Extra
Extra 1
Heir’s POV
The day I went to pick up the divorce certificate with Helen, I was in a very bad
state
Thadn’t seen her in a month.
hadn’t slept properly in nearly a month.
I used to think that divorce was just something we joked about that we’d have arguments, but we’d never truly separate,
For this, I said many cold things, hoping to provoke her, to make her give up on the idea,
Extra
+5 Points
But she was serious, incredibly serious.
I panicked.
What made me even more panicked was that I discovered that medical report.
It was hard to describe the feeling–it was like a heavy stone crushing my heart, like someone choking my neck, like being burned by fire, like falling into an icy pit.
I called her in a panic.
For over ten years, we’d been as habitual as breathing to each other.
I really couldn’t live without her.
Take away the oxygen, and I wouldn’t survive.
2/12
Extra
+ 5 Points
I desperately tried to hold on, pleaded, even cut my wrist.
When I woke up in the hospital, I regretted being alive.
I eagerly opened my phone and saw the only message Helen had replied.
She said, with a bit of adult responsibility, not to be so childish.
I felt like I was going mad, doing anything to get her to reply.
I did whatever I could.
I tortured myself, self–harmed, made ambiguous videos with Carroll, brewed all kinds of stomach–soothing soup, even called my mother.
3/12
Extra
+ 5 Points
All of it went unanswered.
She wasn’t jealous, nor did she care.
She had truly, completely given up on me.
The day of the divorce, I saw her.
She looked much better than when she was with me.
My attempts to keep her caught in my throat, but no words came out.
I held onto her tightly, asking her to stay, but it all felt so powerless.
Would letting you go really make things better?
Would you hate me less?
4/12
Extra
6 Points
But what about me?What was I supposed to do?
After the divorce, I followed Helen’s every post, watching as she went to the beach, to the snowy plains, to the desert.
My heart ached with each passing moment.
It was my failure to keep my promise, and now it was my turn to suffer the consequences.
I kept watching her posts over and over.
Until one day, the updates stopped.
I searched for her everywhere, called her incessantly, contacted every friend I knew, even reached out to Elon.
But she had vanished, as if she’d never
5/12
Extra
+ 5 Points
existed. No one, not even my mother, knew where she had gone.
I understood–it was because she didn’t want me to disturb her.
All I could do was save those few photos she had shared.
Late at night, I would watch them again and again.
Over and over, I begged in my heart.
Helen, I was wrong. Will you come back?
Time passed–one year felt like a day, one day felt like a year.
It repeated endlessly, without any difference.
But in truth, many things had happened.
6/12
Extra
+ 5 Points)
Because of my approach to business, the company was always in direct competition. with our rivals.
In the past, Helen would always know when to convince me, handling every little problem with care.
But now, during a new product testing phase, several competitor companies had banded together against us, causing heavy losses.
Carroll and I were bound by mutual interests, and when no profit could be gained, she quickly turned his back, jumping to a competitor and providing them with our crucial data. My company nearly went bankrupt.
Now, the company I once cared about so deeply no longer seemed to matter as much.
7/12
Extra
+5. Points
In fact, I almost hated it.
If only I hadn’t spent so much unnecessary energy on the company.
If only I had cared more about Helen and less about my temper.
If only I had kicked Carroll out sooner.
If only…
Late at night, I finally couldn’t hold back and cried uncontrollably.
It was unbearable.
Maybe it would be better to just die.
Then my mother called.
8/12
Extra
+5 Points
She said, “Before she left, she promised you’d visit her from time to time.
She said the company was our shared blood, and I couldn’t let Helen down.
Will you come back?
Just like mom said, will you come back to see her?
Do I have any chance to see you again?
I’ve kept your room just the way you left it.
I will pull myself together.
When you come back, our company will be fine.”
Helen, I miss you so much.
9/12
Extra
+ 5 Points
I live my life now on this fragile, fleeting hope.
I will wait for you, no matter what.
Extra 2
Neil’s POV
A person’s memory fades with time.
But time didn’t erase everything.
In the river of memories, my longing for Helen grew clearer with each passing day.
Lying in the hospital bed, my entire life flashed through my mind like a movie.
What fame, what suffering, all disappeared like light snow.
10/12
Extra
45 Points
The only thing I remembered was the wind.
It came from the top of the snow–capped mountain that early winter.
The rare warmth of the sun.
I scattered roses I had secretly carried along the way, casting them into the sky.
The young girl gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes sparkling with the stars of
summer.
I took her hand, knelt on one knee, and asked, “Will you marry me?”
The girl threw herself into my arms, crying uncontrollably as she said, “I will.”
A tear slipped from the corner of my eye.
11/12
Extra
- 5 Points
But that girl–she never appeared in my life again.
The machines around me emitted a harsh beeping sound.
The pain of my life, here, came to its final curtain.
END
