Taking My Hope Away

After Arthur and Shawna disappeared into a hospital ward, Ian White ran into the hospital. He and Arthur missed each other.Ian held my hand tightly. Tears streamed down his face when his fingers brushed against my cold forehead as he tried to caress my hair. His voice shook as he said, "Think about how good things would've been if you'd married me back then, you idiot. You wouldn't have ended up with no one bothering about you, even after your death!"My nose prickled when I saw how windswept he looked. It seemed he'd just returned from out of town. He'd actually left this city after I'd married Arthur.At the time, he'd given me two reasons for his departure. Firstly, he claimed Arthur couldn't stand him. Secondly, he said we would both be better off if he left because he didn't want to cause me unnecessary trouble.I was an orphan, and the White family had adopted me when I was seven. Ian was my adoptive brother. Initially, he hadn't liked me, but he'd become much nicer to me

"Let's start over, Art. I'll act like you never married anyone else, and you can act like I never betrayed you. My love for you is genuine!" Shawna softened her tone when she saw how serious Arthur looked.She'd always been a dab hand at coaxing and appeasing him, and he fell for it each time. In comparison, nothing I did would make him smile at me when he was angry.There really was a vast difference when a person loved and didn't love someone. I couldn't believe I'd been dumb enough to only realize it after my death.Arthur was always stoic and severe with me, but he was gentle and tender when he was with Shawna. He could also change his bottom line for her time and time again.My heart ached at the realization. Then again, I no longer cared how Shawna framed me or how much Arthur hated me."You've just been discharged. You should rest." He pushed her away and avoided answering her question. Then, he left.Shawna stomped angrily once Arthur was gone.…Arthur returned to the

Arthur didn't show much of a reaction to Shawna's death. He merely grunted in acknowledgment after hearing about it from his men. He was too preoccupied with searching for my body, after all. But what was he going to do after finding it?He turned the apartment upside down before managing to find Ian's number. When the call connected, he asked anxiously, "Where is Leona?"Ian was a lot more solemn this time. He didn't snap at or question Arthur. All he did was laugh in resignation. "I thought you would never remember her because you were so busy with your true love. It looks like her death managed to awaken your conscience."Arthur didn't seem to hear any of that. He repeated his question.Ian said icily, "Look for her yourself since you're such a big shot. I don't think she'd want to see you, though."He was right. I didn't want to see Arthur. He hadn't cared about my life or death or even trusted me. Why would I want to have anything to do with him? He would only dirty my path

Ian sat up and laughed. "That's what I'd like to know. Why aren't you the one who died?"Before leaving, he warned Arthur to fix my grave, or he would use all his connections to ruin the Rothe family.I didn't know what Arthur was thinking. He lay there for a long time, allowing the night breeze to lift his fringe. It reminded me of a time we'd gone camping—the stars had been prettier that night than they were now.That was also the night that he'd asked, "Do you want to be my wife, Leona?"I'd gone from liking to loving him and from loving to hating him in five short years. Everything had happened so quickly.Arthur suddenly stood up. He bit his finger to draw blood from it before writing on my gravestone. "Here lies Leona and Arthur, a loving couple."Then, he lay in the hole he'd dug and smiled in relief as he slashed his wrist with a dagger. I frowned at the sight of the blood flowing from the wound.I didn't know whether I was imagining things, but his eyes suddenly lit up