In that instant, their minds melded into one, their hearts beating as if they were one entity!


    Two of their opponents hit the floor!


    "Elvis! I''m telling you again, run!" Elsie''s heart pounded frantically, her voice strained to breaking.


    "I''m telling you again, too,e with me."


    Elvis'' eyes hardened with resolve, his gun-hand steady towards the door, his other hand, veins bulging, hooked around her waist, pulling her close with increasingly tight grip.


    Their eyes locked, sparks flying as if they were each other''s whole world!


    Just then, two more burst in. Simultaneously, without even a nce at the door, they fired their guns!


    "Elvis, what is this?!"


    Crimson crept up at the corners of Elsie''s eyes, her heaving chest leaned against his, stirring emotions deep within him, "Not born on the same day, but willing to die on the same?"


    "Let''s put it another way; make it sound more romantic."


    Elvis smiled, his eyes bright with a fierce joy, "With you, through thick and thin, in life and death."


    In that moment, Elsie''s heart skipped a beat, a flush spreading across her cheeks;


    no matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t hold back the tears.


    She spoke softly, her voice choked with intense inferiority, "Stop it, dying alongside someone like me, it''s a disgrace for you."


    Elvis felt a tightness in his chest, his grip on her waist tightening as if trying to crush her bones.


    "If you die, Ms. Evadne Ashbourne, Mr. Thaddeus Abernathy, your father, your brothers, your family, they''d be devastated."


    Elsie''s voice was calm, "But if I die, it''d be like a raindrop disappearing in the water, causing no ripples, making no one sad, and leaving no one to remember. So, Elvis, you need to stay alive."


    "Who says no one would be sad, no one would remember?"


    Elvis'' gaze was intense, his voice deep, "Elsie, you don''t treat me as a human? Do you think I have no heart?"


    "Maybe, you might. But it''s okay; I''m just a passerby in your life. Grief is


    temporary; over time, everything can be healed."


    Through all her trials, Elsie was already scarred and bruised. No one cared, no one healed her wounds. Time became her only friend.


    "Enough with the nonsense. If I wanted to leave, I wouldn''t havee!"


    Elvis'' eyebrows knotted in frustration, he firmly gripped her hand, "With me here, nothing will happen to you, to either of us!"


    At the Velvet Haven, Harvey hurriedly approached Avery.


    "Mr. Chambers! You really predicted it, that Elvis fell right into our trap,ing alone to find Ms. Archer!"


    Avery had just injected himself with a drug, slumping in the sofa enjoying the dizzying thrill.


    His usually impable suit was disheveled, his legszily syed, his wine ss tipped towards the ground, spilling its contents.


    Seeing this, Harvey felt an indescribable difort.


    Mr. Chambers''s drug use was getting more frequent; this was not a good sign.


    And excessive drugs and alcohol could slowly ruin his body.


    If his health was ruined, what was the point of everything he''d worked for?


    "The Ashbourne family, every single one of them, fools for love, willing to die for it."


    Avery, with eyes closed, let out a derisive snort, "I thought Elvis might surprise me, but he''s just as predictable. To risk himself for a woman like that, it''s in stupidity."


    "Die under the skirt of someone he loves, even if he turns to a ghost, he''d be a romantic one." Harveyughed coldly, "Since the fish has bitten the bait, I''ll make sure the brat''s taken care of tonight!"


    "Good," Avery agreed.


    "Ms. Archer''s still inside. I''ll think of a way to get her out."


    "No need."


    Avery''s eyes, half-opened, were cold, "If they want to be doomed lovers, I''ll oblige them."


    Harvey was shocked, his expression turning pale, "Mr. Chambers, Ms. Archer has been with you for years; are you really ready to discard her?"


    "What, you feel sorry for her?"


    "No, not that."


    Harvey hesitated, "Ms. Archer has been a great asset over the years, The Velvet Haven wouldn''tst a day without her."


    "She''s just a stand-in. What she does, any woman I support and train could easily rece her. Her only value to me was as bait to lure Elvis. Now that it''s done, her final use in this world is over."


    Harvey felt chilled to the bone, his heart tightening, "But Mr. Chambers."


    Just then, Avery stood up from the sofa.


    On the coffee table, therey a pot of carefully nurtured red roses. Suddenly, Avery''s pale, slender hand grabbed the stems of a few roses, startling Harvey; he eximed, "Mr. Chambers, be careful of the thorns!"


    But the man remained indifferent, and the next second, he yanked the whole nt out by its roots!


    With a nk, a sophisticated listening device fell out of the soil.