Chapter 534 The Pendant and the Fall

    “John, you can’t push all the me onto me!”

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    Elsa knew she couldn’t afford to provoke him now. If she pushed him itoo /ifar, he would really force her to repay everything.

    But her bitterness and hatred burned too deep. She couldn’t control herself, and through clenched teeth she said, “When I came back, was it me who forced you ito /icare for me, to marry me?”

    “You knew Lily loved you, that she stayed by your side through the hardest years, yet you still chose to be with me.”

    “Lily broke up with you not because of my schemes, but because you couldn’t give her enough security. You were the one who was fickle, the one with a divided heart!”

    “Why should I bear all the me for iyour /imistakes?”

    Her words stabbed John straight through the chest. His tall, straight figure seemed to buckle under the weight of the pain.

    How could he not see it? Elsa deserved damnation, yes–but so did he.

    Step by step, he had driven away the woman he loved most.

    And it was that truth, that self–inflicted wound, that filled him with an even deeper, unforgiving regret.

    “Elsa, three days. Pay me back–or face the consequences.”

    He didn’t waste another breath on her. Leaving the words like shards of ice, he clutched his chest and walked away without once looking back.

    He still demanded repayment.

    How cruel he was to her–utterly merciless.

    “Elsa.”

    His voice froze her where she sat trembling.

    Simon.

    Chapter 534 The Pendant and the Fall

    Her body shook harder, her heart sinking cold.

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    Because this time, he hadn’t called her “Lizzy,” with that tender warmth of remembrance. Instead, he addressed her inly, harshly–iElsa/i.

    And then his words cut her deeper still. “That pendant… did I really give it to you? Or did you take it from someone else—maybe even steal it?”

    “Simon, what are you saying?”

    Already copsed in filth and humiliation, her world spun ck at his question. Dizzy, she half–slumped to the ground, unable to hold herself up.

    The truth was unbearable: that pendant hade from Lily’s dorm room.

    She told herself she had itaken /iit, not stolen it. She never liked to think of herself as a thief.

    But for Simon to suspect her of theft–it crushed what little pride she had left.

    She was too proud to cry easily. But now hatred and injustice overwhelmed her, and tears spilled freely down her cheeks.

    “You think I’m a thief?”

    “I was the one who stayed with you in the rubble. I was the one who encouraged you, whoforted you, who gave you strength to hold on. I truly cared for you. How can you doubt

    me like this?”

    “Yes, I’ve made mistakes. I regret them more than anything.”

    “But does that mean I deserve to die for them?”

    “Simon, if you really see me as a disgusting thief, if even you don’t want me anymore, then what’s the point of living?”

    “I might as well die right now!”

    Simon felt like he was losing his mind.

    Elsa had the pendant he had given Lizzy. She knew details about those two desperate days when they clung to each other for survival, details only Lizzy should know. By reason, he shouldn’t doubt her.

    Yet, bewitched by a gnawing unease, he couldn’t shake the sense that Lily was the one who truly felt like Lizzy.

    12:22 Monb, /bSep 15

    Chapter 534 The Pendant and the Fall

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    His heart was in chaos. He didn’t even notice Elsa staggering to her feet and rushing toward

    the wall.

    She moved slowly, deliberately. Hoping–no, expecting–that Simon would stop her, pull her back, admit his mistake, and coax her gently.

    But as her body neared the wall, he didn’t move. He just stood there, unmoving, lifeless.

    The crowd didn’t scatter.

    They all knew Elsa wouldn’t actually kill herself. She had recently been diagnosed withte- stage stomach cancer. Every drop of her blood was precious. She wouldn’t willingly smash her head open.

    Not a single person stepped forward to stop her.

    “Simon, if my death can make you happy, if it can erase your doubts, then I’m willing to die!”

    Simon remained frozen, like his soul had left his body.

    He didn’t care if she lived or died.

    With no other choice, Elsa lowered her head and flung herself toward the wall.

    She was an expert at using self–harm to win sympathy.

    Before, even her clumsy tricks had been enough–John and Simon would rush to her side, shield her,fort her, and turn their wrath on Lily.

    She believed even now, even if Simon wasn’t as gentle as before, her desperate act would move him. Surely he would still feel heartache. Surely the watching crowd would soften, believing she had been wronged.

    But when her forehead split and she crumpled to the floor, Simon didn’t so much as nce her way.

    He just stared nkly into the distance, as if she didn’t exist at all.

    And the voices of the crowd cut sharper than knives, stabbing at her pride, chilling her to the

    core.