He Gave Me Brother’s Life To Her Dog Chapter 11
I heard Lauren left for Atlanta.
She took Luna and changed all her contact information.
I heard Derek had a rough time at work, hitting walls. everywhere.
But every month, he went to Grant’s grave.
The first time, he brought wine.
The second time, he brought one of Grant’s favorite books.
The third time, he brought the unsigned equity plan, tore it
up, and left the pieces beside the grave.[1
Grant, I don’t want it anymore.”
I don’t want anything. Just come back.”
The headstone didn’t answer.
Grant’s photo just stared back at him, that same easy smile
frozen in place.
Derek sat there until morning.
Near dawn, he opened his phone and found the final System
screenshot he’d saved on the day the resurrection reward was settled.
[Final reward settled.]
[Resurrection outcome is final. Cannot be undone, transferred, or exchanged.]
Please cherish the choice you made.]
He stared at that last line. Then his shoulders caved, and he
sobbed until he couldn’t breathe.
When he returned from the task world, he thought he had beaten fate.
Only later did he realize some fates were never the System’s doing.
They were his own choice.
A year later, Mom finally opened the window in Grant’s room again.
Sunlight poured in, and tiny dust motes drifted in the air.
She sorted through Grant’s clothes, kept a few favorites, and
donated the rest to people in need.
Dad no longer sat at the table every day waiting for someone
who would never come back.
None of us forgot Grant.
We just began to accept that he no longer lived in the same world as us,
The company was placed under a professional management team.
I kept the shares Grant left and the final decision–making
power. But I didn’t become another Grant Sterling, no matter
what everyone expected.
Grant wanted me to live my own life.
I was finally learning how.
On the anniversary of Grant’s death, I went to the cemetery
with my parents.
A bouquet of white lisianthus lay in front of the grave. Derek
had already been there.
Mom didn’t forgive him. She only said quietly, “Too late.”
The wind moved through the cemetery. Grant’s smile in the
photo stayed gentle.
I crouched before the headstone and placed a fresh bouquet.
Grant, I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t bring you back.”
My voice trembled, but I didn’t cry.
“But I’ve already pushed out the people who don’t deserve to be here.”
“From now on, I’ll take care of Mom and Dad–and myself.”
Footsteps sounded in the distance.
I turned and saw Derek standing at the entrance of the cemetery.
He was much thinner than a year ago, wearing an ordinary
black jacket. He didn’t come closer.
Our eyes met briefly.
There was guilt in his gaze, and pleading, and a regret that
could never be repaired.
I was calm. I used to believe that after surviving seven years
of life and death together, nothing in this world could ever separate us.
Later, I understood.
Surviving hardship together doesn’t mean you’re meant to
share the rest of your lives.
What destroys a relationship isn’t always a dramatic betrayal.
Sometimes, it’s just one person being so sure you’ll never
leave that they keep putting your pain behind everyone else’s.
Derek used Lauren’s sadness as his reason and Luna’s life as his excuse.
But what he truly overdrew was the love Grant and I had for him.
Now that love was spent. He finally regretted it. And I would never look back.
END