When Seraphina heard his question, she turned her head and took a look at the room.
Inside, the Manley couple was preparing some berries for them. Despite their constant chatter, their hands moved in perfect synchronization.
This was the familiar and comforting scent of home that Seraphina remembered from her childhood.
Such scenes filled her childhood and were a part of her past life.
And her past was mostly filled with pleasant memories.
"I miss living like this," Seraphina replied.
"Miss?" Leandro reached out a hand to smooth her hair on her shoulder, "Don't you want it back?"
At this, Seraphina gave him a smile, "Because I can never go back to that time. Every moment of the past, I miss - the time when I lived in this courtyard with my parents, the years I spent with the Reynolds family, when I gave birth to Betty, and the days when Sandra was with me... I miss all of it. But it's all in the past. I don't have a time machine to go back."
Leandro fell silent for a moment.
Most people miss the past because their present life is not satisfactory.
But she said she missed every moment of the past.
It was because she had been losing, continuously losing, that she kept missing the past.
Even... she said she missed the time with the Reynolds family.
"If what you've lost can't be recovered..." Leandro slowly said, "then don't let the future leave any regrets."
Hearing this, Seraphina looked at him quietly and then gave a soft laugh.
Just as Leandro was about to pull her into his arms, the Manleys came out of the house with two bags full of berries.
At this sight, Seraphina burst into laughter, "That's way too much!"
"You can snack on them on the road," Mrs. Manley said. "These berries are sweet, eat more!"
...
Just after they left the Manleys, Seraphina got a call from Herman, telling her that she could collect Magdalen's body now.
The next thing was to deal with Magdalen's funeral.
That day, Terrence flew in, and so did Bruce Reynolds.
Two men who once loved her deeply, silently took care of Magdalen's funeral.
Because there were no ceremonies or condolences, the whole funeral was very low-key and simple. On the third day, Magdalen's ashes were placed in Carney's tomb.
She had been waiting for this day for many years, and she didn't want to wait another day.
On the new tombstone, there were the names of Carney and Magdalen, and in the lower right corner, at Seraphina's request, a rose drawing Carney drew for Magdalen was engraved.
The whole funeral had no extra people.
Terrence was full of sorrow, but his face was calm, only staring blankly at the tombstone.
Bruce's grief was written all over his face, and after the funeral, he didn't want to look at that tombstone again.
Compared to these two, Seraphina was the most composed and calm, even, her mood carried a touch of relief.
Neither Bruce nor Terrence noticed this mood, only Leandro did.
When he learned of Magdalen's death, he wasn't by her side and couldn't see Seraphina's pain in person. But when he saw her at the hotel pool, he felt clearly that she had closed herself off.
Magdalen's death undoubtedly hurt her, and what hurt her more should be her self-blame.
She believed it was her who caused Magdalen's death, it was the truth she told Magdalen that triggered this tragedy.
This realization made her unable to face and bear such a fact, self-blame and guilt made her completely close herself off.
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