Chapter 212 Do You Also Not Want to See Me Anymore?
Only now did Alexander understand why, in those final moments, Caroline had been so desperate to die.
The belief that had kept him going for five years crumbled in an instant. Those who loved him, those he loved—they had all left him. Death, in the end, had become Caroline's only release.
Lina watched Alexander laugh like a madman, her eyes cold. She merely glanced at him indifferently before turning to leave.
Caroline was already dead. What was the point of this performance, and who was it for?
But Alexander suddenly moved.
He stumbled up the steps, dropped to his knees before Lina, and begged.
"Help me... please help me... hypnotize me, will you? I can't live without Caroline... I really can't live without her! Please!"
"Get away from me!" Lina pushed Alexander down the steps.
"You think if you're hypnotized, you can see Caroline? You're wrong! She doesn't want to see you at all! Whether in heaven or hell, she never wants to see you again. You only make her sick!"
"What makes you think you deserve to be hypnotized? Alexander, you don't deserve it! You need to stay awake and face the punishment you deserve! Stay awake and face everything you've done wrong!"
The last glimmer of light in Alexander's eyes went out completely.
He watched Lina's figure disappear through the doorway, then collapsed to the floor.
Yes, he was the sinner... he was the one who deserved to die.
Alexander wrapped his arms around himself and broke down in tears.
The night grew even longer.
Alexander leaned against the open casket, carefully holding the oil lamp.
In the flickering light, he seemed to see Caroline's smiling face again.
It was the smile Caroline had shown during her memory loss, when they lived together at Ravenwood Manor.
But now Alexander finally understood—that smile had always hidden bitterness.
He also realized that he had never even expressed his love to the real Caroline.
He had said "I love you" to Caroline countless times, but that was to the hypnotized Caroline who thought she was Edith, or to Caroline who had recovered her memory but whose heart had turned to ash.
His love had never been given to that girl who silently protected him from behind, but looked away when he turned around, not daring to let him see the overwhelming emotions in her eyes.
"Caroline..." Alexander murmured softly.
"Do you... not want to see me anymore either..."
He set down the oil lamp and slowly leaned over the open casket.
Through the lid, he gently traced Caroline's features.
"I'm so selfish, I don't want to let go. Caroline, to you, am I the most terrible person in your life, the most like a demon? When you were alive, all I gave you was humiliation. And after your death, I still hold on and won't let you go."
"You've been disgusted with me for a long time, haven't you? You don't love me anymore, do you..."
Alexander's voice choked again.
He banged his head against the open casket, again and again, soon bleeding heavily.
But no amount of blood could make up for even a fraction of Caroline's scarred soul.
"Caroline... what should I do... tell me, what should I do..."
Alexander finally passed out on Caroline's open casket.
When he opened his eyes again, Della was kneeling beside him, carefully wiping the blood from the open casket.
Hearing him stir, she immediately turned around.
"Sir, you're awake!"
Alexander struggled to sit up, staring blankly as Della cleaned the open casket until it was spotless.
After a long while, he spoke quietly.
"When I wasn't at Ravenwood Manor... what did she do..."
Della looked at him, something complicated flashing in her eyes.
She had already told him these things that night, but he was still asking.
It must be because he couldn't let Caroline go.
So she told him again about Caroline's life at Ravenwood Manor.
Over and over, recalling every detail.
Alexander listened without saying a word.
Only when Della's voice grew hoarse did he wave his hand gently.
"I understand now. You can go..."
Della looked at his dazed profile, not daring to disturb him, and quietly left.
Alexander pressed his face against the open casket, reaching up to caress it gently.
"You really liked being with Kenna, didn't you?"
"She was one of the few who showed you kindness back then."
"And Liam—I know he took care of you behind my back. I'm sorry, I even got angry at him at first."
"Liam said I would regret it. I didn't believe him then, but I do now."
"Is it too late for me to know all this..."
"Felix—he should be there with you now, right? He was a loyal man. I knew that from the first moment I saw him."
"Caroline, do you want to go... be with them?"
Alexander kept watch by Caroline's open casket for three full days and nights.
When Mark arrived, the news he brought was that Celeste was dying.
Her body had been torn apart by the dogs, with barely any intact skin left.
Especially her legs—almost nothing but bone remained.
When Mark brought the remaining members of the club that had kidnapped Caroline to the basement and pointed at the bloody Celeste, telling them to do whatever they wanted, they didn't show disgust but pounced on her excitedly.
Now Celeste had been tortured to within an inch of her life.
Edith seemed scared out of her mind, completely insane.
Linus's men had been eliminated. Linus himself was blind in both eyes and crippled in one leg, roaring in the hospital every day, wanting to kill Alexander.
"Give her adrenaline injections. Keep her alive no matter what," Alexander said hoarsely. "Then, set it on fire."
Mark paused, then understood.
Alexander always kept his word. Since he wanted Celeste to suffer all the pain Caroline had suffered while alive, he wouldn't let her suffer any less.
He would decide when she could die.
Mark silently withdrew.
Alexander slowly stood up and called Della over, opening the casket himself and asking her to teach him how to care for Caroline and the child.
He clumsily learned, helping Caroline clean her face, carefully applying the makeup she loved most when she was alive, and changing the child into soft, comfortable clothes.
He gazed for a long time, then reached up to caress Caroline's face before closing the casket.
"Della, there's something I need to ask you."