The Great Escape to Happiness [Chapters 21-25] – The End!!

Chapter 21

When Eleanor got back into the car, Leon’s expression was frosty. He waved his watch in front of her and complained in an indignant tone, “It’s been seven minutes! You’re two minutes late!”

Exasperated by how petty he was being, she coaxed him like one would a child. “It was only two minutes. I’ll agree to two of your requests. How’s that?”

Since he had gotten what he was after, Leon’s expression brightened up immediately. Taking her hand in his, he said, “Alright. My first request is for you to tell me everything the two of you talked about.”

Eleanor had no choice but to patiently recount the conversation in detail. It was only then that Leon was placated.

Once they got to the hospital for a check-up, the doctor said that it wasn’t anything serious and that getting acupuncture done at a nearby clinic should do the trick. So Eleanor wheeled him over to the clinic. But as soon as the needles were in, he started whining to her.

As her thoughts were preoccupied with Alina’s condition, Leon’s constant interruptions had her feeling rather restless. Eleanor made up an excuse saying that she needed to use the restroom.

Once she stepped out of the clinic, she headed straight for the hospital and pulled some strings to find out which room Alina was in.

When she pushed open the room door, Eleanor saw Alina’s pale face and the empty look in her eyes. A complex mix of emotions came over her.

As she slowly walked up to the bed, Eleanor immediately caught sight of the black card on the nightstand.

When Alina saw who had come in, her gaze focused once more. Before she could even say anything, tears began to stream down her face.

Unable to bring herself to see Alina in such a state, Eleanor turned away and sighed lightly. “You’re still young. Don’t be too upset. You need to take care of yourself.”

Alina shook her head, her voice unbelievably raspy. “Now that I’ve lost the child, he won’t ever look at me again. But I can’t deal with that. I can’t let him go.

Hearing the desolation in her voice, Eleanor found no words to console Alina. She could only keep silent.

Alina, who had been suppressing her emotions for so long, seemed to have finally found an outlet to vent her emotions. She sobbed uncontrollably.

“I know. I know that I’m not good enough for him. I know that you’re the only one he holds dear in his heart. But I love him just as he loves you. I have no control over my feelings.

“Had it not been for the child, he and I would never have crossed paths. But fate pulled a cruel prank on me!

Somehow, he came into my life, and he took notice of me- someone as insignificant and ordinary as me. How could I not fall for him?

“His feelings for me aren’t even a fraction of what he feels for you. But even the tiny scrap he has for me is enough. I didn’t ask for much. All I wanted was to stay by his side for just a little longer, even if just for the sake of the child!

“But I don’t even have the child anymore! Everything’s gone! I’m back in the ditches! I can only look up at him from afar.

“Don’t you think that having had something and then losing it is a thousand times crueler than never having it at all, Ms. Sutton?”

On her way up to Alina’s room, Eleanor had thought about whether she should talk to Alina about letting Aaron go. After all, his words earlier had been too cold and heartless. He didn’t seem like someone worth entrusting one’s life to, especially for someone like Alina, who came from an ordinary background.

But now, hearing Alina’s tearful confession, she felt like anything she said would be inappropriate.

Moreover, Alina was too deeply in love with Aaron. No matter what Eleanor said, it would fall on deaf ears. The only thing she could do was to quietly sit with her and play the role of a patient listener.

After she vented all the pain within her, Alina gradually calmed down.

The ringing of a phone suddenly broke the silence. When Eleanor picked up her phone and took a look at the caller ID, a complicated expression flashed in her eyes.

She turned to give Alina a brief glance before answering the call.

“Nora, why did you burn all our memories? Are you really so heartless that you cut all ties with me? Don’t you know that I can’t live without you?”

Though there was a distance between Eleanor and Alina, Aaron’s voice was so shrill and sorrowful that Alina heard him almost immediately.

Seeing how Alina got so agitated that she almost leaped out of bed, Eleanor was worried that her body wouldn’t be able to take it, so she swiftly ended the call and calmed Alina down.

