Chapter 47: I'm Not Afraid To Die
Chapter 47: I'm Not Afraid To Die
He stared blankly at her from above.
Alvera bit her lip, her eyes reddening. "No, I was wrong, you have no conscience. You're just the same
as them."
Roland got off her and sat beside her on the sofa.
Both of them fell silent.
She stood up, draped her torn dress around her, then looked at him.
"Roland, I've been in prison, but not everyone who has been in prison is bad. Since you've decided that
we should hurt each other like this, then fine. I would like to see how much you want me to regret being
with you."
She took a deep breath and turned to go upstairs.
After hearing the sound of her door closing, he grabbed the glass on the coffee table and smashed
them against the ground.
He felt no satisfaction in punishing her.
Instead, he was distressed by the obstinate facade that she used to hide her sadness.
She was always like this. It was so easy for her to make him feel heartbroken.
Alvera went back to her room, went into the bathroom and took a rigorous bath.
Just this morning, she was grateful that he let her go, but he gave her a vivid lesson on why she should
not do that just now.
...
If a man has no favourable opinion on you, even his salvation becomes a weapon to harm you.
How many times had they done this to her?
For some unknown reason, this contractual marriage seemed to have changed.
She should have known that it would be dangerous to provoke a man she could not control.
The next morning, Alvera got up early and left the house.
She took a bus to the Superior Group to get her car, then drove to work.
Roland started the morning with a bad mood because he did not see her when he got up.
Halfway through the morning, Terry knocked on the door of his office. "Boss, Mr. Antoine is here."
Roland's expression turned cold. "Get him out."
He was still talking when Antoine pushed his way in. "Roland, you haven't given me a reply when I
asked for a job here."
"If you were me, would you let me work here?"
"Roland, I really need a job. I don't want to go overseas anymore."
"You just want to stay here for Alvera Earhart, don't you?"
"You don't love her," Antoine clenched his fists, "but I do."
"Whether I love her or not is none of your business. I don't care whether you love her or not either. I'm
just going to remind you that you better leave her alone if you don't want her to suffer at my hands."
"She was my first love. You know how unforgettable first loves are. Why are you forcing me to forget
about her?"
Roland slammed his hand on the table hard and said, "Antoine Francois, it's not your place to tell me
what to do. Know who you are."
"Who I am... what's wrong with who I am? I'm also part of the Francois family. Why can't I work in the
family business?"
Roland sneered. "Then I'll show you how worthless you are to the Francois family. Terry, call security
and throw him out."
Terry nodded and stepped forward. After a quick apology, he took him by the arm and forced him out of
the office.
Antoine was pushed out of the door and the security guard stopped him from entering again. He
refused to leave and stood at the door of the company, waiting.
At noon, Alvera headed downstairs for lunch with Patrick. They were having an engaging conversation,
so it was too late to hide when she spotted Antoine at the door.
...
"Alvera!"
Patrick looked at her and smirked. "Boyfriend? He's quite handsome."
Alvera replied with an awkward smile, "No, just a former classmate. Patrick, why don't you go ahead
and have your lunch first? We can eat together some other day." Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
"Okay, you go ahead with your business."
After Patrick left, Alvera walked over to Antoine and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Antoine grabbed her wrist. "Alvera, my brother refused to let me work in the company, and you refused
to leave with me. I can only wait for you here every day so that you will come back to me."
"Why are you doing this? Didn't I make myself clear?"
"Don't you feel sorry for us? We had such a beautiful relationship, why should we end it?"
"We had... you know it's in the past. Why can't you just let the past be the past?"
"If I could, I wouldn't come back here to find you. Alvera, I can't just give up on you. I was devastated
when I found out you were with my brother, but it would be worse if I just let myself lose you like this. I
won't be able to live with myself if I just let you go!"
"I know I was wrong for leaving you without saying goodbye four years ago, Alvera," he continued,
gripping her hands tightly. Alvera tried to pull her hands away, but he was too strong for her. "You never
gave me a chance to explain myself. I was having a really difficult time at the time. You know me, I
wouldn't leave you unless I was forced to."
...
