Chapter 37

Lydia's POV

For a long time, the gaze that was following me behind me never appeared again, and slowly I faded away from the incident.

I was just walking home from school as usual when I saw from a distance a group of men in black surrounding a man and they seemed to be fighting.

It was so hard to get such a peaceful day, I didn't want to get into trouble and I didn't want the peace of life to be broken like this, so I planned to go around them.

The moment I turned around, my afterimage caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the group.

Was it Connor?

What was he doing in Washington? He should be in London at this time of the year, enjoying his beautiful family life and spending time with Claire.

I decided to quietly walk around to find out.

As I got closer to the group, I held my breath, not knowing whether I was afraid to startle them and get into trouble or afraid to know about the source of the gaze that followed me, my body actually trembled a little.

It was really Connor! At that moment, I felt my breathing was going to stop, I couldn't believe my eyes, was it him who had been watching me all that time?

If that was the case, why didn't he show up in front of me!

Did he love me or was he curious about what my life would be like after I left him?

I soon realized that time no longer allowed me to think so much as a man in black pulled out a knife and was stabbing Connor in the chest.

"Connor!" I shrieked.

The moment Connor was about to be hurt, my adrenaline was pumping and I completely forgot to be afraid.

The group of men in black, too, seemed startled by my shriek, and perhaps they hadn't expected anyone to pass by when they were planning the assassination.

In the fraction of a second when everyone's movements stopped, I darted out and blocked Connor.

Puff ...... I heard the sound of a knife slicing through my flesh. The man in black stabbed Connor with such force that the knife had penetrated deep into my body, and with a clang, I heard the tip of the knife hit my bones.

Luckily I found Connor, luckily I bravely jumped on him, luckily I blocked the knife for him, otherwise he died a horrible death under the group's knife.

"Lydia!" Connor let out a heartbreaking hiss that kept echoing around the block.

The men in black saw that someone had helped Connor block a knife and missed killing the wrong person, perhaps in fear or perhaps with the intention of finding another opportunity to strike again, they simply ran away and disappeared into the night.

The pain in my body was getting stronger and stronger, but it was worth it to protect Connor and to keep him alive.

I tried to hook the corners of my mouth to give him a smile, and I tried to tell him I was okay, but found I had lost my strength and couldn't make any sound.

Then, I lost consciousness.

If my life ended like that, it would be a blessing to die in the arms of my lover.

This was the last thought I had before my consciousness completely disappeared.

Connor's POV

Just when I realized I was too late to dodge, just when I was ready to leave this world with the regret of not seeing Lydia one last time today, a figure darted in, tackled me, and blocked the knife that the man in black was stabbing me with.

I smelled a familiar scent and felt a familiar hug.

It was Lydia! She sacrificed her life and jumped at me against all odds!

It reminded me of the decision I made after she was kidnapped, and my guilt for her deepened.

Just after the men in black stabbed Lydia, they fled.

I looked at Lydia with a knife in her back and blood flowing everywhere, and that familiar feeling of fear of losing her came over me again.

She looked at me with her eyes growing misty, the light in them becoming dimmer and dimmer.

Then she revealed a smile that I would never forget in my lifetime, and her lips moved as if she wanted to say something.

Before I could get my ear close to her mouth, her eyelids drooped down and the whole person fainted.

I hurriedly pulled out my cell phone and called for an ambulance while calling for a taxi, hoping someone would hurry over to take Lydia to the hospital.

All the way to the hospital, I was silently praying to God, if Lydia can be okay, I am willing to give all I have in exchange.

It was also at this time that I realized that my love for Lydia was nowhere near as much or as deep as her love for me.

All along the way, my heart was following the bumps and bumps of the car, up and down, and I was worried that Lydia would just leave me.

I felt like I was going crazy, until this moment, I did not know how much I could not leave her. It was only at this moment that I looked inside myself and realized how important she really was in my life.

It was hard to get to the hospital, but fortunately the doctors found no fatal injuries, just a stab to the spine that could have paralyzed me.

At least I survived, I could only silently console myself.

Lydia was admitted to the ICU, and I only had two hours of visiting time each day, and the rest of the time I could only watch her from afar through the glass.

A few days later, I realized a problem: Where was Ivan's kid?

If he knew Lydia hadn't come home, he would have tried to find her.

I called Charles and asked him to find a way to get Ivan's phone number to me.

