"It was me who forced Mabel onto that ship. It was me... haha... I never thought the real culprit who harmed her was me..." Kyle Kinston laughed miserably, yet tears continued to flow.

Watching his friend in such a state, Dorian Howards felt only an overwhelming sense of oppression in the air.

"But I love her... Dorian... I loved her so much..." His broken voice drifted in the air, along with his tears, dropping onto the ground one by one.

Alice Conley felt at that moment as if all the air in her chest was like a mass of rotten cotton, unable to be expelled.

This man who had always stood so high above, who she could only ever look up to, was now nothing more than a shattered soul fallen from grace.

His pain was so evident, perhaps just as Dorian said, Mabel was the essence of Kyle Kinston’s life.

This man loved Mabel, but his love was too selfish, too self-centered, which led to the current situation.

Perhaps this is Mabel’s punishment for Kyle Kinston, punishing him to never attain his love throughout his life!

But the cost of this punishment... is just too great... too great...

————

The police in W City charged Cecil Quinn with murder. Alice Conley stayed in W City until she was about to give birth before returning to J City, but before she returned, there was still no news of Mabel Quinn.

Although the salvage crew continued to search tirelessly, as time passed, hope waned. Occasionally, they brought up a body or two, but none were Mabel Quinn’s.

Alice could only try to think positively, at least the bodies weren’t Mabel’s, so there’s a possibility Mabel was still alive. Before returning to J City, Alice met with Daniel Harris once more.

Alice felt that Daniel looked more haggard than when she last saw him; perhaps Mabel’s situation was also a huge blow to him.

"Mabel’s life is resilient; she might still be alive," Alice said, comforting both Daniel and herself.

"Yes, she’s resilient. When she was so young, she came to find me on the stormy mountain, and later, she survived an explosion. Both times, she lived through it; there’s no reason for her to die now!" Daniel Harris said, though the deep sorrow in his eyes could not be concealed.

"Are you going to continue staying in W City?" Alice Conley asked.

"Yes, I will keep searching," Daniel Harris said, determined to find her, no matter what condition she might be in.

He had blamed himself countless times in his heart, wondering why he didn’t keep a closer eye on her back then? When she asked him for a fake ID, he should have been vigilant, should have realized she might be planning to leave Kyle Kinston.

If he had helped her back then, maybe she wouldn’t have gotten on that ship in the first place. But now, all the regret was useless.

The woman he always held close to his heart, the one for whom he would go through fire and water... Is she really gone forever?

After Alice Conley left, Daniel Harris placed his hand over his eyes.

His eyes seemed to ache once more... He had once said, he wanted her to be happy. Even though the person she loved wasn’t him, he still hoped she could live happily.

If she were in trouble, he would have used every ounce of his power and means to help her, but in the end, he realized he couldn’t help with anything at all.