Dominic stood rooted to the ground without moving an inch, staring at me with a frosty look in his eyes. Mom, however, was stricken. The moment I lobbed the item at him, she cried out and even reached out to tug at me. When she saw the blood trickling down Dominic's face, she reproached me and immediately rushed over to him. “What are you doing, Lili? You would've committed murder if you had hit him on the head! Are you okay, Dom? Come over here and have a seat. I'll apply some salve for you.” “Dominic, if I were you, I would've left long ago if I had even a modicum of shame!” Ignoring my mother's concern, I eyed Dominic coldly. “All right, that's enough. We can talk about everything calmly. Lili, don't...”Mom wanted to lecture me again, but I knew that she was worried that I would be blinded by wrath and do something foolish. It was also then that Dominic finally spoke. “It's okay, Helen. It's just a superficial wound. I'll drive you both back to the village since I also want to attend Grandpa's funeral.” “You don't have to go to such lengths, Mr. Hartnell. Our family is insignificant, so our presence is more than enough for Grandpa's funeral.” “Liliana, I'll explain the matter between Camille and me to you sometime later. The most important thing now is to send Grandpa off properly.” Dominic's voice turned grave, and he even sounded a touch sorrowful. Alas, every thought I had right then was to have him disappear from my sight. To me, both Camille and he had an undeniable hand in my grandfather's demise. However, this time, Mom spoke before I could boot him out of the house again.“I've already booked a taxi, Dom. Lili and I will be fine leaving by ourselves later. You... You should just leave for now. Lili is in a foul mood currently, so give yourselves some time to calm down first.” Dominic's expression was a touch hesitant. He seemed extremely reluctant to leave, but he didn't offer any objection in the end. When I saw that he was about to leave, something abruptly occurred to me, and I called out to him, “Wait a moment! There's something I've got to return to you.” After saying that, I spun around and sprinted to the bedroom. Then, I rummaged in my bag for the ring he had given me. Subsequently, I stared at the ring lying on my palm. The diamond on it shimmered brightly, looking incredibly stunning at all times. My eyes stung, and my hand tightened around the ring at once. Well, this shouldn't belong to me. When I returned to the living room with the ring in my hand, my expression had reverted to its usual calmness. Taking Dominic's hand, I opened his palm and placed the ring on it. “I'm returning this to you. Don't seek me out anymore, Dominic. From now onward, we have nothing to do with each other.” Dominic's gaze darkened, and he grabbed my arm. “Liliana, have you forgotten your promise to me? You said that you'd never leave me again this time no matter what happened! Have you forgotten that?” A tumult of emotions brewed within me, but my expression remained unchanged. After a moment of silence, I murmured placidly, “Anyway, we no longer have anything to do with each other henceforth.” Without warning, a bolt of pain shot up my arm, and the temperature around me seemed to have plummeted drastically. As Dominic and I stared at each other, his expression changed interminably. I could see fury, resentment, incredulity, and even... seemingly fear.“Look into my eyes and repeat that once more.” Why is he so adamant about this? I've already made myself clear, didn't I? But as I gazed into his ebony eyes, my heart jolted. A myriad of indescribable emotions surged within me. Nevertheless, I suppressed them all with sheer willpower. I looked right into his eyes. “Since you didn't hear me clearly enough, I'll repeat it once more. Dominic Hartnell, this is the end of us. From now on—” “That's enough!” At that, I was instantly stumped. Huh? Wasn't it him who told me to repeat it? Why is he going crazy now? A layer of frost blanketed Dominic's face, and he slowly lifted his hand that held the ring. “Liliana, I, Dominic Hartnell, never take back whatever I have given away. Since you don't want it, I'll just throw it away.” When his words fell, he stalked over to the window. Lifting his hand, he hurled the ring out the window. Without saying a single word further, he spun on his heels and left my house. Meanwhile, such excruciating pain flooded me when I saw him chucking the ring that I felt as though I was going to suffocate. After he left, the room became eerily silent. I stood by the door dazedly with my face stained by tears. “Lili, you...” Heaving a heavy sigh, Mom reached out and wiped the tears off my face. I raised my hands and pulled hers down. “It's late, so we should get going, Mom. There'll be lots to do back at the village.” Mom opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something or other. But in the end, she nodded wordlessly. Taking two bags, we put everything in. Then, we locked the door and left. By then, the taxi Mom booked had already arrived. When the elevator reached the first floor, Mom said she had forgotten something and told me to wait outside while she went back upstairs. After she had retrieved the item, we got into the taxi and headed to the village. The weather was very chilly at present, and the sky had already darkened when we arrived at the village though it wasn't even six o'clock in the evening yet. For some inexplicable reason, I found it particularly cold that day. At that time, the funeral altar had already been constructed on the empty plot of land outside the house. Everything that was required had mostly been prepared. The tradition in the village was to have a wake for three days. Only during the early morning on the third day would the funeral procession and burial be carried out. As for my grandfather's belongings back when he was alive, they would have to be burned then. However, I kept the iron box I found earlier. Although my grandfather was gone, I still had to hold on to something I could remember him by. Aunt Vivienne was still rather courteous when she saw me. Although her eyes were as red as a rabbit's, she didn't glower at me or say anything unpleasant. However, the same couldn't be said of Aunt Gianna. While she didn't lay into me as she did that morning, her expression was as dark as night. When Mom had tied the black ribbon on my arm, I knelt before my grandfather's grave and lit a candle for him. Then, I started praying for his soul. Perhaps it was the smoke from the candle or my failure to keep a tight rein on my emotions, but I started sobbing again. I knelt there until I had recited all the scriptures I could think of before I finally stopped. Mom then came over and urged me to help her out with the flower arrangements. Other than Louis and me, Rachelle and another cousin, as well as Aunt Vivienne's son, Mattheus Xanthos, hadn't yet arrived. They would only arrive the next day.My grandfather had a lot of friends in the village, so there was quite a number of people who came to pay their last respects to him. As I sat at the small table at the side, I continued arranging the white flowers mechanically. While I gazed at my grandfather's black and white photo through the flickering candlelight, I couldn't quite describe my feelings at that moment. Regret, guilt, and most of all, reluctance swamped me. Just then, Louis came over with a bag and placed the arrangement of white flowers that I had already done into it. But from the beginning to the end, he didn't utter a single word to me. When he turned around to leave, I instinctively called out to him, “Lou.”