Raphael stood in front of the car, his fists clenching at his sides.

He understood Edwin wanted him to leave Olivia alone, but he didn't know why he said it now, of all times, at his own mother's funeral.

Edwin drew closer to him and told him the reason. "Dylan is still alive."

With that as parting words, Edwin left with Laura.

From beginning to end, Edwin didn't have the heart to see the expression on Raphael's face.

Holding his wife in his arms when they sat in the back seat, Edwin kissed her hair and said in a low voice, "Raphael and Olivia are going through the same thing we went through. But I was luckier. My parents were much more open-minded, but his weren't. He had been living in pain all these years because of that."

Laura leaned on his shoulder.

After a moment of silence, she said softly, “He will move on eventually, right?"

Edwin smiled and said, "Maybe."

Only time could tell. At present, however, no woman could take Olivia's place in Raphael's heart.

The car drove away.

Raphael stood for a long time. He took out his phone, opening a photo of Olivia. It was the first picture of her he had taken in university. Even when they had parted ways, he still couldn't bring himself to delete it.

Edwin's words from earlier echoed inside his head. Dylan was still alive.

Raphael thought that such knowledge would fill him with envy. But instead...

There was no mistaking the joy in his heart.

He turned around and walked back, thinking about the discovery.

Perhaps it was for the best that he and Olivia didn't get back together when they thought Dylan was dead. If they had rekindled their old connection, they would be stuck in a _ half-hearted relationship.

He imagined himself and Olivia together.

If it had turned into reality, his love for her could no longer be pure. It would be tainted with doubt and resentment. Raphael would be reminded at every turn that she had another man in her life- every meal, every conversation, and even every time they had sex, Dylan's shadow would be looming over them. But it turned out that Dylan was still alive.

The fact filled Raphael with complicated feelings.

At the end of it, he couldn't help but feel that Edwin was right. He and Olivia were not meant to be together. Perhaps this was really where their story came to a close.

A woman appeared in front of him.

Raphael and Sharon looked at each other with calm gazes. "You're that little girl's father, aren't you?" she asked in a low voice.

Raphael said nothing.