Another ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

For ordinary people, ten years was long, slow, layered with change.

For Vivian, it was nothing like that. Each day dragged on, heavy with pain.

Ten years ago, he had collapsed on the floor, coughing out blood.

His small body shook as his lungs burned, and his heart felt like it would tear apart.

His family panicked.

They summoned every famous physician and healer they could find.

Some stayed for days, some only for hours.

They checked his body again and again, but none of them could find the cause of his illness.

In the end, they could only shake their heads.

Since that day, Vivian would cough out blood from time to time.

During these ten years, his cultivation came to a stop.

At fourteen, he had reached the Fourth Star, a level many praised as talented.

But after that, he never made another breakthrough.

His body could not endure cultivation for long.

At most, he could cultivate for half an hour before the pain started to rise in his chest, followed by violent coughing.

At first, the coughing was not too frequent.

Four or five years ago, it would happen only once a week. It was painful, but he could endure it.

He learned to hide it, to wipe the blood away before others saw.

But four years ago, everything worsened.

The coughing grew stronger and more frequent.

Every three or four days, he would cough out blood.

Each time felt worse than the last.

His chest would tighten, his breathing would turn rough, and his vision would blur from the pain.

Sometimes, he would lie awake at night, afraid to sleep, afraid he might not wake up.

Time continued to move forward, but Vivian felt stuck in place, his body weakening, his cultivation frozen, and his future slowly fading under the weight of blood and pain.

Right now, Vivian was sitting beside Charlotte.

Charlotte and his family knew that he was ill.

They knew he sometimes coughed blood.

But they did not know the truth, that his illness was getting worse with each passing day.

Vivian hid it very well.

Whenever he felt the blood rising in his throat, he would quietly leave and rush back to his room.

He never let anyone see him in that state.

The pain was terrible, but seeing fear and sadness on their faces hurt him even more.

So he learned to endure alone. He learned to smile even when his chest burned. He learned to hide his weakness.

As for why Charlotte was here, she had arrived a few days ago and decided to stay with him.

She said there were important things she wanted to talk about.

So now, the two of them sat side by side, the air between them calm but heavy.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Then Charlotte broke the silence.

"Vivian," she said softly, her voice gentle and full of hope, "don't you think it's time we get married?"

Her words carried dreams of the future, of days yet to come, of a life spent together.

Hearing this, Vivian could only give a bitter smile.

Charlotte had always been a little obsessive, but at first, he found it endearing.

As time passed, his feelings for her grew deeper. He truly wanted to spend his life with her. He wanted that future too.

But reality was cruel.

"Don't you think it's too early?" Vivian said after a moment.

"We're only nineteen. I think we should wait a little."

It was the only answer he could give.

With his coughing growing worse and no cure in sight, Vivian knew the truth better than anyone.

He did not have much time left. But he could not say those words to her.

He could not destroy her smile with his fate.

So he chose another path.

"What do you mean it's early?" Charlotte asked, unable to understand his worries.

"Your mom and dad got married when they were nineteen. My parents also married around this age. This isn't early at all. It's the perfect age."

Her voice was calm, but her eyes told a different story.

They were filled with warmth, with hope, and with a strong wish to live together with him and start a family.

She was already looking toward a future where he stood beside her.

Vivian stayed silent.

He wanted that future too.

He wanted to wake up beside her, to protect her, to laugh with her, to build a life together.

But his body was already falling apart.

From his condition, who knew when he would die?

It could be today. It could be tomorrow. It could be a few years later.

But one thing was certain, he did not have much time left.

It was his body, and he understood it better than anyone else.

Each cough, each drop of blood, reminded him of the truth.

So how could he marry her when he knew he could not stay with her for life?

How could he promise a future he might never reach?

That would only leave her with pain.

That would be too cruel.

After a long pause, Vivian finally spoke.

"Look, Charlotte," he said quietly, his voice steady but heavy, "I'm not ready right now. There are too many things I still need to do. I don't think I can… start a family right now."

The words were simple.

But behind them was a heart breaking in silence.

But Charlotte could not understand the pain in his heart, the pain that broke a little more with every word she spoke.

"What do you need to d—" she started.

She was cut off.

"Charlotte," Vivian said firmly, "I told you I'm not ready."

"But why?" she asked. This time, her calm was gone.

