Judy Sue gave a bitter shrug. "So he already has a woman he loves. No wonder threatening him with suicide didn't work." "I'm sorry, you should try to accept it," Philip comforted her. "Don't forget. There are plenty of good men waiting for you." "But not him!" Judy Sue sighed, tears welling in her eyes.
Judy Sue soon went abroad, and as soon as she left, the Rox family announced Joel's grand wedding date and his fiancée. The news quickly spread throughout the world, reaching Helen, who had been taken to Switzerland by her parents and held captive. Because Helen's mental state had been unstable from the beginning, Joel had tolerated her in every way. It was only because Helen's parents felt guilty towards Joel that they brought her to Switzerland. Now, upon hearing the news, Helen almost immediately went mad, screaming and shouting before being injected with a sedative. After waking up, she slipped back to America and caught Sisi before her parents could warn Joel. Joel froze the moment he stepped into the living room. His body tensed, his sharp gaze slowly moving from the pale-faced Sisi to the crazed Helen, then down to the knife at Sisi's neck.
“What do you want to do, Helen?” he asked calmly.
At first, Helen seemed not to recognize him. After a long while, her frantic gaze gradually turned into sorrow. "Joel, I love you, I really love you so much! Why can't you try to love me? She..." Helen glanced down. "She doesn't compare to me in any way, why did you choose her?" Joel turned and stared at Helen.
“Because I love her. I’ve been deeply in love with her since that summer ten years ago. And ten years of misunderstandings and separation can’t erase our feelings. You should know that even if the sky falls and the earth cracks, it can’t shake my love for her. So, Helen, give up. Don’t do anything more pointless!” He stated the facts directly, knowing in his heart that the longer it dragged on, the more trouble it would cause.
Helen looked at him pitifully. "What about me? What am I supposed to do? I've loved you for so long, how can I go on living if I don't love you?" "You can do it, Helen. You're still young. If you're willing, you can forget me soon and start a new life." Joel slowly took a step forward. "There are other men in the world besides me. You will definitely find a man who can truly love you." "No, when all my love is poured into you, how could I possibly love anyone else?" Helen murmured, her gaze slowly lowering, her expression gradually turning ferocious, and the pressure on her hand increased.
"It's all her fault. If it weren't for her, you would have fallen in love with me someday. I know that's for sure!" "No, you're wrong, Helen, listen to me..."
But Helen didn't want to hear him. She just stared at her knife, madness resurfacing on her face. The sharp blade sank deeper into her soft skin, and faint blood seeped out.
Joel found himself unable to suppress his panic, and he raised his hand to stop Helen's knife strike.
“No, Helen, please stop moving! You’ll hurt her!” “Hurt her?” She laughed sharply. “No, I won’t hurt her, I’ll kill her!” “No!” Joel roared, his hands outstretched. “Fine, Helen, you want me, don’t you? Fine, I promise you, as long as you let her go, I’ll do whatever you want, please, Helen!” She blinked, seemingly bewildered. “Beg me? You’re begging me?”
"Yes, Helen, I beg you, let her go, and then I'll be yours."
For a fleeting moment, Helen seemed to waver, but only for a moment. She shook her head resolutely, and this action caused the knife in her hand to leave a deeper wound on Sisi's neck.
Joel panicked even more. "No, Helen, don't move! You still have to kill her! Only when she's gone can you truly love me!" Helen stared intently at the knife. "Only one of us can stay with you, so I must get rid of her. Only then will you be mine alone." "Helen, please..."
Joel pleaded, but Helen seemed deaf to his voice. She mumbled to herself, her eyes growing increasingly fierce. Taking advantage of her distraction, Joel stealthily moved closer to snatch the knife, but the blade pressed down immediately. A terrifying smile suddenly appeared on Helen's lips. "I knew that as long as she was there, I couldn't have you, so this was necessary, you understand, Joel? I had to kill her!" Knowing he could no longer stop her, Joel gritted his teeth, suddenly rushed to the TV cabinet, grabbed a letter opener, and returned to Helen, his face resolute and determined.
"You want me, right? Okay, then come with me!"
Without hesitation, he made a deep cut on his left wrist, and blood immediately gushed out.
Sisi cried out in terror, "No! Joel!"
Joel ignored her and simply stretched out his bloodied wrist to Helen.
"See that, Helen? I'm going to hell. Aren't you coming with me?"
Helen blinked in confusion.
He switched hands and made a cut on his other hand as well. "Helen, didn't you want me? Come on, come with me, or you won't get me!" Helen frowned.
Joel held his arms outstretched, blood streaming down his face like a river. "Come on, Helen, come with me. She's not there, only me. If you want me, come with me!"
Helen stared at his hands for a long time before murmuring, "What are you doing?"
Joel's face grew paler, but he still looked at her firmly.
"I'm leaving, Helen, aren't you coming with me?"
"Go?" Helen stared at him, puzzled. "Where are you going?"
“Helen, I want to go to another world,” he coaxed. “If you come with me, there will only be you and me there, without her in between us. Isn’t that what you want?”
"Really, just you and me?" Her eyes lit up.
“Yes,” Joel swayed slightly, but he still gave Helen a gentle smile. “It’s just the two of us, there’s no one else.” “Really? Really?” she murmured, as the knife began to move away slightly.
Joel's hand slowly moved down. "Hurry, Helen, if you don't come, I'm leaving by myself!"
"No, you can't leave me!" Helen cried, and the knife was finally moved away. Sisi immediately dodged Helen's attack range, decisively called an ambulance, and then rushed to the bathroom to get a towel.
When she returned to the living room, Joel was already lying on the floor, and Helen was kneeling beside him, muttering something unintelligible. Tears streamed down her face, but she forced herself to remain calm. She knew Joel's life was in her hands, so she absolutely could not panic. She tightly bound his wrists with a towel. Before he lost consciousness, he uttered only one sentence—"I love you, Doll."
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Epilogue: "Twined threads of affection" by Yu Xin
Two years ago, Helen suffered a mental breakdown, forcing her parents to send her to a mental hospital. Joel, on the other hand, was rescued from the brink of death and slowly recovered under Sisi's meticulous care. The couple's love deepened after that incident, and now they not only have their genius son, Du Yunhao, but also a precious little daughter. "Come, come, little baby, come to Mommy, come..."
Sisi held a cookie in front of her daughter, tempting her with it. But as soon as her daughter saw the cookie, she plopped down and crawled over. Sisi rolled her eyes. "I give up!" she said, the cookie already snatched from her hand. Mary chuckled and took the cookie. "I'll take it."
Before Sisi could get up, she heard her son calling her again.
"Mommy, come quick! There's news about Daddy!"
here we go again!
Sisi returned to her room, her interest waning. News about important people was never-ending, especially about a man as outstanding as Joel; his news was always rife with gossip. She used to care, but now… she leaned against the windowsill, watching the car approach from the distant driveway.
What can you doubt about a man who would give up his life for you?
She no longer cared about other people's opinions, only about the deep affection in his eyes.
Even as he stepped out of the car with a stunningly beautiful woman by his side, she still waved and greeted him without any hesitation. "Joel, why are you back so soon? Weren't you supposed to be back the day after tomorrow?"
Joel tilted his head back and flashed a charming smile.
I miss you, baby!
Sisi hummed softly. "Missing your daughter, huh?"
"I miss you both, baby! I miss you both so much!" Joel chuckled.