Chapter 309 Let Me Say Goodbye.


    +8 Pearls


    Lauren''s thin, trembling hand reached up and gently wiped away Mia''s tears. "Don''t be sad," she whispered.


    But the more she tried tofort them, the harder it was for anyone in the room to hold back their grief.


    Mia curled up beside her on the bed, her sobs wracking her small frame. Her shoulders shook uncontrobly, and her breathing came in shon. frantic gasps- like she might copse at any second from the weight of her sorrow,


    Everyone around the bed had red-rimmed eyes. Some were crying silently. Others had already broken down.


    Lauren didn''t know what else to say.


    She had thought, when she drank the pesticide, that it would be quick.


    She''d chosen that method because she knew how lethal it was. She''d been sure-positive-that she wouldn''t survive.


    She had been ready to die.


    But life, cruel as ever, had decided not to let her go that easily.


    And now, instead of slipping away quietly, she was forced to witness the pain she had left behind.


    She opened her mouth, trying to reassure them-only for a sudden torrent of thick ck blood to explode from her throat.


    It sttered across the white bedsheets, across her gown, soaking everything in dark, sticky crimson.


    Then came more.


    Blood oozed from her nose. From her ears. Even her eyes


    Lauren was bleeding from every opening


    A living corpse.


    A ghost crawling out of hell.


    "Lauren- Mia''s scream ripped through the room like shattered ss,


    Her eyes widened in horror. The sight of Lauren bathed in her own blood, writhing


    in agony, burned into her mind forever.


    Mia''s knees gave out. Her body crumpled beside the bed. And then everything went ck."


    Felix shook violently. "Doctor-someone get the doctor!"


    His voice cracked, filled with sheer terror.


    Lauren''s vision blurred. She saw Mia copse. Felix pale and trembling. Others rushing around in a panic-then darkness swallowed her whole.


    The ER doors mmed open.


    Doctors and nurses rushed her to surgery, machines beeping frantically.


    Outside the operating room, time stood still.


    Felix sat frozen in his wheelchair, like a man turned to stone. He didn''t blink. Didn''t breathe. He just stared at the glowing red sign above the door.


    Surgery in Progress.


    Chapter 309 Let Me Say Goodbye


    The doctor stepped out, face haggard, clothes stained. He removed his mask.


    The moment Felix saw his face, his stomach dropped.


    "Doctor," he rasped. "How is she?


    The doctor paused for a long moment. Then quietly said the words Felix feared most.


    "We did everything we could. I''m sorry. Please prepare yourself."


    The world copsed


    Felix''s hands gripped his chair until his knuckles turned white.


    “No,” he whispered. "No, that''s not true. She''s not-she''s not dead! She can''t bel


    He lurched forward, grabbing the doctor''s coat


    She promised me! She said she''d marry me! You go back in there and save her!"


    The others stood frozen.


    Josh. Gael Kenny. Jeffrey.


    Not one of them could move.


    Not one of them could breathe.


    Lauren was dead? How? Why? How could this be justice?


    +8 Pearls


    She had never done a single cruel thing in her life. She worked hard. She loved fiercely. She forgave again and again. She endured pain no human being should have to endure.


    She was punished from the moment she was bor


    Abandoned by her father. Bullied by her adoptive family. Sent to prison for a crime


    she didn''tmit. Beaten. Mistreated. Betrayed


    Even when she got out, life just kept hurting her.


    Where was her happy ending?


    Where was the fairness? The peace?


    There was no answer.


    Felix lost it.


    *She''s


    ''s not dead!" he roared. "She''s mine-she belongs to me! I haven''t even walked her down the aisle yet, I haven''t even put a ring on her hand! Bring her back!"


    Gael closed his eyes, unable to bear it.


    "?ir.. she''s gone."


    Felix''s entire body shuddered.


    Then-he vomited blood.


    A momentter, Mia ran in


    She had just woken up. Just found out.


    Chapter 309 Let Me Say Goodbye


    Still, she walked forward.


    on


    Step by step.


    Josh reached for her, tried to speak.


    But Mia didn''t stop. Didn''t hear him.


    She walked past them all.


    Then, she walked into the operating room-into the stillness beyond the storm.