Chapter 4

Every word sounded heartfelt and sincere.

Lauren almost believed him.

But when she remembered the videos she saw that morning, the irony stung.

His love for her seemed real. So how could he do something that hurt her so deeply?

Tears spilled down her cheeks. She buried half her face in the pillow, and her thoughts grew hazy until she fell asleep.

When she woke again, it was midnight.

Lauren reached across the bed and found no one beside her. She paused, then picked up her glass to go downstairs for water.

As soon as she stepped out of the bedroom, she heard creaking from the room next door.

The study door stood ajar.

She approached quietly and saw two people entwined on the desk.

Zoe's bare skin looked white as snow beneath the light. Her face was flushed, her breath came in soft gasps, and her fingers scratched at the desktop.

"Quentin, isn't Lauren still in pain from her period? Shouldn't you be with her? Why did you come here to toy with me...?"

"Be quiet!"

Quentin kept his voice low, but he didn't stop moving.

The sight struck Lauren without warning. Each breath sent pain tearing through her chest.

Could he really not control himself? Did he have to be with Zoe every chance he got?

She looked away. She no longer wanted water and stumbled back to her room.

Half an hour later, someone opened the door.

Quentin, fresh from the shower, lay down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

"Easy, sweetheart. I'm here. It won't hurt anymore."

Lauren didn't answer.

She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

But tears slid down her cheeks and dampened the hair at her temples.

Quentin thought she was asleep and kept gently rubbing her lower abdomen.

She felt the warmth of his fingers, but all her strength seemed to drain away, leaving nothing but pain.

Over and over, she counted down the days in her head.

Only thirteen days left.

“Just hold on, Lauren. In thirteen days, you'll have nothing more to do with this man.”

While Lauren had her period, Quentin put all his work aside and stayed home with her.

Once she began to feel better, he reluctantly left her side and went to the office to deal with the work that had piled up.

After he left, Lauren gathered her documents and went to a lawyer to put her affairs in order.

The lawyer looked over Lauren's documents. "You want to finalize your will today?"

Lauren nodded. "I'll be gone for good in ten days. I'd like to put my affairs in order before then."

The lawyer seemed to assume she had cancer and gave her a sympathetic look.

They reviewed the will together, and Lauren signed it.

She left with a signed copy, feeling a little lighter.

For the first time in days, she smiled.

Soon, Lauren Ingram would be gone from this world.

And Quentin would never find her again.

She took her time walking home.

When she passed her old high school, she stopped at the sight of its faded walls.

After a moment, she went inside.

Memories of her youth rushed back as soon as she entered.

The track where he held her hand through the 800-meter run, the library where he stole a kiss while she slept, the classroom window where he brought her snacks...

Every place she passed brought back another memory of Quentin.

At last, she stopped beside a tree in the garden.

The pine tree that once reached only her shoulders now stood tall, its branches spreading overhead. Lauren's eyes slowly filled with tears.

On her sixteenth birthday, Quentin shut off the power to the school building to surprise her, then secretly led her outside.

He took her to this tree, gave her a birthday present and her favorite roses, and sang "Happy Birthday."

Then, with great ceremony, he buried a letter beneath the tree.

She wanted to read it, but he smiled and brushed his nose against hers.

"Lauren, it's a secret.

"When we're both eighty, and our hair has turned white, I'll bring you back here. We can read it together then, all right?"

Back then, neither of them could have imagined that they would never grow old together.

Lauren crouched down and used a stone to dig through the soil.

More than ten minutes passed before she unearthed a sealed glass bottle.

The words on the paper inside had faded, but she could still recognize Quentin's handwriting.

"Hello, eighty-year-old Quentin Hale. I'm seventeen-year-old Quentin Hale.

"You must be reading this with Lauren right now. Are your children and grandchildren there too? I'm so glad you've loved her all these years, from seventeen to eighty, and stayed by her side.

“That's the one thing I've always wanted, and I'm happy you did it. People say even true love can change in an instant, but Quentin Hale's love for Lauren Ingram will never change.

"In the next life, and the one after that, and the one after that... I want to be with Lauren every time. Thank you for all the love you've built between us in this life.

“She must know how deeply you love her. Please tell her this life isn't the end. We'll go on in the next.

“Quentin Hale and Lauren Ingram will love each other for a long, long time."

The letter filled an entire page.

Lauren read it line by line, and its tenderness brought tears to her eyes and a sharp ache to her chest.

Suddenly, her phone rang in her pocket.

Zoe was calling.

Lauren didn't want to answer.

She declined the call, but Zoe kept calling back.

Lauren suspected what was coming.

Her hand shook as she finally answered.

Sure enough, heavy thuds soon came through the speaker.

"Mm... Quentin, didn't you say you don't love me? Then why couldn't you wait to pin me beneath you again?"

Quentin didn't answer.

Only his strained, muffled breathing came through.

Zoe kept pressing him for an answer.

"You can't resist my body, can you?

"I understand what you want better than Lauren does, don't I?

"You can't stay away from me, can you? You think about me all the time. You can't stand going a single day without sleeping with me, can you?"

She pressed him with one question after another until he finally answered.

"Yes! I can't get enough of you!"