Chapter 3106:
“Ernest,” Elissa whispered, halting her steps.
“What is it?” Ernest turned to her at once.
Elissa lowered her gaze, hesitated, then shook her head. “I can’t go with you.”
“Why?” Ernest stopped mid-step, unable to hide his shock.
Elissa opened her mouth, but no exnation came. She could only repeat, “I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry?” Ernest tasted the word as if it were foreign. He checked his watch, impatience tightening his posture. “I’m not asking for an apology. You can do anything you like to me, but don’t ever say that.”
His voice betrayed the fear he tried to bury.
Had he misunderstood herpletely? Had every moment between them been nothing more than a fantasy he created?
That could not be true.
“Elissa, you have feelings for me, don’t you?”
“Of course, I do.” Elissa answered without hesitation. The truth was too obvious to deny.
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“Then what’s stopping you?” Ernest asked, bewildered. “You like me, and I like you. We belong together!”
“We’ll make memories,” Ernest insisted. “Just like the day we went to the bakery. We’ll have a lifetime filled with moments like that.”
Elissa didn’t respond. She only stared at him with troubled eyes and shook her head again, resolute.
“Is this about your mother?” Ernest asked, searching for a reason. “You can’t leave her, is that it?”
It made sense—her mother had been her sole anchor since the ident. Asking her to abandon the only family she had must have felt unbearable.
“I’ll take you back to see her, I swear.” His words picked up speed, urgency bleeding into each one. “You two won’t be apart forever. After we’re married, you cane home to visit whenever you want.”
“No… I can’t do this,” Elissa said.
Despite his pleas, Elissa withdrew her hand from his grip. “You need to go. I’m… not leaving.”
“Elissa!” Ernest’sposure cracked, and he nced at his watch again. “We’re running out of time!”
He had already pushed his luck. Staying here any longer would risk being captured by the cameras and tripping the rm, and once it sounded, every patrol in the vineyard would converge on them.
“Elissa! Juste with me first! We can sort everything out once we’re safe!”
He reached for her arm again.
“No… I can’t,” Elissa managed to say, her eyes reddened and trembling as she shook her head.
Watching her in that state, there was nothing else Ernest could do.
Without warning, he crouched and pulled Elissa up onto his back.
“Nothing stands in our way. You’reing with me.” He had searched every corner of the world to track her down and take her home. He was so near to seeding that giving up now was impossible.
“Elissa, whatever you need to tell me—save it until we’re out of here!”
Ernest hoisted her securely and broke into a run. Every second he lingered put them in greater danger.
Elissa rested against his back, no longer resisting.
Her eyes lowered, and tears slipped quietly down her cheeks.
Her arms tightened around his neck, trembling ever so slightly.
Then the air split with a shrill siren.
The piercing sound tore through the night!
Ernest jolted mid-stride. The rm? He wasn’t supposed to trigger it yet. How had it gone off this early?
Spotlights red to life from every watchtower.
Within moments, all the beams locked onto them.
“Elissa!” Ernest shouted over the blinding re. Even in danger, he remembered Elissa’s past. “Close your eyes! Do it now!”
The light cut through the night with brutal intensity.
Her eyes had once known blindness, and she could not bear the re of such harsh light!
“Alright,” Elissa whispered. She didn’t understand the reason, yet she listened.
Hershes fluttered shut, and her tears flowed faster. Through her sobs, she spoke in a trembling voice, “Put me down… If you let me go, you can escape.”
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Message from Noa: Today is a wonderful day dear readers, hope you enjoy it, and as alwasy remember… God loves you and Noa wishes you all the best. (=?=) /
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