But the very next second, Aaron’s call came in again. No amount of persuasion would get Alina to listen. She insisted on taking Eleanor’s phone, answered the call, and put him on loudspeaker.

“I swore that you’re the only one I’ll ever marry, Nora! If you refuse to give me another chance, I’ll jump off the top floor of the mansion! It’s up to you whether or not you come!”

Chapter 22

Eleanor had never expected that Aaron would go so far as to threaten her by attempting suicide.

As for Alina, something within her seemed to have snapped when she heard what Aaron said. She rushed out of the hospital heedlessly.

Eleanor had a bad premonition about things. So as she chased after Alina, she made a call to the police.

She had just reached the lobby of the hospital when she bumped into Leon, who had a dark look on his face. Just as he was about to complain, Eleanor pushed him along and flagged down a cab.

The expression on Leon’s face went from bad to worse when he heard her giving the address to Aaron’s mansion. He stared at her with resentment in his eyes.

“Have you not forgotten about-“

“Aaron is threatening to take his own life. Alina has gone over. I’m worried that something bad might happen.”

The rest of Leon’s words-“your old flame” – died in his throat. This was a matter of life and death. He wouldn’t get jealous over something like this. He, too, hurriedly contacted some people to find out about the situation.

The moment they reached the mansion and got out of the car, they saw two figures on the ledge of the top floor.

The fire department had gotten there before them and had rescue air cushions set up on the ground. Margaret had collapsed to her knees on the ground and was hoarsely crying out loud.

As soon as the door to the top floor was pushed open, both Aaron and Alina, who were standing on the ledge, turned around to look at Eleanor. Aaron’s eyes lit up with hope, whereas Alina’s were filled with sorrow.

Eleanor pushed her way through the crowd and slowly made her way to the ledge. She reached out her hand to Alina.

Alina was stunned by Eleanor’s gesture and made no move to take her hand. Instead, she turned to look at Aaron beside her. A scowl formed on his face when he saw what Eleanor did.

They stood like that for three full minutes, and yet, Alina didn’t take Eleanor’s hand.

Eleanor shook her head and put her hand down. Then, she asked gravely, “He wants to jump off the building. Will you follow him if he does?

“He’s someone from the elite circle in Drakemont. Whether he ends up crippled or dead, there will be people to deal with things for him. What about you? You’re just an

ordinary person. Aren’t you going to think about your family and friends?”

With those words, both Alina’s and Aaron’s expressions changed.

Eleanor didn’t even spare Aaron a glance. She silently watched as tears streamed down Alina’s face and continued, “He isn’t jumping for you. So even if you gave your life for him, what does it even matter?

“The fact remains that he simply doesn’t love you. You’d just be wasting your life on him. Do you really think that it’s worth it to do that for someone who doesn’t even care for you? Is it worth it to break the hearts of so many people who care about you?”

Though Eleanor’s voice wasn’t loud, her words sounded deafening in Alina’s ears.

Alina didn’t look at her and pinned her gaze on Aaron. However, he didn’t look at her either. His eyes had been locked on Eleanor the whole time. It was such a focused and resolved gaze – one that had never once been directed at Alina.

She had to admit that everything Eleanor said made sense. But the truth hurt-it felt like a poison-laced needle stabbed into the depths of her heart. The pain was so unbearable that it brought tears to her eyes.

With a throaty voice, she asked Aaron a final question, Have you ever… Have you ever loved me?”

Aaron answered her question, but his eyes were still fixed on Eleanor. Who he was actually speaking to was anybody’s guess. “I was wavering for a moment. That wasn’t love.”

His words were firm and resolute. Alina closed her eyes, and a bitter smile formed on her face. Then, she stepped onto the ladder behind her and got off the ledge.

Several emergency rescue personnel hurried forward to help her to safety.

Eleanor let out a slight sigh of relief when she saw that

Alina was safe. Then, she turned and glanced at Aaron.

When their eyes met, all Eleanor asked him was, “Are you coming down or not?”

Chapter 23

Aaron shook his head stubbornly. Every time Eleanor saw that expression on his face, she was reminded of the last time they had broken up before. He had also been relentless and threatened to kill himself.

