The bright red blood was a jarring sight as it spattered across the pristine white floor.

Annabelle Linton clutched her chest as if all her strength had been drained away. It was only then that Leona Grant noticed how pale she was.

Leona Grant nervously pulled her into an embrace, asking anxiously, "Annabelle Linton, what’s wrong?"

Annabelle Linton reached for a tissue on the table and casually wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were downcast; she was clearly weak.

She said, out of the blue, "Today is my birthday."

Leona Grant froze for a moment, then her eyes suddenly turned bloodshot. "Annabelle Linton, what are you trying to say!"

Annabelle Linton gave a faint smile, though her face remained expressionless. She leaned weakly against the sofa. "Leona Grant, if you don’t want a divorce, then fine. I’m not going to force you.

"I’ve been shot before, so I know what a bullet can do. Aaron Wyatt is still in critical condition, and he hasn’t woken up yet. I’m so afraid he won’t make it. If he dies, I’ll have no right to keep living in this world, because he died for me...

"So I’ve made up my mind. Let’s end it all today. I think my death is the only solution. It would be a complete release. I’m already covered in scars, and I don’t have the strength to go on living..."

"Annabelle Linton, you’re doing this on purpose!"

Seeing her listless, despairing expression, Leona Grant shot to her feet in a rage. She flipped over the nearby coffee table and slammed her hands down on the sofa, leaning in close to Annabelle as if she wanted to grind her bones to dust!

She demanded, "You know perfectly well I won’t agree to a divorce, so you’re trying every trick in the book to force me to sign, aren’t you!"

"In your eyes, being my wife is like being a widow, being Mrs. Grant is a cage that traps your freedom, and you’d rather die than be with me, isn’t that right?"

Leona Grant stared at her pale face, her eyes filled with the smoke of battle. "Took poison to force me into a divorce? Fine. If one bottle isn’t enough, then drink two. You want to know how many brilliant doctors I have on call? You want to know how many ways Leona Grant has to patch you back up? Then bring it on!

"I have a million ways to save you. And if I can’t, I’ll just find someone who looks like you, give her plastic surgery, erase her memories, and fill her head with everything about you. See? I’ve just copied you!"

Not a single ripple of emotion showed in Annabelle Linton’s eyes. She simply closed them. "Whatever you say..."

It was like punching cotton. A mist gradually clouded Leona Grant’s eyes.

Her vision blurred. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and pain, her voice trembling. "Do you... hate me that much?"

"I don’t hate you anymore. It’s meaningless..." Annabelle Linton paused. "Besides, there’s no need. In two hours, I’ll be saying goodbye to all of this..."

She slowly closed her eyes, her body leaning weakly against the sofa, as if she were quietly waiting for death to arrive.

’The medicine I took was just something that makes you cough up blood. It’s not seriously harmful.’

’But the divorce had to happen, no matter what.’

’It was on purpose. Absolutely deliberate.’

’Forcing her to divorce was deliberate, and this whole act was just for show.’

’Before leaving, I debated whether to take it or not. In the end, I did.’

’I know Leona Grant all too well. Once she sets her sights on something, she never lets go.’

’I don’t care what she thinks of me. Forcing her like this is a great insult, and that’s exactly the effect I’m going for.’

’If it meant I could get this divorce, I would drink real poison if I had to.’

Silence.

Leona Grant stared at her for a minute or so. Seeing her determination to die, she finally nodded. "Fine. I’ll sign."

Annabelle Linton opened her eyes.

Leona Grant looked at her haggard face and remembered a dream where Annabelle was sitting in a basement.

She’d said that Leona was the one who had locked her away.