Her eyes showed a rare sense of impatience.

A small frown appeared on her face. She truly did not understand him.

This was not something that started today.

For the past few years, Vivian had been avoiding her.

He stopped contacting her on his own.

When she came to see him, he would meet her, but always keep some distance.

It felt as if he no longer liked her. As if she was slowly being pushed away.

That was why she was desperate.

She did not know the reason, but she could feel him drifting farther and farther from her.

Fear filled her heart.

"If you don't marry me this year, then—" she said, wanting to force him to respond, wanting to create urgency.

But before she could finish, Vivian spoke.

His words froze her in place.

"Very well," he said calmly. "If you think like that, then let's call off our engagement."

Charlotte's eyes widened.

"I was also thinking that we shouldn't be together anymore," he continued.

"Our lives are different. And I'm losing interest in you too. So let's end it."

His tone was flat and emotionless.

His eyes were cold.

There was even a hint of boredom in his voice.

Charlotte stood there, stunned, unable to understand what she had just heard.

What she did not see was that behind those cold eyes, Vivian's heart was shattering, piece by piece, but he chose to let it break in silence rather than drag her into his doomed future.

Some love chooses distance, not because it fades, but because it hurts too much to stay.

"Vivian…?" Charlotte's voice trembled. "I didn't mean it that way…"

Her eyes wavered as she tried to explain herself, her words breaking apart before they could form properly.

But before she could say anything more, Vivian spoke again.

And every word that followed was devastating.

"Look, Charlotte," he said coldly, "I never liked you from my heart."

Her breath caught.

"When I was young, I didn't like you at all. As time passed, I was only attracted to your beauty. That was all," he continued.

"Now even that attraction is gone. I don't feel anything for you anymore."

Charlotte's eyes filled with tears.

"I delayed our marriage because I didn't want to hurt your feelings," he said, pausing for a moment.

His gaze fell on her tear-filled eyes. For a brief second, his heart felt like it was bleeding.

But he crushed that feeling before it could surface.

This was the only thing he could do for her future.

"So now that things have reached this point," he continued, his voice steady, "let's end this relationship. We were never meant to be together."

The words struck her like a blade.

Charlotte stood frozen, her lips trembling, her tears falling silently.

The man she loved was standing right in front of her, yet he felt farther away than ever.

Vivian turned his gaze away.

Behind his calm face was a storm of pain he would never allow to show.

He chose to be hated. He chose to be cruel.

Because letting her love a man who would soon disappear…

that was a cruelty he could not accept.

What Vivian did not know was that no matter how cold he acted, no matter how harsh his words were, she would never be convinced in the way he wanted.

She would feel pain.

She would feel hurt.

She would feel disappointed.

But she would not hate him.

That was what he wanted from her right now, hatred.

And that was the one thing she could not give.

Tears rolled down Charlotte's face as she looked at him.

"Am I… that bad?" she asked softly.

"No," Vivian replied immediately. "You are not bad. But I don't feel anything toward you. And without feelings, it's better not to be together."

Her lips trembled.

"But… you weren't like this a few years ago," she said through her tears. "You liked me. You even said once that you wanted a daughter from me…"

Her tears fell nonstop.

Her heart felt like it was being pierced again and again, sharp and endless.

Vivian felt the same pain tearing through him.

And that pain was exactly the reason he could not allow her to stay with him.

'It would be better, much better, if she found someone else.'

Someone healthy.

Someone who could stay.

Someone who could give her a full life.

Instead of leaving her to grieve his death.

So Vivian forced himself to speak.

"I don't want anything to do with you from now on," he said.

He stood up slowly. "I would appreciate it if we never meet again."

He turned around to leave.

But just then, Charlotte grabbed his hand.

Her face was soaked with tears as she asked, "Do you really mean what you said?"

"Yes," Vivian replied.

He gently but firmly pulled his hand away and walked past her without looking back.

Charlotte stood there alone.

Her heart shattered.

Her pain was beyond words.

What she did not know was that in this life, even though both of them wished to be together, they never could.

It was not because of others.

It was not because their feelings faded.

If anything, their feelings were endless.

But in a few short years, a wall would stand between them.

That wall was death.

Vivian wanted her to forget him, not remember him and suffer.

"This is for the better," he whispered to himself as he walked away, letting out a quiet sigh, never once turning back.

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