[Sandy Princess, I miss you so much. I know you're still mad at me, but I really can't help but choose him. Even if you give me another chance, I'll still choose him, no matter how many times it takes.]
[Princess Yan, in the next life, will you wait for me where we first met? I want to be your brother, so you'll have one more person to protect you.]
[I'm sorry, I'm leaving first because I miss him so much. Don't be angry, I love you too.]
By the time Sandy rushed over, he had already passed away, still holding their photo in his hand.
What broke her heart was that he was still clutching the photo of them together, with the words written on the back: [In the next life, I will definitely be Princess Yan's protective brother and cherish her forever.]
During that time, Sandy's emotions kept crumbling, and coupled with Stella's divorce from Luca, there was even a moment when Sandy contemplated taking a cue from him and leaving this world behind.
But then she thought about Stella and the many people who cared about her. Besides, her relationship with Brandon had solidified.
She hadn't told Brandon about this, so Stella was the one who accompanied her and helped her through it.
Reassuring words were repeated over and over, examples were given one after another.
During that period, Sandy kept dreaming about him. Good dreams and bad ones. It was as if she had fallen into a dream, where she would close her eyes and dream of him smiling at her, sharing the progress they had made together.
Today he gave me something as a gift.
Then he personally cooked my favorite meal today, and he even burned himself while practicing for a long time.
Sandy would wake up each time, wanting to call and tell him that their future days were filled with happiness, that she could feel it so strongly.
But every time she opened her eyes, she realized it had all been a dream.
Then, she stopped dreaming altogether, not even having dreams anymore.
She became busy with acting, flying all over the world.
Gradually, it felt like those memories were deliberately being erased, and she stopped thinking about them.
In the end, it wasn't that she hadn't thought about it, but she didn't dare to. She was in the prime of her life; why should love put a period on it?
So, at this moment, Sandy was looking at Nelson and Jim, even confusing the four of them.
It was as if time had turned back, and the events of the past were repeating themselves. This time, she wanted to make up for something, to hold onto something.
That's why she had approached Jim with such disregard for formalities.
But the things Jim had said just now left Sandy unsure how to express the carefully prepared words she had in mind.
"Miss Thompson?"
It took a moment for Sandy to snap out of her thoughts at Jim's call, but by then, her tears were already streaming down her face.
"Are you okay?" Jim handed her a tissue.
Sandy took the tissue from Jim and nodded, "I'm sorry, I lost control for a moment."
Jim shook his head, "Why did they split up back then? And why did they choose such a tragic ending?"
Sandy wiped her tears and her voice sounded a bit strained as she spoke, "Because of family reasons. If they stayed together, people would humiliate him, and then expose those photos. As public figures, if it really happened, they'd face a harsh backlash. Plus, he would be all alone. If such a thing actually occurred, he would be left with no one by his side. The consequences would be worse than just killing him outright."
"So he compromised and married someone else?"
Sandy looked at Jim, "Doesn't this situation seem familiar to you?"
With that said, Sandy paused, "So, Mr. Bart, what did your family use to threaten you?"
Jim smiled, "I finally understand why Mr. Hawkins couldn't do without you."
Sandy smiled in return, "Go take care of your business."
Jim nodded to Sandy and then headed to his car. Sandy stood there, watching Jim drive away, before collecting her thoughts and heading toward her parked car.
Sandy stood still, watching Jim get into his car and drive away. She then collected her thoughts and turned to walk back towards her parked car.
Once inside the car, Sandy took a deep breath, finally allowing the tightly wound emotions to completely relax at this moment.
Suddenly, the phone placed on the armrest started ringing, pulling Sandy's scattered thoughts back. She reached out and picked up the phone, hesitating a moment before answering, "Hello?"
"Congratulations." Anthony's voice came through the phone.
Sandy softly replied, "Thank you."
After a brief silence, Anthony spoke in a low voice, "When will you be back in Manches City? Can I invite you to dinner?"
Hearing Anthony's voice, Sandy softly responded, "It might be a while, after we finish the wedding."
On Anthony's end, there was a pause before he murmured, "When is the wedding? Could you give me an invitation so I can join the celebration?"
Sandy hesitated for a moment, and she didn't refuse, "Sure. I'll make sure to send you an invitation when the time comes."
"Great."
Without saying more, Sandy hung up the phone.
After all, there was no room for turning back. At most, they could only remain friends.
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