Chapter 304 Goodbye, Caroline
Alexander brought Aurora back to Grandhaven. From that day on, Della and Mark's main job was taking care of her and helping her settle into her new life.
Time is fair, and it's also cold. It doesn't stop for anyone's sadness or joy—it just keeps moving forward, dulling sharp pain bit by bit, and letting new days arrive as usual.
For Alexander, Aurora's presence was like the last light in his life.
Aurora was very sensible. She seemed to instinctively sense the grief hidden beneath Alexander's calm surface, so she never pressed him about his past or forced him to talk more about Caroline.
She just quietly adapted to her new environment, quietly studied, and quietly lived.
But she also expressed affection in small ways, like any child would.
Sometimes she would quietly leave a small glass bottle in Alexander's study with wildflowers she'd picked from the garden.
She would also bring him a cup of warm milk when he was working late into the night, exhausted and rubbing his forehead. After setting down the cup, she'd blush awkwardly, then tiptoe away.
On stormy nights, she would hold her little pillow, walk barefoot to Alexander's bedroom door, knock gently, and ask softly, "Dad, I'm a little scared. Can I stay with you for a while?"
She really looked like Caroline—so much so that it made his chest tighten.
Aurora grew up little by little. The little girl who used to look up at Alexander gradually became a tall young woman.
On her eighteenth birthday, Alexander gave her a special gift—a property deed for a cottage in the countryside, along with a large piece of surrounding land. That cottage held the happiest time he and Caroline had shared.
"This is where your mother used to live," Alexander placed the document in her hands.
"Now it belongs to you. Whether you want to keep it or sell it is up to you."
Aurora took the document, her voice soft. "Dad, thank you. I'll take good care of it. Does this place... still have traces of you and Mom?"
Alexander didn't answer. He just raised his hand and gently touched Aurora's soft hair. It had grown down to her shoulders.
A few years later, Aurora graduated from a top university. She didn't join the core business of the Hamilton Group. Instead, she chose to work in public service. She established a foundation focused on helping children and families affected by drug abuse, while also promoting mental health programs.
She named the foundation after her mother: "Caroline."
Alexander didn't object. He just quietly decided to allocate a fixed percentage of the Hamilton Group's profits each year directly to the foundation's account. He also used his influence to shield her from many obstacles, both visible and hidden.
Once, when Aurora's project hit a roadblock and she felt exhausted, she looked at Alexander and asked softly, "Dad, don't you think what I'm doing is naive and unrealistic?"
Alexander pushed a cup of hot tea toward her, looked up and met her eyes. "If your mother were still here, she would be so proud of you. Do what you believe is right, Aurora. The Hamilton name should open doors for you, not lock you in."
Aurora looked at Alexander's face.
She knew Alexander had made mistakes in his life and endured pain, and some regrets could never be made up for. He had given her everything he could—loved her, protected her, supported her. Maybe not just because she was Caroline's adopted daughter, but also because he was using this clumsy, silent way to apologize to the person he'd lost forever, and to those he'd hurt or failed to protect.
"Thank you, Dad." That was all Aurora said in the end.
When Aurora was twenty-five, she met someone she wanted to spend her life with. He was a talented young architect from an ordinary family, but honest and reliable.
Alexander threw her an extremely grand wedding. Soon after, Aurora became pregnant.
The day she gave birth, Alexander was so nervous he could barely sit still. Aurora's husband kept trying to comfort him, but it didn't really ease his panic.
The scene of Caroline giving birth had never truly left Alexander. Decades later, he was once again standing outside a delivery room, waiting for news that "she was safe." He felt like he'd been dragged back to that time, forced to relive that suffocating torment all over again.
Fortunately, Aurora came through safely.
Alexander welcomed an adorable grandson. By then he had retired and handed over the Hamilton Group to Aurora's husband. After that, he personally helped take care of the child.
Another twenty years passed, and Alexander's life finally reached its end.
The night before he died, many people stayed by his side, including Lina and Daniel.
Alexander asked everyone else to leave. He didn't even let his beloved Aurora and grandson stay in the room. Instead, he kept Lina and Daniel there.
Late at night, Alexander's spirits suddenly improved a bit. He had Daniel help him sit up, leaned against the headboard, and talked with them for a while.
"Time really flies," Alexander said quietly. "In the blink of an eye, my whole life has passed."
Daniel added, "Yeah, in the blink of an eye, my granddaughter is already in middle school."
Alexander suddenly turned to look at Daniel. "Does your leg still hurt lately?"
"Don't talk about that." Daniel turned his face away. "I haven't forgiven you."
They had never truly reconciled in this lifetime. Daniel couldn't forget how Caroline died, and neither could Lina. But over time, they gradually got used to Alexander still being around, got used to him participating in their lives in some way, even though his very presence carried its own sting.
Alexander was silent for a moment, then spoke again. "That day at the hospital, I heard what you and Lina said outside the ward."
He looked at Daniel, his tone calm. "Daniel, you said letting me live was the greatest punishment for me. I did it. I lived to eighty. Now, are you satisfied?"
Daniel still didn't answer.
Alexander looked at him and smiled faintly. He actually understood that what Daniel really wanted to express was never about making him repay with suffering. Daniel just couldn't bear to watch a living person die in front of him. People like Daniel and Lina, even when hurt, found it hard to become cold-hearted.
It was just that there were too many old debts. The words they spoke always carried sharp edges, and they could never cross that line.
But their kindness—Alexander had known about it for a long time.
As dawn approached, Alexander's breathing began to grow labored.
"Caroline... Caroline..."
He repeated his late wife's name over and over, as if grasping onto his last bit of clarity.
"I've made too many mistakes in my life..." His voice came in fragments. "Now it's finally ending..."
At daybreak, Alexander closed his eyes and never woke up again.
He didn't know if he could see Caroline after death, or if there really was another world after dying.
But Alexander was ready.
If he couldn't settle the debts of this life while he was alive, then he was willing to finish paying them in hell.
All he wanted was for Caroline to rest in peace. Whatever comes after this, he hoped she'd be free of every shadow, safe and calm.