I thought I dreamt countless times of you returning to my side, and when I opened my eyes you’d be there next to me. But I was filled with hope time and again, only to be met repeatedly with disappointment and despair.

Zhang Zhentian refused to let go, he couldn’t just let it end like this. He still wanted to make one last effort, even if the chances of success were minuscule, almost nonexistent. Yet, he didn’t want to give up on Xia Jing so lightly. He reached out to hold Xia Jing’s hand: "Can you give me one more chance? I just need you to give me one more chance. If I waste this chance, then no matter what decision you make, I will unconditionally support and respect you. So please trust me once more, believe that this time I truly want to be with you, and trust that I can fulfill every promise I made. I can sincerely tell you that I don’t want much, I just hope to be with you. Would you really want to shatter this small wish?"

"If you’ve already decided to let go, why persistently hang on and entangle the other person?

If both parties have agreed to live the lives they want separately, then why persistently entangle, causing everyone to be hurt by the decisions made?

Knowing today would come, why did you do those things back then that injured our relationship? You were the one who destroyed the family that could have been happy for a lifetime. Now, what right do you have to beg me? For someone like you, I won’t stay behind. It would only bring me pain. My love for you disappeared the moment you abandoned me. This ending was destined from the moment you left. You should have foreseen this would happen one day when you decided to leave me."

Zhang Zhentian couldn’t hear anything Xia Jing was saying. He was stubbornly convinced that no matter what decisions he made, his wife should support and respect him. But why was reality completely different from what he imagined? Was he really destined to live a lonely life this way?

"I don’t believe you can completely erase the loving memories we shared from your mind,

I don’t believe you can pretend to be indifferent to the reckless love I once had for you. I can’t believe all of this could become reality. I only believe your feelings for me won’t easily change because your love for me then wasn’t pretended. It was genuine, heartfelt love. How could it be forgotten just like that? Have I hurt you so much that you treat me like this? Don’t you think it’s cruel to treat me this way? I am not that kind of person. Can you give me more time to change and stay by your side, to be your lifelong support?

Maybe in your eyes, my support is dispensable because you are strong, you don’t care if you have a dependable man. But I care. I just hope my shoulder can be leaned on, to offer you warmth when you’re sad, to make you feel someone is silently supporting and protecting you. That’s enough for me. But you’ve never given me that chance. You always act so strong that you push others away, making everyone believe you are a powerful woman who won’t be hurt or cry regardless of how others treat you. But that’s not the truth. You feel heartache too. You’re a woman; you want a warm embrace, a happy haven..."

One has to admit, Zhang Zhentian’s every word makes sense. Perhaps before, if he had said this to Xia Jing, she might have felt moved. But not now, because she has completely lost faith in her husband. A marriage without trust really can’t last. All she wants now is to live the life she desires, no matter where it leads. At least she has loved intensely. Once, she gave up everything for this man, but in the end, he heartlessly abandoned her. That blow felt like a devastating disaster. How can he easily give up? How can he easily forget all the hurt?

He hasn’t forgotten but chooses not to say. He keeps his pain inside, not letting others feel it. Yet others always see him as so strong, believing he never sheds a tear despite the hurt they caused. But is that really the case? She wants nothing but an ordinary happy life, which seems too difficult for her. No one has ever considered matters from her perspective. She relied on her resilience to slowly reach where she is today. Who knows the effort and pain she went through to get here?

"Do you really believe, you caused such hurt, my heart just forgot? It’s not like that; I didn’t forget the hurt you caused. I buried that pain deep inside and chose not to speak of it because we’ve become strangers. So why should we share the pain in our hearts? The pain you inflicted is unforgettable, a heart-wrenching, unbearable feeling. I never want to think about it again.

So I ask you to show mercy, stop this. Do you really think this is meaningful? Persistently keeping me by your side only makes my life agonizing. If you truly love me and have any feelings left, please have mercy and release me. Don’t make me endure all this pain because of you!"

"I also want to show mercy, but I can’t let you go. How can I release you? How can my heart be at peace? I confess my selfishness, I know I shouldn’t have recklessly abandoned you. But I’ve faced all the punishment and retributions I deserve. Would forgiving me once be truly that hard?"

The ebb and flow, I believe we’ll never betray each other’s true feelings.

Do you still wish to return?