When I was eight, the Thaddeus family had just moved to the villa area. I crawled through the fence and saw the little boy sitting under a tree, reading.
I cupped my face and looked at him, "Hey, you're really handsome. Will you marry me when you grow up?"
At twelve, I was bullied at school and didn't dare to tell my parents. Thaddeus grabbed my hand and knocked the bullies to the ground.
"Irene is my sister. She's under my protection. Anyone who dares to bully her will not get away with it!"
At sixteen, I received my first love letter, blushing as I took it, only for Thaddeus to snatch it away and tear it apart.
He tapped my head with a stern look, "Students should focus on studying, not think about love. Silly!"
At eighteen, the young man kneeled on one knee, gazing intensely at me as he held up his medal.
"Irene, let me protect you for the rest of your life. Will you?"
A lifetime is so long, Thaddeus.
Long enough for all the people from the past to disappear, with only me left, walking alone in this world. I knelt by the bed, trembling, touching his cold, stiff fingertips with my abdomen.
"Thaddeus, we have a baby. It's in my belly."
"Can you feel it?"
Tears rolled down, soaking my collar. I lay on the bed, crying loudly.
When he was alive, I hated his obsession and his inability to let go.
But after his death, I couldn't help but long for the past... those vibrant, living days that would forever stay in my memory.
At Thaddeus' funeral, I quietly looked at the black-and-white photo, at his smiling mouth.
"Next year, I will bring the baby to see you."
Staring at his smiling eyes in the photo, I whispered, "Thaddeus, I have to say goodbye to you."
"I'm going to live my own life, to live well so I don't disappoint you."
"Thaddeus... you'll be watching me from above, right?" They are all gone.
The people who grew up with me are all gone. But I still have to live.
---
As I walked out of the cemetery, I stared blankly at the clouds drifting across the sky, forming various shapes like the candy I used to eat as a child.
Xavier said that my future was full of light. Thaddeus left me a billion-dollar inheritance.
The company was thriving, relationships were all in place, just waiting for future development. And in my belly, there was a life quietly growing.
Lost in thought, Xavier leaned against the car and smiled at me.
"Irene, I guess I'll be clinging to your leg from now on. Don't forget to help me out, he said, coming over and giving my back a gentle pat."
"Life has to go on. Now you have so many things, enough to do anything you want."
"Don't be too sad, Irene, you still have me. His face wore a warm smile."
I stared at him blankly, wrapping my shawl tighter in the breeze.
Yes...
They're all gone.
The love and hatred between us have ended.
My life... will begin anew from this moment...
As for the little bit of regret and sadness, it will eventually disappear. I will experience true rebirth.
I smiled at Xavier.
"Let's go."
