All Chapters of Before I Leave: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Rachel immediately turned pale."Why? Haven't you always liked Rachel?" Ethan's father was stunned.Ethan, without looking at Rachel, calmly replied, "Switching the bride to Rachel might solve today's problem for now, but what about after that?"The Shaws have so many business deals with the Walkers. Even though Stella has left matters to her managers, she still decides."She didn't show up today, but do you really think she'll be happy to see me marry Rachel instead? What if she was just throwing a tantrum and decided not to come, only to find out later we replaced her? What do you think she'll do?"What if she gets angry and pulls all our business deals?"On top of that, changing the bride at the last minute will make people question our reputation."Ethan laid out the consequences clearly and calmly, convincing his father."You make a good point. But what do we do about today's wedding—""It's not that hard to handle," Ethan interrupted. "Didn't the Walker Villa catch fire

Ethan returned to the university and went straight to Stella's professor, getting right to the point."Professor Lawson, please give me the contact information for the institute Stella is working at. I need to bring her back."Professor Lawson looked dumbfounded."Surely you're joking, young man. This project is a top-level national priority, not a game of cards! Every researcher was carefully selected. Once accepted, you can't just come and go as you please."Normally composed, Ethan felt an unfamiliar frustration rising inside him. His voice grew more urgent."You don't understand what's going on with Stella. We had a fight a couple of days ago. She acted on impulse just to get back at me. She didn't really want to go."Even at this moment, Ethan still believed that Stella left on a whim because of their issues.He pressed on, "She's probably already starting to regret it. Keeping her there will only slow down the project. It's better if I bring her back now."Professor Lawso

Ethan froze as he was about to reach the door.He stared, stunned, through the glass panel.Rachel sat at the center of her group of friends, her face caked in heavy makeup—nothing like the sweet, delicate image she usually presented. She looked smug, even arrogant, as she basked in the attention."Of course I pulled it off," she said, flipping her hair. "That old fiancee of his—Stella—joined some top-secret aerospace program. She won't be back for at least ten years."The girls around her burst into applause."You're incredible, Rachel! That engagement between the Shaws and Walkers was basically ironclad, and you still managed to break them up!""Yeah, how did you get Stella to walk away on her own? Teach us!"Rachel smugly smiled. "Oh, I did a lot," she said."First of all, the only reason Ethan agreed to the wedding was because I drugged him. He was messed up, and he ended up sleeping with Stella."Ethan, still outside the door, was shocked.He did sleep with Stella that n

Ethan looked at the two piles in front of him.The first pile was the gifts Stella had returned to him. These were things he had given her in the past. Most of them, he had not even remembered. He had casually told his assistant to buy them.His gaze darkened.Stella had already planned to return everything before she left.He then looked at the second pile.These were gifts Stella had once given to him.He finally remembered how Stella loved giving him gifts. She would give him something for his birthday, for holidays, for every little occasion.At the time, he found it annoying. He stopped opening them and would toss them into the basement…His mother brought them out and organized them.Ethan stood there in a daze and slowly opened them, one by one. All of them were covered in dust.There was a lucky charm she spent a lot of effort to get for him during his college entrance exams.There was a scarf she had knitted for his birthday last year. He remembered seeing her pract

When Ethan first woke up, he felt relieved.Stella was still alive after all. She had not died tragically because of him like in that nightmare.However, the relief only lasted a second.Stella was alive, but she was so far away that he could not reach her. The thought crushed him, the pain in his chest making him feel conflicted.After all, in that dream, no matter how twisted it had been, he had spent over 20 years with her.Reality, however, reminded him how he would no longer have a chance with her.He gasped for air, like the pain was squeezing the life out of him.His mother panicked and rushed to his side, concerned. "What's wrong, Ethan? Are you feeling sick? Do you want me to call a doctor?"Ethan's eyes were red. He slowly looked up at her and raspily croaked, "Mom… I love Stella."It felt like a burden was lifted off of him when he said it. He finally faced his feelings for Stella.His mother froze for a second, then broke into tears."I knew it," she sobbed. "I'v