I soon got in touch with Ivan, who had recently returned to London because of a family matter.

I briefly explained Lydia's situation to him, and he told me that he would be back in Washington tomorrow.

The next day, Lydia was released from life-threatening conditions and was transferred from the ICU to a general ward, but still had her body full of instruments.

Meanwhile, Ivan had arrived back from London.

When he saw me, instead of saying hello, his first reaction was to raise his fist and swing at me.

I sidestepped it slightly and spoke to him, "I don't mind you hitting me, but it shouldn't be in a hospital."

"Good, now let's go out and fight!" Ivan straightened his clothes with an angry look on his face.

The two of us walked to the grass outside the hospital and Ivan officially attacked like I did.

This time, I didn't dodge, I stood straight up on the grass, not even closing my eyes, and just accepted one fist after another that he swung down.

"Where is the promised protection of Lydia! I have brought her to Washington, just want her to leave you to live a normal life, why do you still not let her go, you do not want her to live well!" Ivan yelled at me as he hit me.

I was hit by his fists on my face, stomach and chest.

Soon, a rush of blood came up from my throat.

I resisted the urge to spit the blood out and continued to suffer his wrath.

Soon Ivan was tired of fighting too, and he stopped, sitting on the grass, panting.

I spit the blood out of my mouth and began to answer his earlier question, "Because I love her."

"You wouldn't even take out a real document and give it to the kidnappers when Lydia was kidnapped, so what makes you say you love her! You thought of yourself first!" Ivan said, glaring at me.

It was hard to hear, but it was true, and I didn't know how to explain it to him.

"But I lost my baby too, and I got the punishment God gave me." That was all I could do to respond weakly.

"So what? The other half of the punishment would require Lydia to carry it for you?" Ivan continued to retort to me.

I could only smile to myself, yes, it was indeed I who had wronged Lydia.

"If you can't make up for your mistake, you better stay away from Lydia, don't love her at least don't bring her misfortune again." Ivan warned me fiercely.

With that, Ivan turned around and walked away, leaving me standing alone in the grass in a mess.

I was now disheveled, with blood at the corner of my mouth from Ivan's beating, and bruises on my face from the beating. In my 20 years of life, I have never been in such a mess, especially for a woman.

Looking at myself like this, I thought of the proverb "A wise man does not enter the river of love". Love makes people sweet, but at the same time it also makes people suffer and make them wretched.

Love a person, even if not together, as long as the connection between the two people, it will certainly have to pay some price.

The price has been paid, then simply pay a little more, if my payment can also make up for the damage caused to Lydia, it will be even better.

I took out my phone and bought a ticket back to London, intending to go back and divorce Claire.

When I got home, Claire wasn't there, so I didn't go out and waited for her to return.

It wasn't until late afternoon that she entered the door with a large and small shopping bag.

"Claire, I need to talk to you." I spoke up before Claire could spot me.

"Connor, what are you doing back here, and why are you hurt?"

Claire was surprised to see me like this, and she dropped the shopping bags she was holding and walked towards me.

Just as she was about to jump on top of me and hug me, I stopped her with a gesture.

"You sit." I pointed to the seat beside me and picked up the divorce papers on the table that I had signed long ago, "Let's get a divorce."

"Why!" The emotions on Claire's face looked mixed, with loss, resignation, and anger and disbelief.

"Because I never loved you at all." Even though it was a cruel statement, I had to say it because I thought it was an act of responsibility for both her and me.

"Are you trying to say that you loved Lydia?" A look of mockery appeared on Claire's face.

"Yes." I replied slowly but firmly.

"Lydia and I both came from the same family, and growing up I was better than her, more liked than her, even my mom and dad paid more attention to me. I have a better body than her, higher emotional intelligence than her, and a sunnier personality than her, so why is it not me that you like!" Claire's tears gushed out of her eyes like a flood.

"I don't know, maybe love is something that can't be controlled by reason or explained in words." I told Claire honestly.

"I hope you will agree, and I hope you will forgive me, and for that, I can give you all my possessions." I said sincerely, looking Claire in the eyes.

"Do you just think I am a beggar's caller? When have I ever liked you any less than Lydia! Divorce? Fine, I'll divorce! Just don't think you're going to have a good time in the future either!"

Claire threatened me viciously, completely tearing me apart, without a hint of reprieve.