Love to the Brink, Only Empty Joy

That was how I met Oliver.

At the time, for some unknown reason, he had fallen out with his family.

Back then, he didn't look like the heir to the Hall Group because he didn't have his family's financial support.

I thought he was just an ordinary person like me, stranded in a foreign land.

We lived in a small town near Woiddiff. I went to classes and painted during the day.

He either came with me or waited at home.

Occasionally, he took odd jobs to make some money.

Neither of us could cook, but after being abroad for a while, we got homesick and gradually learned to cook.

Our biggest joy was walking to a supermarket two kilometers away on weekends to buy discounted vegetables.

Then, we'd cook together while being scolded by our roommates.

We crammed into that tiny room, living together without any reservations.

We were in love for a year in a foreign land. It should have been tough, but I felt incredibly happy.

It was in the last month in Woiddiff that I discovered I was pregnant.

By the river, Oliver made a ring out of irises and proposed to me.

At that time, I didn't realize that a ring made of flowers symbolized something fleeting.

It was a mirage gone in an instant.

Just like Oliver's promises to me, everything changed once we returned home.

He turned out to be the heir to the Hall Group, and he had an ex-girlfriend named Selah.

In fact, the reason he went to Woiddiff was because Selah was there.

Selah was his first love, and for her, he didn't hesitate to break ties with his family.

That was why he was in such a mess when I met him.

The funny thing was, if it weren't for Selah, I wouldn't have met Oliver.

And according to the Hall family, I could never measure up to them.

Even when Oliver begged his parents, he didn't have the power to marry me back then.

So, I ended up having Cora on my own.

Unfortunately, Cora was born with a congenital heart disease, and to treat her, I had to stay tied to Oliver.

Three years ago, Selah returned to the country, and Oliver and I grew apart.

But for Cora's sake, I kept begging Oliver to stay.

Finally, he agreed to marry me next month.

Looking back now, what wasn't meant to be mine was never going to be.

Just like now, I'd lost Cora.

And I no longer had any feelings left for Oliver.