Back then, she had been worried he might actually go through with it, so she had relented. But now, seeing him pulling the same trick again, she felt nothing but exhaustion.

Not minding if it might get her dirty, she sat down on the spot and let herself relax. Even her tone lightened considerably.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve threatened me with

suicide. Do you think that your life is worthless? Or do you think that I’d die for you, as Alina would?”

Her questions threw Aaron into confusion. A look of panic flashed on his face as a flood of memories rushed through his mind.

He remembered how she had looked when he had tried to win her back by threatening to take his own life-helpless and resigned.

He remembered how she had looked after his proposal, when she had confronted him about the truth on the night he had gotten drunk-grief-stricken.

He remembered how she had looked on the night they picked out her wedding dress and she lay in his arms, saying that what went around came around-numb and emotionless.

He also remembered how she had looked when she raised the hem of her wedding gown and ran from the altar- relieved.

Each and every one of her expressions was deeply etched in the depths of Aaron’s mind. He would never forget them. However, none of them hit as hard as the indifferent, detached look on her face right that instant.

There had been many times in the past when they had almost broken off their relationship, but in the end, they had managed to pull through each time.

But this time, despite his deep love for her, the

irreconcilable past stood between them. He felt completely powerless in the face of truly losing her.

To put things more accurately, he felt the despair and helplessness of facing an impending disaster.

Was his life that worthless? That couldn’t be. He was Aaron Ford, a formidable figure in Drakemont’s elite circle. How could his life be worthless?

But would Eleanor die for him? No, she wouldn’t. She loved him, or more accurately put, she used to love him.

But the one she loved most, the only one she ever truly loved–was never him. She loved dancing more than she ever loved him. And above all, she was someone who loved herself.

Aaron knew that- he had always known that. But still, he had fallen for her like a moth attracted to a flame.

And his love for her not only surpassed the love she had for herself but even his love for himself.

That was why he was standing on the ledge so recklessly after losing her. It was just a way for him to prove that she still loved him. Even if she still had the tiniest bit of love for him, he would gladly do anything for her.

Aaron saw no way back; he had gone all out. But based on Eleanor’s expression now, he could see that he had placed his bet wrong. For a moment, he lost his composure and stumbled over his words.

“You promised me! You promised that you’d give me another chance! You even signed that promise note! But when I went looking for it today, the butler told me that you’d burned it! You burned all of them! Nora, why’d you go back on your words? Don’t you remember what you promised me before?”

What Aaron was referring to was a wish that he’d made on his 15th birthday. He had requested her to promise that no matter how fiercely they fought in the future, she’d always give him another chance.

Eleanor had agreed to it, written it down on a note, and signed it.

After all these years, he had never made use of the note. She had almost forgotten about it and had burned it.

Eleanor never expected him to remember about it. But she had no intention of honoring it anymore.

She looked up at him and answered in a calm voice, “It’s true I’d promised you that before. But we’d set some ground rules before making the promise. One of them was that the promise would be nullified if you ever fell for anyone else.

“Can you honestly say you never had any feelings for Alina? Can you say you still remembered our promise when you kissed her?”

Chapter 24

Aaron’s face gradually paled under the weight of Eleanor’s deafening questions.

The words “I can” were just at the tip of his tongue, but they quickly faded when he met her clear, bright eyes.

Aaron fell to his knees on the ledge as he tore at his hair with both hands. He despaired, falling into an abyss of remorse and suffering.

Eleanor slowly stood up and turned around, not sparing him another gaze.

The moment she turned around, her gaze met Leon’s. He had painstakingly made his way up the stairs despite his swollen ankle. Eleanor had no idea how long he had stood there, but his expression was cold.

Though she was aware of how inappropriate it was to laugh in such a situation, Eleanor couldn’t hold it back. She lowered her gaze and saw her shadow on the ground. Then, she lifted her head and looked at the sky. When she spoke again, she sounded very much at ease.

“I don’t love you anymore, Aaron. This time, it doesn’t matter whether or not you jump. My answer will remain the same.

