Chapter 919


    "Um, didn’t you fall asleep?" Dorothy was startled by Everett''s sudden movement.


    Everett opened his eyes, and even in the dim moonlit room, he could precisely lock onto her gaze.


    "Answer my question."


    "I was heading to bed."


    As Dorothy turned to leave, he caught her wrist as his tall figure rose abruptly from the couch, "Tell


    me, I want to hear it."


    "Just because you want to hear it means I have to answer?"


    "Yes." Everett''s tone was unusuallymanding when he forced a direct response from her.


    Dorothy knew she couldn''t dodge this, and after a moment, her demeanor softened slightly, "You


    want my trust, and I can''t give it."


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    "What if you don''t have to trust me? Can you be at peace by my side then?" he asked.


    She frowned, "Everett, you have too much in your hand and that brings you to the height others


    wouldn''t dare dream of in their lifetime! But being with me, you''d lose so much! You''d even... bear


    the stigma of being an unfilial son for life!"


    "But…"


    "Let me finish."


    "Alright."


    Dorothy took a deep breath, eyes downcast as she said, "I''m torn, too. I know if I give up clearing


    my mother''s name, I could gain the approval of the Lopez family; I could be with you and also our


    kids. But... wouldn''t that be like stepping over my mom''s body to enter the Lopez family? I just can''t


    do it!"


    She even felt that any slight wavering in her resolve was a sin! Like she''d be damned to the deepest


    hell!


    "You don''t need their approval. If I acknowledge you as my wife, that''s enough." He imed.


    "I want to end all this, and death seems the only way out," she replied.


    After Dorothy''s first failed attempt on Amanda, she hadn''t thought about it again.


    It wasn''t forck of opportunity but aplete loss of will. She just wanted to be free, to leave this


    world forever, where none of its turmoil could touch her. She’d be blind about others’ life or death


    after she closed her eyes forever.


    That attraction became increasingly overwhelming, and was beyond her control.


    Eventually, her hallucinations began.


    Standing on a high ce, she could see her mother waving her over from below.


    She saw daggers and sharp knives, and she could read the lines carved on them, "Pierce me into


    your body, and you''ll be free."


    Revenge,wsuits, love—none would matter to her anymore.


    As Dorothy calmly voiced these thoughts, a boundless fear spread through Everett.


    His entire being was enveloped in dread as he said, "Dorothy, I can give up everything. Let''s take


    Abigail and Langston and find somewhere secluded, okay?"


    "How could we? You''re the CEO of the Lopez Corporation—"


    He frowned, his gaze intense and serious, "If I have you by my side every day, if I can make you the


    first person I see after opening my eyes and thest person I see before going to bed, what else


    matters?"


    "But Everett, you''re not like Jeffrey. You’d suffer without work." Dorothy knew Everett''s dedication to


    his career and the effort he''d put into the Lopez Corporation.


    Putting other things aside, his hard study for years was not something that could be exchanged by


    mere wealth. He must have reached the pinnacle through years of effort.


    She wouldn''t want him to give that up for her.


    "But without you, I''d suffer more." Everett tightened his grip on her hand, his voice calm but each


    word heavy, "If you die, I will go with you."