There Is No Paradise Where I Ran Away To (14 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 112

“Vivian’s golden hair stands out noticeably more than anyone else’s.”

“Bright and radiant—like a butterfly at times, like a daffodil at others.”

“It’s beautiful. Beautiful enough that I want to be just like her.”

Charlotte’s voice, ringing like tinnitus, grew fainter and fainter. Her throat tightened, her breath growing ever more stifled. The more Charlotte’s familiar voice blurred, the more sharply her chest clenched in pain.

Charlotte’s face flashed by rapidly, halting finally at that last cold expression Vivian remembered. It was colder and more chilling than ever—the moment she turned away, ignoring Vivian’s desperate cries for help. With that image, Vivian gasped awake, her breath ragged.

Her ash-gray eyes, trembling with anxiety, searched the surroundings. The moment her mind cleared, she felt Charlotte’s death viscerally.

For days, she hadn’t been able to leave her bed—overwhelmed by grief.

Death, parting—they meant absolute severance, robbing even the faintest hope of ever touching again.

She couldn’t send a letter, nor receive one. No matter how many dozens or hundreds of times she steeled herself, she couldn’t see or meet Charlotte.

Could Charlotte truly be dead?

She wanted to deny it. She hoped she’d merely seen something wrong while drunk. Surely, this nightmare—that Charlotte had died—was born from how deeply Vivian resented her for abandoning her.

Tears brimmed in her eyes. Of all things, the last image had to be Charlotte turning away from her.

Her resentment turned toward Edwin.

If only she’d met Charlotte that day, when he’d claimed she’d been released. If only they’d talked about what happened that day—if only they’d apologized to each other, exchanged forgiveness, parted with regret and reconciliation.

Time couldn’t be turned back, and these futile fantasies had clawed and stabbed her heart dozens of times over.

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