"He started it, true, but did you suffer at all, Leona Grant?"

Annabelle Linton stared at him, her face full of loathing. "We were just happily out shopping when you suddenly rushed out and went crazy. Don’t tell me we were the ones who disturbed you?"

"’Happily out shopping...’"

Leona Grant let out a soft, mocking laugh, savoring her words. A second later, his towering figure shot to its feet. He violently flipped the entire dining table, his savage gaze fixed on Annabelle Linton. "You’re happily out shopping, so what about me? Have you ever once considered my feelings, Annabelle Linton!"

"We just got divorced, and you’re already happily enjoying life with that other man. Every little thing about him, the slightest whisper of trouble, is enough to make your eyes well up and leave you completely helpless. But have you ever spared a single shred of that concern for me?"

"Never!" A flicker of unconcealable heartbreak flashed in his eyes before he forced it down. "Not a single bit! Why? Why do you have to be so heartless? He likes you, but don’t I? The things he does that move you—can’t I do them too?"

Annabelle Linton watched him with cold eyes and let out a low laugh. Her detached expression was filled with careless mockery. "What gives you the right to demand even a shred of my concern?"

"Back when I gave you my all, you sneered at it. You even personally knocked away the care I offered, trampling my affection and self-respect under your feet. Now, when I want to pick up the heart you wounded so badly and just live my life, why can’t you even grant me that one simple wish?"

"Leona Grant, do you just have to torture me like this? I don’t owe you anything, do I? Living peacefully, owing each other nothing, going our separate ways, never seeing each other again for the rest of our lives... wouldn’t that be better? We could both be free. Why insist on hurting each other?"

’Owe each other nothing... never see each other again... free?’

Leona Grant stared at her, frozen. It was as if his feet had taken root, and he couldn’t move a single step.

His heart felt as if it were being gnawed on by a thousand vipers, and he was completely powerless to fight back.

’He wanted to let her go. To let himself go, too.’

’But without her, his heart felt like it had been carved out. What was the point of living on, just barely clinging to life?’

’He knew he’d been an asshole in the past, but he wanted to make up for it now. He wanted to do everything possible to heal those scars. Was it really too late?’

Leona Grant’s throat bobbed. He felt like he’d been torn to shreds, with no salvation in sight.

He looked at her with sorrowful, downcast eyes. "I want to. I want to let you go! But who’s going to let *me* go? Annabelle Linton, you just need to show me a fraction of the attention you used to. We can go back to how it was. Why can’t we just be together properly?"

"Go back to the past for what?" Annabelle Linton looked at him, her expression blank, completely devoid of emotion. "To make the same mistakes all over again? Falling into the same pit once is enough. Do you think I’m an idiot, that I’d jump in a third or fourth time? Besides, what do you have that’s worth me coming back to without a single regret? Hmm?"

Leona Grant stared at her, his gaze firm and unwavering. "A heart that loves you. A heart that is filled with nothing but you. Is that still not enough?"

"Hah."

Annabelle Linton sneered. "You call that love? If so, there’s nothing cheaper in this world."

"Next time, please figure out the difference between ’like,’ ’love,’ ’habit,’ ’possessiveness,’ ’a desire to conquer,’ and ’unwillingness to admit defeat’ before you start talking about love, all right? Otherwise, you’re just embarrassing yourself."