“If you insist on threatening me with suicide, I’d like to tell you that I hold no responsibility over your life. Whether you live or die is your own choice, and it has nothing to do with me.”

Then, without lingering any longer, she walked up to Leon with no hesitation.

Seeing her slowly walking away from him, Aaron knew that he had lost. It hadn’t happened today, nor had it happened on the day of the wedding. He had lost on the night he had gotten drunk and slept with Alina.

If he could go back in time to that very day, he would smash every single bottle of alcohol, take the ring with him, and board a plane to Elthania. Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking. He had absolutely no way out now.

So, in that moment, he stubbornly and resolutely walked the path he had chosen for himself. Spreading his arms wide, he threw himself backward.

Like a moth freed from the cage that confined it, he plunged toward the flame destined to consume him.

The very moment Aaron fell, Margaret suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital alongside him.

After an entire day of emergency medical treatment, one of them ended up suffering injuries while the other succumbed to death-Margaret passed away from her heart condition, and Aaron broke his legs, leaving him permanently paralyzed.

The few remaining relatives of the Ford family hurried to the company upon hearing the news, plotting to split up the family riches. The only one who waited outside the operating theater was Alina.

Despite being in poor health herself, she arranged the funeral for Margaret and stayed outside the ICU for three whole months. In that time, she was the one who signed 16 critical condition notices for Aaron.

When he finally woke up again, the Ford family feud had barely died down.

A distant uncle of his had taken the lion’s share and visited the hospital once. Aaron was left with nothing but five million dollars, which the Fords claimed to be his portion of the inheritance.

The five million dollars, along with the four million that the Ford family had transferred to Alina, was just enough to cover the medical expenses for the time he was hospitalized.

Everyone in Drakemont knew that the once-impressive scion of the Ford family was no more. Now that he was no longer powerful, no one bothered to come and visit him.

Alina used the last of her remaining money to buy Aaron a wheelchair, and she wheeled him home. It was a place that she’d recently rented a room that was approximately 110 square feet.

Though cramped, the two of them made the small space their home. Alina quit her job and took on three part-time jobs just to take care of him.

Aaron couldn’t accept how things had turned out, and he lived each day miserably, constantly seeking ways to die.

Alina produced a long list of payment receipts for hospital bills and handed it to him. “You owe me my child’s life, and all the money you promised me was spent on you. How dare you even think about dying?”

Looking at her bloodshot eyes, Aaron found himself at a loss for words.

She was right. How could he even dream of death?

Chapter 25

The fall of the Ford family stirred up quite a storm in the elite circles of Drakemont.

When Clara, who loved gossip, heard about it, she invited Eleanor to a meal and casually brought up the topic.

A prestigious family that had been in power for over a century had fallen apart due to internal strife. Both Eleanor and Clara felt sorry for them.

As they chatted, Leon gave Eleanor a call to check in on her, and she patiently updated him about her whereabouts.

Clara sniggered in secret when she heard their playful bickering.

When the call ended, she patted Eleanor on the arm with a mysterious look on her face. “When the whole thing with Aaron and Alina first happened, they kept things under tight wraps. Do you know who was the one who told me about it?”

From the look on Clara’s face, Eleanor could tell there was more to it than met the eye. After all, she had been abroad back then, and Clara was the one who had told her about it.

To this day, Eleanor was still curious about where Clara had gotten intel from.

Clara scooted close to her and signaled at Eleanor’s phone with her eyes. “It was Leon. He took the initiative to talk to me about it. Back then, I wondered why he’d be interested in such things. But in hindsight, it’s clear that he had an ulterior motive.”

With Clara being all mysterious, Eleanor was confused. She insisted Clara explain things clearly.

“What I mean is that Leon did it on purpose! He wanted me to tell you about it so you’d give up on Aaron. Then, he’d swoop in and win you over himself!”

Eleanor instinctively retorted, “How’s that even possible?”

Clara looked at her like she was a hopeless case. “How is it not possible? On the day he took you away from the wedding, he requested I get your documents for him.

When I refused, he told me himself that he’d had a crush on you for the past decade. And when I asked about it from some close friends of his, they all said that it was true. You’ve been married for so long. Don’t you know about it?”

