Iris Hart was gone.
According to her will, Grace O'Sullivan brought the urn back to Misty Isle for burial.
Alexander Sterling walked with Iris Hart for the final journey. He originally wanted to take Evelyn with him, but Evelyn said she had to take care of the baby. It was inconvenient to go along. She believed Iris Hart would understand.
Alexander didn't insist any further.
Iris Hart passed away peacefully. She told Alexander and Grace that she was content now and had no regrets. She asked them not to grieve for her departure.
Then she told Alexander to stay with Evelyn for a long time, that the two of them should live a good life. She also asked Alexander to tell Evelyn that she thanked her for bringing so much happiness during this time and for helping her find her daughter, Grace. She told her daughter Grace to take good care of herself and to forgive her for not taking good care of her in the beginning, which caused her so much suffering. Although she couldn't see her daughter get married, she had saved a dowry for her. The passbook was in her home on Misty Isle.
After Iris Hart explained all this, she took one last look at Alexander and Grace and closed her eyes.
A single tear lingered at the corner of her eye. She said she had no regrets, but in the end, there was still regret.
After all, their time together was short. She hadn't seen her daughter get married and have children.
But life is like this. It's hard to have everything complete. This is the norm.
Iris Hart came in a hurry and left in a hurry. In a daze, it seemed as if she had never been here, that she had always been living well on Misty Isle.
Evelyn sometimes remembered the time when she and Alexander went to Misty Isle for vacation.
Iris Hart was indifferent to her, but she still taught her how to cook with a big stove and told her stories about Alexander's childhood.
It was just yesterday that they let go of the past, but in the blink of an eye, Iris Hart was gone.
After burying Iris Hart, Alexander and Grace returned to her old house and walked along the coastline.
"This is the Misty Isle you always wanted to bring me to before, isn't it?" Grace suddenly stopped, turned her back to the sea, looked at the island, and asked.
"Yes," Alexander answered lightly.
"I didn't expect we would come here this way in the end," Grace said with a bitter smile.
"I'm leaving Misty Isle later. Do you want to stay together or stay a few more days?" Alexander didn't respond to Grace's words. He just asked lightly.
"I want to stay a few more days. Are you going back this afternoon?" Grace turned to look at Alexander and asked.
"I'm going back this afternoon. I can't rest easy leaving Evelyn alone with the child at home," Alexander responded.
"You're afraid Evelyn will misunderstand."
"There's nothing to misunderstand. Evelyn trusts me," Alexander replied calmly.
"Right. When my mother was alive, we had a little connection. But now, we don't even have that connection anymore." Grace looked at the distant horizon and answered.
"Take care of yourself in the future," Alexander finally said.
"Thank you. You too."
Alexander nodded, said nothing more, and walked forward.
Grace watched Alexander's back and finally let out a relieved smile.
Some things are hard to let go of, but in the end, you have to put them down.
Only when you put them down can you travel light and start again.
After Alexander came back, he told Evelyn what Iris Hart had said. Evelyn just answered faintly.
"These are all things I should have done. Iris Hart is too kind."
"Iris Hart liked you very much. She always told us to be together." Alexander held Evelyn's hand and continued.
"Why do you keep thinking about that?" Evelyn turned to look at Alexander and asked.
"Iris Hart wanted us to be together."
"No. Iris Hart also saw that we are not suitable to be together.
Iris Hart was kind-hearted. She was worried that if we really got divorced, it would affect our children. She always stressed that we should live a good life," Evelyn said.
"Evelyn, don't think about it," Alexander frowned and answered.
Evelyn gave a wry smile, shook her head, and continued.
"So many things have happened during this time. We haven't had time to deal with them, let alone discuss the divorce.
These days, after calming down, I've been thinking that it's not the way for us to keep procrastinating."
"Evelyn, I was wrong before. I know I hurt your heart. Give me a chance to make up for it. We can live a good life in the future. If you're not happy, you can take it out on me. Just don't mention divorce," Alexander looked at Evelyn and said seriously.
"Alexander, Grace regretted it later. Why can't you forgive her?" Evelyn looked into the distance and suddenly asked something unrelated.
"Times have changed. I don't have that state of mind anymore. It's not about forgiving or not forgiving," Alexander responded.
"Because you are too proud to let go of Grace's betrayal, especially when she made that decision during your hardest time.
So even if you still love her in your heart, you can't forgive her.
We always say there is no love without reason, and no hate without reason. The more resentment you have, the more unforgivable it seems, just because you still care.
But my situation is different from yours. I can't forgive you because I hate you or something else.
In fact, I can't even say whether I forgive you or not, because I don't think you did anything wrong. At least I wouldn't have done better than you in that situation.
I just feel that I'm still young and have a long way to go. I don't want to be trapped in this hopeless marriage," Evelyn answered quietly.
"In your mind, there is no hope for our marriage?" Alexander looked at Evelyn in amazement.
Evelyn met Alexander's gaze and nodded slowly.
"You don't love me anymore?" Alexander held Evelyn's shoulders and asked.
"I do love you. But I also want to live a good life for myself," Evelyn responded seriously.
Alexander looked into Evelyn's eyes. After a while, his eyes dimmed.
Evelyn wasn't joking with him. She wasn't impulsive. She was even calm.
She was quietly discussing the divorce with him.
He had thought that during this time, Evelyn had gradually given up on the idea of divorce.
Now he understood. If she had given up, she wouldn't be the stubborn girl he married in the beginning.
"Can you give me another chance?"
Evelyn lowered her head and didn't answer.
"Give me some time. I'll give you an answer after I think about it," Alexander finally said, sounding a little helpless.
"Is a week okay?" Evelyn asked.
"Evelyn—" Alexander was a little angry.
"I just don't think it's necessary to delay any longer," she replied quietly.
"Even if we finally decide to get divorced, there are still many things to deal with before that.
In addition, I need to liquidate my current assets."
"Before I got married, I signed a prenuptial agreement. Even if we get divorced, your assets have nothing to do with me," Evelyn said.
Alexander was stunned. He looked at Evelyn and asked.
"When did you sign it?"
"The morning we registered. It was signed at a law firm. It's legally valid," Evelyn said.
"I'm sorry, Evelyn. I haven't given you a sense of security from the very beginning. That made you have no confidence in our marriage." Alexander hugged Evelyn and apologized.