh.

“Doesn’t Mr. Mortimer remember? You rushed to divorce me and had me sent away, just like today when you called my grandmother to pick me up.”

“But she was over seventy, in poor health. Can you imagine how panicked she must have been when she heard about my miscarriage and divorce?”

I closed my eyes, trying to suppress the rising tide of anger.

“She rushed to see me, but unfortunately, she missed a step and fell, never getting up again.”

Oliver took a long time to force out the words, his phone slipping from his hand.

“How could this…”

“I didn’t mean to…”

Sometimes I wonder—if I hadn’t left with Amelia back then, if I hadn’t selfishly fallen for him, would all of this have been avoided?

He would have had a loving mother, a partner and lived a life of happiness and ease.

And I would have stayed by my grandmother's side, watched the sunsets on our little island and savored the old lady’s home-cooked meals.

Two burning tears finally broke free, streaming down my cheeks.

I fought to stifle my sobs, my eyes locking with his in a desperate plea.

“So, Oliver, please, just go. Let’s not see each other again.”

“Would that be alright?”

Jack explained to the doctor that my stomach ulcer was a long-standing issue and then he took me back home.

Since then, I haven’t seen Oliver again.

The reason? I was slipping into longer and longer periods of unconsciousness.

But when I woke, the sharp, piercing pain made life almost unbearable.

Today, however, the weather was perfect and I felt surprisingly energetic.

I begged Jack to take me outside for a walk.

Since I could no longer walk on my own, I had to depend on him to push me in a wheelchair.

It had been forever since I felt this relaxed.

The crisp early autumn breeze caressed my dry cheeks, calming the turbulence within and wrapping me in a serene sense of peace.

“Jack, I’ve made up my mind. Just cremate me and scatter my ashes in the sea.”

His eyes were red and his voice was choked with emotion.

“Why are you talking about wanting to return to the sea again? Didn’t you used to hate the ocean?”

The truth was, when I was younger, I saw the sea as the most breathtaking sight on earth.

Sunlight would sparkle on the waves, turning them into a glittering trail of jewels.

The salty breeze carried the familiar scent of the ocean straight to my nose—a fragrance I used to cherish.

But after my parents died, my feelings changed and I began to loathe it.

The ocean itself wasn’t at fault, nor were the fishermen who set out to make a living.

It was an accident, a pure, unforeseen accident.

Yet, I had to find some rational excuse to make sense of it.

So, I ended up hating the sea.

I let my resentment spill over onto everything connected to it, simply because I couldn’t change or accept what had happened.

I gave a faint, bitter smile.

“There isn’t a cemetery I like anyway. Reuniting with family in the sea wouldn’t be too bad.”

Jack emerged from behind me, knelt down in front of me and rested his head in my lap. He wrapped his arms around me, his voice soft and tender as he said,

“Alright, I promise.”

I couldn’t help but smile, my hand instinctively reaching out to gently stroke his head.

“Aren’t you being all sweet and cuddly?”

Jack gave a dismissive sound and buried his head, ignoring me.

I slowly felt a warm, moistness spreading on my lap.

After a long moment, he finally spoke.

“Thank you, Emmy.”

Just then, fine droplets of rain began to fall from the sky, pattering softly.

Jack quickly pulled out the umbrella he had prepared and shielded it over my head.

I stretched my hand out of the umbrella and used my hand to catch the cool droplets on my palm. It'd be the last cool sensation that I'd feel in this world.

I then said to him with a smile.

“Jack, believe me, the rain won't keep falling.”

Oliver’s Epilogue:

I didn't meet Emma for the first time when I was fifteen years old. It was much earlier.

I met her on the day my family went to Pearl Shore Isle for a trip.

Emma was the daughter of a fisherman on the island. She had gorgeous tan-colored skin. Her hair tied into little pony tail and her eyes were exquisite like two black grapes. She looked different from most children in the city.

I immediately noticed her the moment I arrived at the island.

Emma was sitting alone on the edge of the beach and played with the sand.

There were none of the beach toys that city children would bring along into the beach. Meanwhile, the island had a lot of awesome pile of stones, bamboo baskets and broken fishing nets.

I was very curious about the things Emma was stacking up, so I boldly joined her to play at the beach.

That was the first initiative I ever made in my life.

Emma was not surprised by my arrival, nor did she reject my presence. Instead, she touched my face with her little sand-covered hands and praised me sincerely.

“Wow, you're so handsome! Pretty like the aquamarine!”

Her eyes were shining and she stared straight into me.

Her exaggerated expression seemed to show that Emma had discovered a new world and that made me blush.

I asked her stumbling.

“What is... aquamarine?”

She clapped her hands and sand dropped as she stood up. Her little finger pointed to the sea in the distance.

“There, look, don't you see that's the aquamarine?”

The sun was pouring on the vast blue sea and the sea breeze was gently blowing, setting off layers of fine waves.

Countless golden spots of light seemed to be jumping around on the sea. From a distance, the dots of lights truly looked like brilliant gems, shining on the sea.

Yet, Emma's brows suddenly frowned when she looked into the distance.

“Hey, I think someone is drowning over there!”

Emma quickly left me and ran elsewhere.

“Mom! Mom! Someone has been swept away by the waves again! Go and have a look over there!”