Begging For A Reconciliation

Chapter 331 He Died Because Of Me

The sun's golden rays dispelled the gloomy clouds the next day.
The sun's golden rays dispelled the gloomy clouds the next day.

Early in the morning, Leah made her way to a café on one of the street corners where Anna was already waiting for her.

"Don't worry; I've reserved the café for the day. He won't know you're meeting me." Noticing that Leah seemed worried, Anna hastened to reassure her, smiling warmly. Only then did some of Leah's tension leave her, and she sat down facing the other woman.

Leah had dark circles under her eyes and looked as if she had not slept the entire night. She also seemed rather thin and pallid. Whenever she recalled what Anna had told her yesterday about Alfred and how things were actually quite different from what she had heard, she had become frantic with worry. As a result, she had been unable to fall asleep. It took her a while to compose herself and pluck up the courage to ask, "Ms. Lancaster, what's the actual situation with Alfred?"

Anna was delighted to hear the slight quaver in Leah's voice at the end of her question. She did not answer immediately, taking time to sip her coffee before asking, "Are you prepared to hear the answer?"

Leah was taken aback; she had clenched her hands tightly enough that her palms were sweating slightly. "Yes, I am. Please tell me what's going on…" Her best guess was that Alfred had been severely injured and was still in hospital.

She did not dare to think about the worst-case scenario.

Anna finally set down her coffee cup rather abruptly. With a sorrowful expression, she met Leah's gaze and said, "Alfred…has passed away. He died the very same day he rescued you…the paramedics arrived too late, and he had already lost far too much blood…" Tears welled up in her eyes, and she averted her gaze from Leah.

However, her true feelings were completely different from what she displayed on the exterior. Inwardly, she was rejoicing. She had forced the tears out; what she really wanted to do right now was laugh out loud in Leah's face, but that would not do at all. She would not be able to claim victory over this woman if she did that!

Leah looked as if she had been turned to stone when she heard what Anna said. All the color drained from her face. Completely off-balance, she stared at Anna, trying to find some evidence that the other woman was lying to her. Unfortunately, Anna's obvious sadness and tears were proof enough that she was speaking the truth.

"No…that can't be…" Leah shook her head in shock, and her eyes betrayed the immense pain she felt. Before confirmation of Alfred's death, she had kept her emotions tightly suppressed, unwilling to believe that such a thing could happen.

Anna fixed her gaze on Leah's face, observing her every expression. She took the opportunity to wipe away her tears and prevent the other woman from seeing the demented joy in her eyes. True, she could not order Leah's death for now, but watching her anguished face was far better than killing her outright. The thought of Leah living for the rest of her life in pain and regret made Anna feel as if she would laugh out loud, even in her dreams.

This was that wretched woman's payback for trying to snatch Ethan away from her!

Feeling that she had not yet inflicted enough suffering upon Leah, Anna got up and went over to her with a sorrowful expression. "Ms. White, you have to accept reality, you know. I believe that Alfred would be very happy that you survived; after all, he succeeded in protecting you from harm. Think of it this way."

Even though Anna's words were intended as comfort, Leah broke down on the spot. She clutched at her head while tears rained down her cheeks like a waterfall. "No…Alfred…" Right now, she was unable to say anything other than Alfred's name repeatedly. Her thin frame shuddered with her sobs; she looked like a young animal who had completely lost hope.

At present, Leah had given way to despair. She felt unbearably cold, and the light in her eyes was slowly fading away. Alfred had died trying to save her…she had caused his death. She was a jinx, a harbinger of misfortune; she was the one who should have died instead.

Anna watched Leah's anguish in silent satisfaction. Unobserved, she gave a vindictive, malicious smile. When she spoke again, however, she sounded as if she was fighting back her grief. "Ms. White, please don't be so sad. I'm here if you need me. After all, Alfred definitely wouldn't want to see you grieving like this. From what I hear, the scoundrels who beat him up said that he was calling out your name before he died…"

This was the last straw for Leah; her reason broke down completely after hearing that. She sobbed in anguish, her heart aching fit to burst.

"It's…it's all my fault…I sh-should have gone back to save him…"

However, Han had knocked her out and taken her away. If she had been able to run back right away to help him, would Alfred still be alive? If she had died, that would still be better than Alfred dying in her place.

Anna stood silently beside Leah, watching the tears fall down her cheeks. She felt a malicious sense of joy. That's right, it's all your fault, you b*tch! If it weren't for you, Alfred wouldn't have died, and Ethan would have married me ages ago!

However, just to twist the knife even further into Leah's heart, Anna concealed her delight and leaned down, murmuring in Leah's ear, "To be honest…I wanted to tell you immediately since we're friends and Alfred…well, he was trying to save you…but Ethan said that…you weren't someone fit to be at his last funeral rites and wouldn't let me tell you…but I couldn't keep deceiving you any longer. After all, the dead can't come back to life, and one day if you discovered you'd been lied to for so long, you would certainly be very unhappy…"

It had only been an hour since she had met with Anna in the café, but Leah felt as if a century had passed. To prevent herself from falling into a bad state and worrying Carlotta, she decided to visit the river. Dazedly she sat on the riverbank, her eyes lackluster and dull. Her mind and emotions were in complete turmoil; she felt as if her head would burst.

Every time she recalled the interactions between Alfred and herself, her eyes would fill with tears again.

"I'm so sorry…" The sun shone brightly down on her, but the autumn air was still very chilly. Even though the winds were warm and mild, she was so cold she kept shivering.

Leah lingered by the riverbank until afternoon. The sunny skies had given way to dark clouds, and the bleak autumn winds brought with them the promise of winter's chill. She was only roused from her thoughts by her phone ringing.

"Hello…" Leah answered the call, her voice sounding hoarse and fatigued.

It was Serena Coleman on the line, and even over the phone, she could tell that something was wrong. Frowning, she asked, "Sarah, are you alright? I just wanted to find out how the preliminary designs for your client are coming along."

Leah's lips trembled, and she stared with devastated eyes at the grey sky. "Serena…I'm very sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to complete this project after all. Would you mind taking over for me as a favor, please?"

Alfred's death had dealt her a severe blow, enough that she did not think she would be able to recover from it any time soon, much less take on work that required focus and concentration.

She had fallen into a spiral of guilt and self-condemnation; in her mind, she replayed what Anna had told her over and over again.

Alfred had been beaten up so badly that he had died from loss of blood.

Alfred had died saving her.

Alfred had been calling out her name just before he died.

This knowledge brought her such pain that she felt as if she would die on the spot.