Remarriage Failed Again Today

’What a moron. A truly fucking rare breed of moron.’

Annabelle Linton was at her wit’s end, dealing with a lunatic like him.

’Enough of this pointless conversation.’

Annabelle Linton pushed him away, her expression cold. Ryan was still in prison; she couldn’t waste any more time.

Leona Grant let her push him away. Seeing she was about to leave, he grabbed her wrist and demanded, "Where are you going?"

Annabelle pried his fingers off her wrist. "None of your business," she said with a frown.

A sharp glint flashed in Leona Grant’s eyes.

’As if he didn’t know what she was worried about!’

’She knew what he was thinking, and he knew what she was thinking. They were a match made in heaven—how could they possibly be torn apart?’

"Oh."

For once, Leona Grant was surprisingly agreeable. He released her. "Is that so? Then go ahead."

He slowly turned back, saying languidly, "You know, after all my years fighting my way up in the business world, I haven’t met many people who’ve truly caught my eye. But to be honest... Ryan Linton is a real diamond in the rough."

Annabelle froze.

Leona Grant saw her frozen silhouette reflected in the black marble wall, and his smile deepened. "Well, that’s fine too. He’ll be twenty-eight in ten years, won’t he? Three years older than I am now. He’ll probably have surpassed me by the time he gets out."

"Of course, the conditions there aren’t great. I hear you can’t get enough to eat or warm clothes to wear, and the powerless inmates get beaten every day. But with a face like his... well, he’s handsome, so I doubt anyone could bring themselves to hit him. Ryan is a sharp kid. He’ll know to serve them tea and water, wash their clothes... If he skips a few meals, ten years probably won’t be too hard to endure..."

Annabelle slowly clenched her fists.

Leona Grant let out another smug laugh, then said with a perfectly straight face, "It’s great, really. He might even retain a sliver of innocence. You could consider it a kind of spiritual retreat. Who knows, maybe he’ll invent something amazing in those ten years. It’s just... his future..."

He didn’t look very optimistic, shaking his head in mock pity. "Tsk, tsk. A prison record... and for ten years, no less. Anyway, at my company, I wouldn’t dare work with him even if he were a former president. Who knows if he’d bribe someone to screw me over? Yep, no matter how brilliant he is, I couldn’t hire him. It’s not..."

"Your terms."

Annabelle cut him off before he could finish.

She walked right up to him. Staring at him with a blank expression, she tugged the corner of her mouth into a cold smirk. "Your terms."

’Yes.’

’She had lost.’

’In the face of power, she had been utterly and completely defeated.’

’All the suffering in the world, the entire sweep of history, made one thing brutally clear: the weak are always the ones who get crushed.’

’So... she wouldn’t struggle anymore.’

’Let him do whatever he wants. Annabelle, your happiness doesn’t matter.’

’But by making this decision, she would have to hurt someone else...’

An expression of pain washed over Annabelle’s pale face, and she closed her eyes, utterly defeated.

The deathly pale of her face stung Leona Grant’s eyes.

A strange feeling flowed through him, and Leona Grant’s heart clenched. Seeing her with her head bowed, so utterly lifeless, he thought she looked pitiful.

And he was the one who had made her so.

’But had he done anything wrong?’

’No, of course not.’

’He just wanted her by his side. He wanted her to be happy. He wanted a future with her, that was all...’

’He would save her brother—in fact, he’d already gotten him out. That other man couldn’t protect her, so he would. He was doing this for her own good...’

Leona Grant looked at her, and his heart ached.

He walked over to her and, looking utterly pathetic, tugged at the corner of her shirt. "Annabelle Linton..." he called out guiltily.