Chapter 6

From the moment Lucian returned from the church, his condition spiraled, fast and brutal. He was pulled down into an endless darkness and sleep, as if the whole world had simply stopped. Even drifting between dreams and reality, he kept whispering Vivian's name. Every syllable carried the weight of everything he still felt for her.

Jonas watched it all happen, his heart slowly breaking. Finally, something inside him gave way. With shaking hands, he sent Vivian a desperate message.

[Vivian, Lucian is... He's very sick. He really needs you.]

The wait stretched on forever, until a cold reply finally appeared on the screen, every word like a needle to his chest.

[Oh? Is he getting better or dying? What does that have to do with me?]

Jonas couldn't believe those words had come from her. Furious, he called her directly. Her voice on the other end was just as icy as before.

"What else do you want?"

"Vivian, I never thought you could be this cold-hearted!" Jonas' voice shook with anger, every word forced out between clenched teeth. "He keeps saying your name. If you don't come now, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

Vivian's response cut even deeper. "Saying my name? Didn't he run off with Sabrina? What, now he's remembering his ex-wife? That's almost funny."

The line went dead before he could respond, leaving nothing but a dial tone and Jonas' helpless fury.

At that very moment, Vivian stood dressed in an elaborate gown under the dazzling lights of Starlight Hotel, her wedding to Caleb about to reach its climax. She was about to walk down the aisle, ready to start a new life with another man.

Meanwhile, Lucian struggled to open his eyes through the haze. Jonas and Sabrina's anxious faces hovered above him, and a faint light leaked in through the window, telling him time was almost up.

"Jonas, help me... turn on the livestream."

His voice was weak but certain, still holding onto one last, impossible hope. He wanted to witness the happiest moment of the woman he'd once loved so deeply.

He knew Vivian's wedding would be spectacular, nothing like the simple registration they had five years ago. Back then, they'd only gotten married because of family pressure, without so much as a real ceremony.

Now, even as he lay in a hospital bed, he wanted to use the last of his strength to see her through a screen one more time. He wanted to see her in a wedding gown, even if that happiness no longer belonged to him.

At that moment, Vivian was finally stepping into the marriage she'd always wanted. She was walking toward the extravagant, once-in-a-lifetime wedding with the man she'd loved for so long. Every flower, every light, seemed to crown their love story in glory.

But fate loved its cruel jokes.

Right then, Lucian's world had already gone completely dark, and he couldn't witness any of it with his own eyes. His heart was a storm of feelings. He felt relief, regret, and underneath it all, a deeper longing.

How he wished he could see Vivian one last time, to see her smiling in her gown.

The wedding march playing through his phone became the last melody of his life. His lips curved into a soft, unconscious smile, and his vision blurred until it felt like he was traveling back through time, back to an innocent summer long gone.

At the end of that memory, there was light. A girl stood in it, her eyes deeper than any summer night sky, reaching out a hand to help him up after he'd fallen. Time seemed to stop.

"Silly, get up already."

The simple words echoed through him like something sacred, the last sound he carried into the dark. Lucian closed his eyes with a satisfied smile, letting himself sink into that most beautiful memory and falling into an eternal sleep.

At the same moment, the heart monitor beside him let out a long, heavy wail, announcing the end of a life.

Across the city, Vivian felt a sudden, inexplicable tightness in her chest. It was as if something was pulling at her very soul.

The phone in the officiant's pocket buzzed violently, the frantic rhythm matching her own racing heartbeat until she could barely breathe. Her first instinct was to snap at him, until she suddenly remembered that the phone was hers.

In front of every guest, she answered the call without a second thought, every bit of composure and decorum forgotten in that instant.

A calm, solemn voice came through from the other end, asking, "Is this Ms. Lane? I'm Dr. Monroe, calling from Port Haven General Hospital."

"Yes, this is her."

Her voice came out small and trembling, straining to hold back the panic rising inside her.

"Ms. Lane, I'm very sorry. Mr. Ashford signed a body donation agreement with our hospital a month ago, leaving the decision about what happens afterward in your hands."

Edward paused, as if even he felt the weight of what he had to say next.

"Just three minutes ago, Mr. Ashford passed away."