Chapter 340: Love That Couldn’t Be Saved (II)
This time, Lorelle didn’t flare up in anger. Instead, she stayed quiet. Slowly, she turned her gaze back to Primrose, searching her eyes as if weighing the truth in her words.
"What can you do?" Lorelle finally asked. "Even the doctors couldn’t take my pain away. So what could you possibly do to erase it?"
Primrose smiled at her, but it wasn’t the kind of smile she wore when she was happy. Instead, it was a sorrowful smile.
The sadness she felt for Lorelle was enough to push her into using her mind-control ability. She didn’t explain anything to Lorelle. Instead, she followed exactly what Leofric had carefully guided her to do before.
All she needed was to speak softly, say what she wished for the person to feel or do, and then give the words that would become the key to unlock it.
"I know the pain in your body has poisoned your mind for years, Lorelle." Primrose’s voice grew tender as she locked her gaze with Lorelle’s. Her golden eyes shimmered, glowing faintly like stars in the night sky.
Lorelle stiffened under Primrose’s gaze, her breath catching in her throat. For a moment, she wanted to look away, but something in those golden eyes held her still.
Primrose’s voice dropped lower, soft as a lullaby. "You’ve carried this pain for so long that it’s become part of you. But you don’t have to hold it anymore. Let it go ... let it fade."
The words slipped into Lorelle’s mind like a warm tide washing over rocks. At first, she clenched her fists, resisting the pull. But then, little by little, the agony that had haunted her for years began to soften. The constant weight pressing on her chest eased, as if invisible chains were finally loosening.
Then, with a calm finality, Primrose whispered, "I command you."
The moment the words fell, Lorelle gasped. Her entire body shuddered as if something inside her had snapped free. The burning ache in her bones dulled, the stabbing pain in her chest lifted.
For the first time in years, her body didn’t feel like a cage of endless torment.
She straightened her back, tilting her head backward and gasping loudly, like someone waking from a nightmare that had gone on for far too long.
Primrose looked at her with worry, afraid that something had gone wrong with the spell she had just cast. What if she had only made things worse for Lorelle?
Her fingers brushed against her wedding ring as she called out in a shaky voice, "Edmund ... Edmund, I think you should come here. I—"
Before she could say another word, Lorelle suddenly grabbed her hand and held it tightly.
"What did you do, Rosie?" Lorelle’s voice broke as she slowly turned to face her, tears streaming freely down her cheeks. Her entire body trembled, but her eyes shone with something Primrose had never seen in them before—hope.
"It’s ... gone," Lorelle whispered, her words filled with disbelief and fragile relief. "My pain ... it’s all gone."
Primrose swallowed hard, still struggling to believe that her very first attempt at using her mind-control ability on purpose had actually worked.
She tightened her hold on Lorelle’s hand and looked straight into her eyes without blinking. "Your pain may be gone, but I haven’t healed your illness, Lorelle," she said gently. "You still need to find a way to truly cure it. Let me help you. Let me find the right person who can."
Lorelle’s tears kept falling, and whether she realized it or not, she nodded the moment Primrose spoke. It was as if all the hope she had lost over the years suddenly bloomed again the instant her pain disappeared.
"And once you’re healed," Primrose added firmly, "don’t chase after that man anymore. You can be anything, or go anywhere you want after this. I’ll help you. I promise."
There was love that could still be saved, but there was also love that was better left behind than clung to.
When Primrose chose to give Edmund one last chance, she saw that he could still grow into a good partner with the right guidance. But in Lorelle’s case ... it was different. It was beyond saving.
Leofric didn’t seem like the kind of man who would change his mind simply because he felt pity for someone. Primrose could only guess, but perhaps it had something to do with his immortality.
As Lorelle had once feared, when she died, Leofric would be left all alone in this world. Perhaps that was why he chose to bury every trace of romantic love in his heart, so he wouldn’t have to suffer when the people he cared for were gone.
After all, once a beast marked their mate, the bond became unbreakable, and such a bond was far too cruel for a couple where one was immortal and the other only mortal.
Primrose lowered her gaze, her thoughts heavy. If she was right, then Leofric had already condemned himself to a lifetime of solitude. To cut love out of his heart entirely ... it was both cruel and pitiful.
She wondered what it must feel like to watch the world move on while you remained, unchanged, untouched by time. To lose everyone you ever cared about, again and again, until even the idea of love felt more like a punishment than a gift.
Before she could think any further, she heard hurried footsteps outside the door, most likely Edmund and Leofric.
But the first person to open the door was Leofric. He looked at Lorelle in silence, yet his pupils trembled, as if he felt a deep sense of relief seeing that his Lorelle was no longer suffering from pain.
"Lorelle ...." His voice came out hoarse, barely more than a whisper. "Are you ... truly free from the pain now?"
Lorelle didn’t answer with words. Instead, she gave him a faint smile and shook her head softly.
"Good." Leofric’s lips curved into the smallest smile. He looked as though he wanted to rush toward her, but something held him back. He remained standing at the door, his shoulders tense. "That’s good. That’s ... really good."
Primrose watched him in silence. She didn’t need to hear his thoughts because his eyes told her everything. The way he looked at Lorelle wasn’t the way a brother should.
He loved her too.
But unfortunately, that kind of love should never have existed in the first place.