Tears streamed down Olivia's cheeks.

She knew that she and Ethan could never go back to how things were before. He had betrayed her and destroyed the Fordhams, and the Fordhams owed him his sister's life.

Those debts could never be settled. Trying to resolve them would only serve to tighten the knots of their relationship, suffocating them and leading to an inevitable end.

Ethan held her face in his hands, wiping away her tears with his cheeks. "Liv, don't love me. Hate me instead. I betrayed you, I killed our child, and I can never turn back."

She sensed his inner turmoil, but amidst that, she could feel the tenderness he still had for her like a calm oasis in a turbulent desert sandstorm. However, she knew that the oasis would soon be destroyed by the raging winds.

Ethan left the room, leaving Olivia behind. Olivia knew that this was their final farewell.

When Olivia headed out of the study, Madam Burgess was nowhere to be seen. The kind-hearted Madam Burgess had always believ