"Antoine, this is the Empire Group. Your brother has eyes everywhere here. He won't let you off lightly if
you keep holding my hands like this."
"You're afraid that he'll hurt me, that proves you still care about me, Alvera. Admit it, you haven't
forgotten about me."
"Roland is violent. I just don't want you to get me into trouble."
"Nonsense, I've already gone all out. If he really wants to deal with me, then let him kill me. Can you
just give me a chance to talk to you?"
"We have nothing to talk about. I'm not going back to you."
"Shouldn't we resolve our misunderstandings?" Antoine raised his voice by a few notches. "Can't we
just sit down and talk?"
As they argued, Alvera's colleagues had noticed the commotion and had began to point and stare at
her.
...
Alvera said resignedly, "Fine, I'll talk to you. Just let me go, we'll find somewhere to talk."
Antoine let go of her.
Alvera turned around and walked away with Antoine following behind her. They headed over to a coffee
shop that was two blocks away from the office.
Antoine grabbed her wrist and said, "Alvera, we haven't eaten together for some time. I saw a pizza
restaurant over there just now, let's go have a Margherita Pizza together."
"I... "
"Let's go. I'll take you there."
Before Alvera could say anything, Antoine had pulled her to the restaurant.
Alvera was too weak to get herself out of his grip.
The restaurant was small but crowded.
He ordered a Margherita Pizza. "I haven't had anything like this these years."
She did not reply, so he pressed on. "That's because I wanted to have it with you after you get out of
prison. If you leave with me, we can have pizza every day."
...
Alvera clenched her fists under the table. "Antoine, don't be so sentimental. Just say what you need to
say."
"I'm not being sentimental. I'm telling the truth. I spent the happiest time of my life with you. You don't
know how important you are to me."
"If you're going to continue with this, I'm leaving."
"Don't go, don't you believe me? Alvera, it's not that I don't want to come back in the past four years,
it's that I can't."
Alvera looked at him without saying anything.
"Four years ago, my mother was exhorted into drugging my brother to take some indecent pictures so
that she could blackmail him into giving up the inheritance, but my brother did not fall for the trap. After
that, I heard that he was going to send my mother to prison and have her murdered secretly there."
...
"As you know," he continued, "my mother is just my father's mistress. I'm just a b*stard child of the
Francois family. She wouldn't have done all this if it weren't for me, so to save her, I promised Roland
that I will leave Canada with my mother and never come back. I didn't want to leave you, but at that
time, I really had no choice. I can't just stand by and let him kill my mother."
...
...
Alvera listened to his explanation with a touch of sadness in her eyes.
"But you didn't even leave me a message."
"Everything happened so quickly. I only knew my brother sent you to prison as well when Samuel
called me to tell me off after I went overseas. Alvera, I know we're soulmates. We have the same family
dynamic and the same experiences, and even the most painful events of our lives happened at the
same time. I know I broke my promise and did not protect you, but I've also suffered for four years
because of this. I've gotten my punishment for abandoning you. Will you leave Roland and start over
with me again?"
...
...
Alvera closed her eyes, trying to hide her pain. "Like I've already said, it's too late now."
"I don't mind that you've been with my brother before. I don't care that you've had other boyfriends. I
just want you."
"Antoine, I... I can't go back." She took a deep breath. "I could be with you four years ago because I did
not harbour hatred at the time, but now, I'm just too hateful. I will not sleep well until the day the Earhart
family gets the punishment they deserve."
"I'll help you." Antoine reached out and took her hand. "Alvera, let me help you. Once you get your
revenge, we can have a good life together."
"What about your mother? If you're on my side, that means you're opposing your brother, the Earhart
family, and the entire Empire Group. Are you sure Roland will leave your mother alone while you fight
against the Earhart family with me?"
Antoine loosened his grip on her hand.
Alvera laughed and pulled her hand away. "You chose your mother from the very beginning, so don't
waste your efforts. I don't want you to regret not saving your mother in the future if we end up together."
"But you are no match for my brother."
She smiled with determination. "I am indeed not his opponent, but there is one thing I have that he
doesn't. I'm not afraid to die, and I'm ready to take everyone out with me."