3

Violet's mother was silent for a moment, without saying anything more, she just sighed and turned away. I stroked the tiny wounds on my hands, returned to the room silently, and began to pack my luggage. I knew in my heart that whether I married Violet Smith or not, this place had never really become my home. Ten years of infatuation and waiting were ultimately just a one-man show for me, and it was time to leave.

Just as I walked to the door, Violet Smith 's voice suddenly rang out, stopping me: "What tricks do you want to play? Run away from home? Don't you think you are not ashamed enough?" I kept silent and let her blame me. In the past month, I was penniless, unable to speak the language, trapped in that war-torn city, suffering from the roar of artillery fire every day, hungry, and terrified. Those who fled with me fell beside me one after another, bloody. In that purgatory where life is worse than death, those who can survive can no longer be called complete people, so how can face be compared with it?

Seeing that I was silent, Violet Smith came over irritably and tried to snatch the suitcase from my hand. "I said, no matter what, I will support you, you don't have to fight with Vincent for everything !" There was dissatisfaction and threat in her words, "After so much, haven't you learned your lesson? Do you still want to go back to that place?" Under the light, her shadow enveloped me, and fear surged in my heart again.

I couldn't hear what she was saying, but I just protected the suitcase reflexively, bit the back of her hand, and tears slid down involuntarily. "This is mine!" I roared in a low voice. Violet Smith felt pain and pushed me away. She didn't expect that although I looked tall, I was actually very weak. With a slight push, I rolled down the stairs and hit my head on the railing. New and old injuries intertwined, and large patches of blood stained my clothes.

" Alex Brown !" Violet Smith walked quickly to me, anxiously wanting to check my wounds. However, I still held the suitcase tightly and backed away from her touch. The concern in her eyes gradually turned into impatience, "Is this broken suitcase so important? Do you really want to leave the Smith's family ? You are such an ungrateful person!"

I pretended to be calm, but my legs were weak and I couldn't stand. Those unbearable past events echoed in my mind again. Countless times, in despair, I had imagined that Violet Smith would come down from the sky and save me from the water and fire. However, the day-to-day waiting and the repeated torment made me finally realize that it was just an unattainable luxury. I can only try my best to survive in this cruel world.

"Alex Brown, I'll give you one last chance, come back with me!" Violet Smith reached out and grabbed my wrist. The moment our skin touched, I was terrified. In a trance, I remembered the scene when my father was seriously ill ten years ago. Before he died, he entrusted everything of the Brown's family to the Smith's family. Violet Smith knelt in front of his bed and grabbed my hand in the same way, vowing: "I, Violet Smith, will never let Alex Brown down in this life." However, in the riotous streets of a foreign country, these hands chose to hold another man and push me into an endless hell.