Chapter 386: Chapter 386: Leona Grant Cannot Live Without Annabelle Linton (10)
Leona Grant’s forced smile vanished. His deep eyes watched her, filled with a complex mix of worry, sorrow, and caution.
Annabelle Linton sat across from him and said coldly, "Leona Grant, can you just tell me what on earth you’re trying to do? I’ve repeated it countless times: we’re divorced. Why do you insist on pestering me?"
Leona Grant’s eyes darkened. He stared at her intently for a moment before saying with resolve, "I don’t want this to be over."
"Why don’t you want it to be over?" Annabelle Linton’s face was impassive as she asked sharply, "Is it because you refuse to let me go? To get your revenge? To make me understand how annoying it is to be constantly pestered? Is it your vanity, your possessiveness, or what?"
’Besides those reasons, she really couldn’t figure out why he insisted on pestering her.’
’That icy heart of his had never melted for her. She’d given up on it long ago, freezing her own heart in the process. She couldn’t believe he would ever fall in love with her.’
’She would sooner believe pigs could fly than believe he genuinely loved her.’
At her words, Leona Grant’s head snapped toward her, and he blurted out without a second thought, "Do you think I have nothing better to do?"
His gaze was fiery as he stared at her, his composure shattered by her heart-piercing accusations.
’It was an insult to his love for her.’
’He knew, deep down, that he loved her.’
’In truth, he’d fallen for her a long, long time ago. He’d grown accustomed to every part of her; he just hadn’t been willing to admit it.’
’That was why, when she’d been the one to ask for a divorce, he had panicked. He’d been at a complete loss and had tried desperately to make her stay.’
’He admitted that the way she had changed was a factor, but if there hadn’t been any feelings to begin with, how could he have fallen for her so quickly afterward?’
He stared at her, his gaze unwavering, and said resolutely, "Get revenge on you? Refuse to let you go? Feed my vanity? Annabelle Linton, do you really think I have nothing better to do? If my reasons for pestering you were that shallow, I would’ve given up long ago.
"You know me. I, Leona Grant, have never had to force anything. It’s always been other people catering to my moods, trying to please me with the finest things. Now, I’ve thrown away my dignity to shamelessly let you get annoyed and hate me, and I still haven’t given up. Do you honestly think I have that much time on my hands? What kind of woman could I possibly not have?"
And that was why she was so confused.
She didn’t know what he was trying to do.
"That’s my point," she said. "So can’t you just pursue someone else? Find someone else to love?"
Annabelle Linton’s brow furrowed as she stressed her point once more. "You can see it yourself. The rift between us is too wide—it’s beyond repair. You say you don’t want to hurt me again, that you don’t want me to be sad, you even go on and on about wanting to make it up to me. But this, what you’re doing right now... how is this not hurting me all over again?"
"Leona Grant, I’m just so tired. All I want now is to live my life properly—peacefully, stably, and without a care in the world. Do you understand? You say you want to make it up to me, to let me go, to see me happy. The best way you can do that is by never bothering me again. For that, I would truly thank you."
"And what about me?" The rims of Leona Grant’s eyes reddened. Her plea for him to stop bothering her shattered his heart. "You want a peaceful life? What am I supposed to do?"
"Am I supposed to spend the rest of my life mourning the memory of you? Sink deeper and deeper into a swamp of despair with no escape? To live like a walking corpse, with no hope, where my world is dark whether my eyes are open or closed?"
"Annabelle Linton, why should you get to go off and live a happy life without me, freely basking in the sunlight, while I’m left alone in an abyss I can’t escape, barely clinging to life? Why do you get to leave me here to suffer all by myself?"
