Chapter 274 The Unbroken Storm
A dreamcatcher still hung above Caroline's bed.
Alexander had heard the stories about dreamcatchers. People said they came from Elarion's Indigenous traditions and were meant to catch bad dreams while letting the good ones slip through the web and drift down the feathers.
Alexander unconsciously stepped closer. He lifted his hand, not daring to use any force, and in the end just lightly touched the feather at the very tip.
"Caroline, you actually believed in this..." His voice was so low it was almost as if he was talking to himself.
He had always thought only children would like this sort of thing.
But then he thought that perhaps, after too many terrible nights, a person would need this little bit of comfort just to keep themselves from completely falling apart.
A sour feeling suddenly rushed to the tip of his nose. Alexander turned away and forced himself to steady his breathing.
The room had an ensuite bathroom. Alexander walked in and saw various bottles and jars neatly arranged on the counter, all the brands Caroline regularly used.
On the wall next to the sink hung a bunch of "grapes." It carried a faint fragrance and looked as transparent as glass. At first glance, one could almost mistake it for the real thing. Alexander leaned closer and only then saw clearly that it was actually a cluster of grape-shaped soap.
Alexander couldn't help but smile faintly, as if afraid of disturbing something.
He felt that he had gotten a bit closer to Caroline's life and learned a little bit more about her.
Alexander stayed in the bathroom for a long time, taking in almost every detail before slowly walking out.
He looked at the empty room and sighed.
Alexander desperately wanted to stay, but he also knew that he didn't seem to have the right. Even staying a little longer felt like crossing a line.
His lips were pressed so tight that they had turned white, and his hands clenched without him noticing. Alexander could only tell himself, "It's okay. You've already seen enough. You've learned a little more about Caroline, haven't you?"
He even forced himself to think of something more practical. After going back, he could decorate a room like this for her. Maybe one night, if Caroline still had the chance to return and see the world she once knew, she'd be willing to walk in and take a look.
Alexander took a deep breath and prepared to leave.
But his peripheral vision caught the wardrobe, and he stopped again. He couldn't help wondering if there might still be something of Caroline's inside. In the end, Alexander turned back and opened the cabinet door.
Inside were some old clothes, and a few of them looked somewhat familiar. After thinking for a long time, Alexander finally remembered that they were clothes Caroline had worn during her teenage years.
Caroline had always been sentimental. Old things, old people, fragments of old days—she could never bear to let them go easily.
And Alexander knew very clearly that he was the one who had pushed such a person step by step to the edge. In the end, Caroline had lost hope in the entire world. She hardened her heart, threw away many things she once couldn't let go of, and finally ended her own life with a gun.
Alexander closed his eyes, then noticed a row of sticky notes attached to the inside of the wardrobe door.
He didn't know if he'd been crying too long. His vision was already blurry. He had to lean in very close to make out the writing.
Those sticky notes were Caroline's schedule reminders to herself. What time to wake up, what time for meetings, and what type of files to organize each day. Everything was written clearly.
Alexander looked at them one by one, his gaze suddenly stopping at the bottom.
Those few lines were written even smaller. He almost had to press his face against them to see clearly.
The moment he did, Alexander froze completely.
[Alexander always has to drink at business dinners, so his stomach is not in good shape. The food I make for him should be light and not too greasy.]
[Alexander likes to wear light-colored clothes. When washing them, I can add a bit of special detergent to help remove stains.]
[The room at the very end of the second-floor hallway in the apartment is the bedroom Alexander prepared for Edith. It's filled with Edith's belongings. Be careful about fire prevention. If any servants need to enter, extra caution is required.]
[When Alexander has insomnia, he likes to smoke cigars. Remember to open the windows in his study every day for ventilation.]
One after another, they were all about Alexander.
The last line was even smaller.
[Caroline, your memory is getting worse and worse. If one day you forget these things you need to do, go ask Lina. She will tell you.]
Alexander didn't know when he'd slid down to the floor. Tears fell without warning, streaming down his face.
These notes must have been written by Caroline while she was taking those pills.
She had watched herself sink with clear eyes and watched herself gradually become like Edith. From her appearance to her clothes, and then Caroline's own memories being squeezed out bit by bit.
But Caroline still didn't stop.
She wrote down the things she might forget, one by one, like leaving an instruction manual for her future self. She even prepared in advance that if one day she couldn't remember who she was, she would still have to take care of Alexander.
A dull pain suddenly pressed on Alexander's chest, and his vision began to dark. It felt as if that pain were squeezing all the air out of him. His whole body trembled, and his legs were too weak to hold him up.
Alexander struggled to lift his hand to press against his chest, trying to ease the pain, but he couldn't. The more he tried to push it down, the sharper that pain became, as if it were spreading from the deepest place in his body and tearing him apart to pieces.
"Why... why..."
Alexander murmured, his voice broken.
"Even if one day you broke down, forgot everything, and didn't even know who you were anymore, you still wouldn't let these things go?"
No one in the room answered him.
Lina suddenly heard a dull thud from inside the room. Her heart tightened, and she immediately ran over and pushed the door open.
Lina saw Alexander collapsed by the wardrobe, still clutching that sticky note tightly in his hand.
Alexander was taken to the hospital. After the examination, the doctor's concluded that it was broken heart syndrome.
After hearing this, Lina was silent for a long time.
Could Alexander really be grieving for Caroline to this extent?
Lina couldn't understand what Alexander really wanted or what he was trying to do. Even when Caroline had just passed away, Lina didn't believe Alexander would remain sad for this long. She had always thought that Alexander was at most unwilling to accept the truth he had suddenly learned, and that his sadness would pass after a while.
But even now, it still weighed on him, like a storm that refused to break.