Earth, Near a River, Evening.
The sky turned scarlet as dusk fell.
Red-tinted clouds filled the evening sky, producing a scene so picturesque one could have thought it was a work of art.
This sublime scene was enhanced by the river's crystal-clear water, which gleamed and reflected the sun.
The gentle autumn breeze caressed bystanders in a manner reminiscent of a mother stroking her young one.
...
On a bench nearby.
A pair of individuals sit on the bench, their expressions solemn.
With a helpless and dejected expression on her stunning face, the woman turned to face the man.
She spoke in a tone of helplessness as her large, gorgeous eyes became blurry with tears.
"Why!? Why can't you accept my love!? Why are you rejecting me like this!?"
"It was you who expressed your love for me first! and now that I am in love with you! You refuse to accept my feelings for you!?"
Tears streamed down from the woman's big eyes; she tried wiping them away with the sleeves of her top, but it did not work, and the tears kept flowing.
The man did not respond to the woman and continued to stare at the sunset with a solemn expression on his haggard face.
His dark under-eye circles appear to indicate that he has not slept in days. In addition to his clothes appearing disheveled, his hair appeared untidy.
The man glanced at the woman.
"I already told you that I do not have a job, a future, a house, or a life now."
The man's eyes were empty of light and devoid of feeling.
"I am no longer the successful man I once was, and we cannot be together."
"Everything is gone now; I have nothing left."
It was as though his eyes were reflecting the depths of his heart, lifeless.
"I thought I was capable enough to propose to you at that particular time. I am no longer worth more than a maggot."
"I do not have enough money for dinner today, and I am homeless."
"In addition, I do not have a lot of time left to live."
The woman spoke in a trembling voice, her tears getting even more intense when the man mentioned all of these.
"I-I can assist you; my father is wealthy... Additionally, I will shield you from those loan sharks. Please! Please stay with me! Please do not abandon me... Sob sob"
The man shook his head and spoke in an emotionless tone:
"No, no one in the world knows your father better than I do... In fact, everything I am dealing with today was his fault in the first place."
"His men would be here to kill me eventually; I have worked for him for years.... I know how he handles things..."
"I do not have much time left..."
After hearing his comments, the woman opened her wide eyes and spoke in a trembling voice, saying:
"F-father can't do something like that! Y-you must have mistaken it... Y-yeah let's go and ask him in person..."
"I will help you, I have got your back!... he will definitely listen to you!"
The man shook his head in response to the woman's sad cries.
"It is too late..."
Just as the man had predicted, several black muscle cars approached them at breakneck speed.
The man stood up from the bench and extended his hand to the woman, a cheap wristwatch resting on his palm.
"Here, take this watch... This is the only thing I have left now... It's cheap, but it's a very precious memento..."
"This is the watch my childhood friend gave me... I have cherished it ever since..."
"Many of my precious memories are contained within this memento; this is the same watch I used to keep track of time on my first date with you..."
The woman held the watch with trembling hands.
When she accepted the watch, the man smiled with satisfaction on his face. Behind him, the sun's rays shone brightly, as did his haggard face.
"T-this.."
*Bang*
A loud gunshot rang out before the woman had time to ask anything or even speak.
"Ugh..."
A bullet struck the man in the left leg, and he collapsed on the ground, blood pouring out of his leg like a fountain.
"Noooo!"
At the sight of this, the woman let out a horrified cry.
Tears came like a fountain from her reddened eyes as she quickly knelt to try to help the man.
Yet the man looked unconcerned; a smile appeared on his face, and he said with a happy tone.
"This is it, this is the end... I am grateful that I got to spend so many years with an amazing woman like you..."
"Thanks for everything; even in death and in the next life, I will continue to love you forever..."
"My well wishes are with you. Go and live a happy and carefree life... My love will always bless you from wherever I go..."
"This is farewell, my love. Farewell Shiina..."
Several people in bodyguard clothes rushed towards them with hurried steps.
One of the bodyguards struck Shiina on the back of her neck with his hand. She immediately fainted, and the bodyguard handed Shiina over to a maid.
"It's time to go back home, milady."
Without giving a single glance to the man lying on the ground, the maid carried Shiina back to a nearby luxury car.
After the maid carried Shiina away, several bodyguards approached the man lying on the ground with baseball bats in their hands.
Without any warning or hesitation, the bodyguards raised their hands and hammered down the baseball bat on the man's chest.
He was brutally beaten to death, yet the odd thing was that the man didn't even let out a single scream.
...
A few hours later.
A luxurious mansion, Office.
The butler knocked on the door of the office respectfully.
"Enter."
After getting permission, the butler entered the room without hesitation and entered with calm and silent steps.
A man sitting on the master chair who seemed to be in his 50s appeared in the Butler's view.
The butler saluted the man respectfully and handed over a photo.
The man stretched out his hand and looked at the photo. A frown appeared on his face.
The photo showed a dead body whose chest was beaten to death, and the innards could be seen splattered everywhere.
Yet the face of the dead body still had a smile on its blood-covered face as if the other party was still happy even in death.
That smile made the man frown, but he didn't pay it any mind. He squashed the photo in his hand and threw it on the floor.
"What about the body?"
Hearing the question, the butler replied in a respectful tone:
"We fed it to the pet tigers in the private zoo... I have thoroughly gotten rid of all evidence...we even erased all of his information... According to records, that man never existed..."
The butler smiled with a creepy look on his face.
Hearing that, the man also smiled a little bit and replied in a satisfied tone:
"Good, give a bonus to all bodyguards..."
The butler nodded his head respectfully. He bent down, picked up the squashed photo, and turned it into ashes with a lighter.
After getting rid of this last piece of evidence, the butler nodded his head to the man and left the room calmly.
After the butler left, the man got up from his chair and walked towards the window.
He glanced at the full moon in the beautiful night sky.
"You messed with the wrong person, kid; your foolishness brought this tragedy on you..."
"Make sure you don't make the same mistake again in your next life....hahahaha"
*Bang**Bang*
Two loud gunshots sounded outside all of a sudden and several shouts and screams echoed in the mansion.
A frown appeared on the man's smiling face. He opened the door of the office, walked out and noticed several maids and bodyguards gathered with panicked looks in the corridor.
"What happened?"
Hearing the master's voice, all the servants scattered and opened the way for him, but none answered his question.
Everyone had a horrified look on their face.
The man frowned at this situation and walked forward.
When the servants stepped aside, two dead bodies appeared in his view.
One was the butler who had just left his room and the other was his daughter Shiina.
The butler was shot directly in the forehead and Shiina also had a bullet hole in her head.
The man's legs gave out and he fell on the floor with a devastated look on his face.
At this moment he finally understood that his daughter's love was genuine and Shiina was ready to even commit suicide for her love.
Shiina killed the butler before committing suicide because she had already figured out that this butler was the reason for all of her suffering.
She succeeded and the butler died in one shot.
The man remained blind to his daughter's emotions till she died.
He earned millions and billions but was not able to save the life of his cherished daughter.
And thus he lived the rest of his whole life in infinite regret and pain.
He cursed and loathed himself for his wrong decisions till his last breath, everyday was like endless torture.