Chapter 140: True Love Conquers All

Outside, Ryan stood quietly, listening to the sounds coming from within. His heart was filled with a whirlwind of emotions.

Daniel, why go through all this trouble?

The rumble of thunder outside grew louder. Ava, too, gazed heavily at the changing weather. Suddenly, she patted his shoulder, and in the next moment, wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back. Her voice was hoarse.

"Ryan, let’s go see him."

Who "he" was, went without saying.

The rain gradually intensified. Ava held the umbrella for him as they walked together into the cemetery, making their way to a grave at the far end. Purple flowers were in full bloom, swaying gently in the breeze.

The photo on the tombstone showed a man with a faint smile on his face.

"Big brother, I’m here."

Ryan stood quietly, his gaze locking with the man’s eyes in the photo. Eventually, he lowered his eyes and spoke in an extremely soft tone,

"I, Ryan, forgive you all."

"Rest in peace."

.....

Ben returned to Oxford to continue his studies. He didn’t want to deliberately change anything; he preferred to let things take their natural course. The only difference was that now, every weekend he would come back to spend time with his family. Sometimes the butler would bring him back, and other times Grace would go to pick him up with the butler.

Whether it was his mother or his grandmother, they no longer seemed so important to him. What truly mattered was that now he was loved, no longer alone, and finally, he was a child filled with love.

Everything had come to a temporary end. The people and things that needed to be bid farewell to had ultimately been let go. Although the ending wasn’t the most perfect, it allowed everyone’s life to return to normal and embrace a new beginning.

A month later, inside an Italian restaurant.

"Ava, I’m going on a business trip to the United States for half a year," Ryan said, taking a sip of red wine and mustering the courage to speak, while hesitating to look into the woman’s eyes across from him.

"What? So sudden," Ava was taken aback, her eyes showing a hint of confusion as her hand paused while cutting the steak. "Do you really have to go?"

Ryan took another sip of wine, his right hand reaching over to gently wipe the black pepper sauce from the corner of her mouth. "Fool, I don’t want to go either, but this is an important project, and I have to be there in person."

"Oh, important enough to be there in person," Ava muttered to herself, but she couldn’t find any reason to refuse.

Indeed, work was work. Ryan, in his position, was always busy with a thousand things. She should have been used to it by now.

"Half a year will pass quickly. Wait for me to come back," Ryan said with a gentle smile.

Ryan left in a hurry this time, and Ava was in low spirits for three days, her heart filled with a thousand regrets.

On the morning of the third day, Mosen was supposed to pick her up to take her to the airport to see Ryan off. However, by nine o’clock, Mosen still hadn’t arrived. Ryan’s flight was at eleven, and Ava was getting anxious. She called Mosen, who helplessly said that he was stuck in traffic.

It would take at least forty minutes to get from Ava’s house to the airport under the best circumstances, and it was impossible to get a taxi at the moment. Ava waited anxiously, checking her watch several times. Finally, after twenty minutes, Mosen arrived.

"Ryan is already at the airport. I’ll take you there now," Mosen said, starting the car. The car sped down the road, fortunately without any traffic jams on the way to the airport.

Ten minutes before reaching the airport, Ryan’s call came through. His voice was anxious. "Ava, where are you? I’m about to board."

Ava panicked, urging Mosen to drive faster. Mosen lazily replied from the front, "Can’t go any faster. Safety first."

After getting out of the car, Ava ran to the terminal, looking around frantically but unable to find Ryan. She took out her phone, about to call him, when she noticed several missed calls from him.

A bad feeling slowly crept over her. Sure enough, when she called him back, the phone was switched off.

Ava was stunned. She couldn’t catch her breath and struggled to find him among the crowd. Mosen followed her, panting heavily.

"It’s already past halfway. Ryan must have boarded by now," Mosen said, glancing at his watch in surprise.

Ava’s eyes grew watery, and suddenly she felt an urge to cry. Her gaze wandered aimlessly to the large windows of the terminal.

In the distance, an airplane was slowly taking off.

Ryan…

Is he on that plane?

Why didn’t she manage to catch that last goodbye? After all, it would be half a year before they saw each other again.

Ava stared blankly at the plane taking off, tears sliding down her face uncontrollably.

The next second, white lines appeared in the sky, quickly forming letters.

Marry?

Ava was stunned, her eyes following the plane’s trajectory. Finally, a huge "marry me" appeared high up in the vast blue sky.

Ava covered her mouth, speechless at the unexpected sight.

What was happening?

Before she could fully grasp it, she heard gasps and murmurs behind her. She turned around and saw Ryan, dressed in a suit, appearing before her with a confident and calm smile. He walked steadily up to her.

"Sorry to make you cry for nothing."

In the next moment, Ryan suddenly knelt down on one knee, took out an exquisite little box from his pocket, placed it in his hand, and gently opened it. Inside was a sparkling diamond ring, engraved with her initials.

Ava’s mind went completely blank, unable to believe what she was seeing. More and more people gathered around her. She saw Mosen, Ben, the butler, Mr. Dawson, and even her mother and father... All the people she knew and loved were right there in front of her.

"I’ve imagined this day countless times. It might be too late for you today, but that’s okay. It’s finally here. Now I want to ask you seriously—"

"Ava, will you marry me and become my wife?" Ryan’s deep and powerful voice echoed in her ears.

Ava was too excited to speak. Even now, everything around her still felt so surreal, so incredible. Was this real? Was she dreaming? Ava pinched her own face.

It hurt. The pain was real.

"don’t forget to answer me," Ryan teased, gently reminding her.

Ava’s answer was an absolute yes. There was no one else who could ever enter her heart. It was Ryan in the past, Ryan in the present, and it would always be Ryan in the future.

"I do," Ava said firmly.

Outside the window, a light rain had just stopped, and a faint rainbow appeared.

At that moment, the airport’s PA system came on, "Mr. Ryan, Miss Ava, please board now. Your next destination is a sweet journey to Provence."

(End of the story)