Deep down, Miles felt more guilt than admiration for Mary. After all, that incident had caused her immense pain, while he had been the sole beneficiary.
No matter how he looked at it, this slap was well-deserved.
"Forget it. Let's go," Miles said with a bitter smile, shaking his head as he pulled Lisa along.
But for once, Lisa stood her ground. She broke free from his grasp, her tone sharp and unyielding. "You took that slap without fighting back—have you fallen for her? Move aside, this isn't your business anymore!"
Mary remained sitting in the snow, staring at her own hand in a daze, her eyes filled with disbelief and confusion.
Lisa, however, was like a tigress protecting her cubs. Her gaze was cold as she looked at Mary and said, "I don't care what grudges you two have. But this is Cloud City, and there's only one ruler here—Miles. Let me give you a piece of advice: don't mistake ignorance for entitlement."
What the hell?
Miles was momentarily stunned as he looked at Lisa. After all this time, it was the first time he had seen this little girl tear into someone so fiercely.
To others, these words might not mean much, but to Mary, every word was a dagger.
"Hah..." Mary slowly stood with Aaron's help, carefully brushing the snow off her clothes. She let out a cold laugh. "And what about you? A once-proud medical school graduate who's now reduced to someone else's plaything. Are you proud of yourself?"
"What did you just say?!"
Lisa's eyes darkened as she strode up to Mary.
The two women were now so close that not even a whisper could pass between them. The tension in the air was so thick it felt combustible, and all eyes were glued to the scene.
Later, when Miles recounted this moment to his daughter, he would laugh and say: "Your Aunt Mary was terrifying back then!"
Mary held her ground, lifting her chin defiantly. Her gaze swept over Lisa's attire, and her tone was icy. "These luxuries didn't come cheap, did they? You know exactly what price you paid."
Lisa trembled with anger, her hand instinctively lifting before she stopped herself.
Because Mary was right. Back then, it had been for these very things that she had stepped into that villa.
In Mary's eyes, and likely in everyone else's, she was that kind of woman. No matter how genuine their love now was, that stain would never be washed away.
But it was precisely because Lisa held back her slap...
For the first time, Miles felt a pang of true heartache.
"That's enough!"
He pulled Lisa back, his right arm protectively wrapping around her shoulder. His eyes were cold as he looked at Mary and said, "Our partnership ends here. You can leave."
"...What?"
Mary's eyes widened as she looked up at him in disbelief. "What did you say?"
"I said you can leave," Miles replied calmly. "I've already repaid my debt to you at the Southwest Base. If you want revenge, feel free to bring your people here. I'll be waiting."
"Are you sure? Without me..." Mary's voice quivered with suppressed emotion. She tried to force a smile, but her eyes betrayed her despair.
Miles didn't let her finish. "What, you think the world stops turning without you?"
With that, he turned and walked away, pulling Lisa along with him.
In the endless expanse of snow and ice, his not-so-tall figure stretched straight and true under the sun.
...
Inside the speeding snowmobile.
Lisa sat in the passenger seat, fuming. "Are you insane? If she really leaves, where are you going to find someone to build the defense systems?"
"I don't care if they build them or not," Miles said with a light chuckle, pressing the accelerator to the floor. "Didn't you want a thrill ride? Well, here you go. Hold on tight!"
"Big brother! Human hearts are too complicated!" Lisa shouted, her head spinning from the vehicle's wild movements. "I know you're upset that she insulted me, but she wasn't wrong! What if Mary really reports us?"
"Wrong, my ass! I can scold you, but she can't!"
Miles's eyes stayed fixed on the snowy road ahead, his hands deftly maneuvering the steering wheel.
Lisa felt both sweetness and exasperation in her heart. "You're such a child! Couldn't you see Mary was waiting for you to give her an out?"
"I'm not a damn contractor handing out easy exits to everyone I meet!"
"You—" Lisa was so frustrated she didn't know what to say. Finally, she shouted, "Then where are we going now?"
"How the hell should I know? Do I look like a tour guide to you?"
"...!"
...
Half an hour later, the snowmobile came to a stop atop a massive dam.
"Whoo!"
As they opened the doors, the biting wind hit them like a blade, and their breaths formed visible clouds of white in the frigid air.
Miles pointed to the ice-covered dam and shouted, "Didn't you want to see a glacier? This is close enough—behold, a thousand miles of ice!"
Lisa blinked, then lowered her head with a soft smile. She murmured under her breath, "Idiot. That's not what I wanted to see..."
"What did you say?" Miles turned to her.
Through the howling wind, Lisa cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "I said it's beautiful! I love it!"
Miles laughed heartily.
"Hey, Miles," Lisa said, glancing back at him. "Why do you think people choose to live?"
Miles held her hand, his gaze fixed ahead. "Lady, that's way too deep a question for me. I'm just a regular college grad—I've got no answer for you. Try another topic."
"Fine. Who's prettier—me or Audrey Hepburn?"
"Audrey Hepburn!"
Miles let go of her hand and dashed off, laughing.
"Miles, you jerk!"
In the desolate, icy wilderness, their figures stretched long across the snow.
"Let's check on Mary when we get back," Lisa said, kicking at the snow as she walked, her breath forming little clouds. "She's just too proud. I should've been more considerate of how others would feel. With the way we're dressed, who wouldn't be jealous?"
Miles shook his head with a smile. "Lady, could you stop playing saint? I'm just starting to like you..."
"What did you just say?"
For a moment, even the biting wind seemed to pause.
"I said I really like you, so could we please stop the saint act?"
Miles took her gloved hand and said, "You know, today has been the most relaxing day I've had. Ever since the apocalypse started, I've been living in fear—afraid the villa would be attacked, afraid of betrayal, afraid of losing everything I have."
Lisa looked down, smiling softly. "Not afraid anymore?"
"Not anymore!" Miles shouted into the wind, exhaling deeply. "Whatever's coming, I'll face it. In times like these, if you don't have the strength to survive, you deserve to be wiped out. What's the point of being scared?"
"Exactly!"
Lisa stopped, lifting her face to look at him. "Which is why you should reconcile with Mary. She can help you, and right now, you need her."
Miles frowned, exasperated. "Why do you keep bringing up Mary? Have you fallen for her?"
Lisa playfully punched him, feigning anger. "You're starting to sound just like Nathan—can you please clean up your language a little?"
Meanwhile, back in the villa complex, Nathan, who was busy pounding on Ansel, suddenly felt a strange pang in his chest…