Chapter 1

“Your boyfriend and your bestie are getting married at Saint Laurent Church. It's not too late to go now.” In her seventh year of love with Darius Moore, Iris Garcia received this message. She grabbed her car keys and rushed out, forgetting to even change her shoes. The bells of Saint Laurent Church rang in the distance. As Iris pushed open the door, she heard Darius’s deep voice: “You always ask if I love you.” He paused, his voice unusually gentle, “I think I love you.” Those words stabbed her heart like a knife. Iris’s legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to her knees. Does he love Charlotte Evans? What about her? What does she mean to him? She and Darius had been childhood sweethearts, growing up together from toddlers to young adults. He had always been the one who cherished her like a precious treasure. At seven, Darius secretly took his father’s black card to buy out the entire candy store to cheer her up when she was sick. At thirteen, he tore up all the love letters boys had written to her and announced to the entire school, “Iris is mine!” At sixteen, he applied for the captain major the next day because she casually said "I want to travel around the world.” At eighteen, under a sky filled with dazzling fireworks, he confessed, “Iris, once I reach legal age, I will definitely marry you and bring you home!” On his twenty-second birthday, Darius, who had become a pilot, knelt on one knee at the airport and proposed to her under the witness of the rising and falling flights. He said, “Iris, wherever you want to go, I will take you there.” But just one month before the wedding, the flight he was flying suddenly lost contact. Before the accident, he sent her his final message: “Iris, I might... not be able to land safely. Don't cry, live on. Remember, I love you, forever.” For the next three years, she lived like a zombie. She tried to take pills, but was saved after being given a stomach pump; she tried to cut her wrists, but was discovered by her nanny; she tried to jump into a river, but was rescued by passersby... She attempted suicide ten times, but each time, fate cruelly pulled her back to life. Until one day, outside a café, she saw the “dead” Darius and her best friend Charlotte kissing. It turned out he wasn’t dead, just suffering from amnesia. Charlotte had saved him but lied that she was his girlfriend, secretly hiding him for three years. After regaining his memory, Darius flew into a rage and immediately wanted to return to Iris. But Charlotte threatened to kill herself, begging him to stay with her for one more month. Darius was filled with hatred and anger, but ultimately softened his heart and agreed. But he didn’t know that Iris couldn’t wait another month. Over the years, because of missing him and being depressed, she got cancer, and the doctor said she had only four weeks to live. During this time, she had watched them hold hands and kissed, and she had endured it. But she never imagined that she would have to witness their wedding with her own eyes! “Bang—” In her daze, she knocked over the vase by the door, and the sound of shattering glass startled everyone. Darius looked up suddenly, and the moment his gaze met hers, his expression changed drastically. “Iris?!” She turned and ran. Her heart ached so much it felt like it was about to explode, and all she could hear was the howling wind and the hurried footsteps behind her. “Iris! Stop!” Darius caught up to her, grabbing her wrist. Iris struggled to break free, but he held her tightly. “It’s not what you think!” he said urgently. “This wedding was arranged when I had amnesia. I’m just fulfilling my promise…” “Fulfilling your promise?” Iris laughed, tears streaming down her face. “Darius, was the ‘I love you’ you just said also a promise?” He froze. Just then, Charlotte, dressed in her wedding gown, ran out. “Iris!” She grabbed Iris’s hand with tear-filled eyes, “It’s all my fault. I couldn’t control my feelings and fell in love with Darius. I’m sorry. Can you just indulge me for another month?” Iris suddenly shook off her hand. “No need to indulge. I will do you both a favor.” Charlotte stumbled backward from the force, her high heels slipping, sending her tumbling backward— “Bang!” A screeching brake sound echoed. A out-of-control car slammed into Charlotte, and her body flew out like a rag doll. “Charlotte!” Darius's scream nearly pierced Iris's eardrums. He rushed over like a madman, picking up Charlotte, who was covered in blood. Iris stood there, watching his trembling hands, his panicked expression, and the way he carried her across the street to flag down a car. That was the panic Iris was familiar with. The last time she had seen him like this was five years ago, when Iris had been in a car accident. Back then, he had held her, his voice trembling uncontrollably: “Iris, don't sleep... please don't sleep...” Iris had never imagined that one day she would see him so frantic over another woman. ... At the hospital, Darius stood outside the operating room, covered in blood. His white shirt was stained red, and his fingers were still covered in Charlotte’s blood. “The patient is bleeding heavily! RH-negative blood, blood bank is shortage!” the doctor rushed out and shouted. Darius suddenly looked up, his gaze locking onto Iris. “Iris,” he walked over quickly and grabbed her wrist, “you and Charlotte have the same blood type, right?” Iris looked into his urgent eyes and suddenly felt her throat tighten. “I can’t donate blood…” “I know you hate her!” he interrupted her, his voice urgent and cold, “I hate her too, for lying and keeping us apart for three years! But no matter what, she saved my life! And if you hadn’t pushed her just now, she wouldn’t have been injured. Please save her, I’m begging you.” Iris stared at him blankly, her heart pierced by a sharp icicle, the chill spreading through her veins. The man she once knew would rather die himself than let her get hurt, yet now he was forcing her to donate blood for another woman. “Darius, I have can…” “Iris!” He didn't even let her finish speaking, dragging her toward the blood draw room. “Charlotte is dying! This isn't the time to blow up!” His strength was astonishing, and Iris stumbled as he dragged her into the blood drawing room. The moment the needle pierced the blood vessel, her eyes went black and she suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood. “The patient's condition is critical!” ” The nurse was so frightened that she immediately pulled out the needle, “We need to check her immediately!” Darius turned around and walked over with a frown. Iris looked up at him, blood still trickling from the corner of her mouth, momentarily thinking he was finally going to show concern for her. But he frowned, wiping the blood from her lips, “Iris, it’s just a blood donation. When did you prepare the fake blood bag?” His voice trembled with anxiety. “Charlotte is in critical condition. Please, for my sake, stop this.” Iris was in agony. “I didn’t…” This man, who had once panicked and taken her to the hospital in the middle of the night over a small cut on her finger, now watched her coughing up blood and thought she was acting. The nurse hesitated, looking at Darius: “This patient is really...” “Continue drawing,” he interrupted the nurse, his voice as cold as ice. “800cc, not a single milliliter less!” When the needle pierced her vein again, Iris no longer felt the pain. Her blood flowed steadily into the blood bag, just like their seven-year relationship, being drained drop by drop. Once the blood bag was full, Iris faintly saw Darius rushing toward the operating room with her blood. She used up her last bit of strength to stand up and staggered to the glass window. Through the glass, Iris saw him tightly holding Charlotte’s hand, pleading over and over, “Charlotte, don't be in trouble... please...” He even bent down to kiss the back of her hand. Iris smiled. She laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks, laughed until her heart ached. When she was eighteen, Darius swore to her under the starry sky, “Iris, I only want you for the rest of my life.” It turned out that his entire life was only seven years. She wiped away her tears one by one, then tremblingly pulled out her phone and dialed the number she had saved long ago. “Is this the Swiss euthanasia organization? I want to apply for… euthanasia.” Before she could finish speaking, another mouthful of blood gushed out, splattering the phone screen with bloodstains, resembling the fireworks he had set off for her that year. Darius, Darius, I thought we would grow old together, but never did I imagine the final outcome would be that we would never meet again in this lifetime.