Eleanor genuinely knew nothing of the sort, and she was taken aback by what she heard.

Seeing how lost she seemed, Clara got even more excited.

“Think about it. If he doesn’t like you, would he spontaneously agree to go crash your wedding and run away with you? Besides, why would he even bother to leak the information about Aaron?

“And most importantly, he dragged you straight to the city hall to get your marriage registered after taking you away. Wasn’t that because he was afraid you’d run away?

“If this isn’t love, then I don’t know what is. You truly are dense, Eleanor!”

After hearing Clara’s logical breakdown of things, Eleanor finally understood why Leon had occasionally shown signs of jealousy after their marriage.

So it wasn’t her imagination running wild after all. He really loved her. That was why he had a conflict with Aaron, disregarded her ridiculous request to crash her wedding, rushed into marriage with her, and clung to her day in and day out after that.

There had been signs all along. It was just that she had been too caught up in her past relationship to notice.

Seeing the realization dawn on Eleanor, Clara grinned wider. She eagerly spilled all the secrets she had uncovered.

Back in middle school, when Eleanor had been at dance practice, there had always been boys peeking at her through the window. Leon was the one who had gotten someone to teach them all a lesson.

Back when she was 18, she had once accidentally injured herself and nearly had to give up dancing. Leon had stepped in and convinced one of his family members-who was over 80 years old-to come out of retirement and treat her.

Three years ago, Eleanor had been stranded on Lunaris due to a blizzard. Even then, Leon was the one who had secretly organized a rescue team to save her.

Only now did Eleanor realize that all those little strokes of luck she had attributed to fate had actually been orchestrated by someone. Leon had been silently watching over her all along. She just hadn’t noticed.

That whole afternoon, Eleanor felt a mix of emotions as she listened to Clara recount these past events.

Leon arrived at the cafe to pick her up at the agreed-upon time that evening. He was right on time.

Looking aloof and carefree as ever, he leaned against the car door. A nonchalant smile spread out on his face the moment he saw her.

“What did you talk about for so long? Did Clara badmouth me again? If she went overboard, I’m gonna demand a confrontation!”

Somehow, Eleanor found him rather endearing when she heard his playful words. She walked up to him with a smile and mimicked his tone.

“Well, she said quite a lot. She told me that you had a secret crush on me. Is that true?”

Then, in the blink of an eye, she leaned in close to him. Startled, panic flashed on his face.

“I-If I like someone, I do it openly, okay? H-How could I p- possibly have a secret crush on anyone?” he stuttered.

All it took was one look for Eleanor to see that he was just trying to hide the truth. And that only made her feel even more compelled to tease him.

She tossed her handbag at him, clasped her hands behind her back, and put on an exaggeratedly regretful expression.

“I was thinking that if that’s true, then we could have a wedding and make things official between us. But since you claim that it’s just bogus, we can just forget about it then.”

When Leon heard that, he got all worked up. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her into his arms.

“No! We can’t forget about it! I was lying! It’s all true-it’s true that I’ve always had a secret crush on you. You never noticed! Aren’t you going to give me a wedding to make it up to me?”

Leon’s eyes were bright when he spoke.

For some reason, Eleanor was reminded of the time they had arranged to meet at the cafe. He had the exact same look in his eyes when he heard her talk about crashing her wedding-bright and hopeful.

So it turned out that fate had its way of putting things in place. That meeting in the cafe was the moment her fate had changed. She had just been oblivious to it all.

Fortunately, they had made it.

Eleanor reached out and hugged him back. As she felt the warmth of his embrace, her voice betrayed the smile on her face.

“Alright. What kind of wedding do you want? I’ll make it up to you.”

“Don’t go back on your word!”

“Never.”

What did you think of the ending of the story? Does it give some closure to the story, or was it too tragic? Do you think Aaron deserves such punishment, or was Eleanor so cruel/heartless?

Are you satisfied? Let us know your thoughts.

お金金

SEND GIFT or GCASH: +63.936.139.8714

COMMENT

Subscribe

♡
Prev | Next