But now... It all seemed pointless.


    Late affection was worth less than the dirt under one''s shoes.


    Roseanne''s face remained expressionless as she listened to him, her hand firmly on the doorknob, a defensive stance.


    "I''m sorry, but no," she said, pausing between each word. There would be no forgiveness, no reconciliation.


    Murray''s temper red visibly. "Why? Just tell me why! You refused to get back together because of Millie, and now that I''ve left her, why are you still unwilling?!" He had given up so much, how much more did she want?


    In contrast to his rage, Roseanne was much calmer: "Once upon a time, you were my everything. To me, you were all that mattered."


    For him, she had given up her dreams of graduate school.


    At the height of their love, he was her entire world, the one she wanted to spend her life with!


    Murray''s eyes brightened instantly, his voice urgent, almost fric. "Can''t it be the same now? If you''re willing, we can go back to how things were."


    Roseanne looked down, shaking her head. "No one stays in the same ce forever. Neither you nor I."


    "After we separated, I realized that the world is full of interesting things, many worth pursuing."


    A shadow crossed Murray''s face. "Worth pursuing? Graduate school? Studies? But even if you finish your master''s, you''ll still end up working. Isn''t working all about earning money? Tell me how much you want, I can provide." Roseanne frowned. "It''s not about the money."


    Murray scoffed. "Didn''t you take that check for fifty million? And now you''re saying you don''t want money? Do you think I''ll believe that? Or was it all about the money from the beginning?!"


    His anger reached a boiling point, and his words became increasingly reckless.


    Seeing him stray further into absurdity, Roseanne no longer engaged, pushing the door to close it.N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    Her movement was quick and urgent, catching Murray off guard and forcing him to step back.


    "Do you think graduate studies are easy? The academic courses, theb work, you were indeed capable and outstanding back then. But years have passed, do you think you''re still the same Roseanne?!"


    Before he could finish, the door mmed shut with a "thud," the echo reverberating down the hallway.


    The force of the closure startled Murray, anger mixed with a silent vow to make her regret it.


    ...


    Early April, as spring began to warm the air.


    Buds sprouted on branches, and the wind lost its bite.


    Roseanne went to visit Mrs. Payne.


    This was her first meeting with the elderlydy since the new year.


    With the onset of spring, the weather warmed day by day, and Madeleine''s health was slowly recovering.


    She returned to the forefront of her research, so busy she hardly had time to eat at home.


    Upon seeing Roseanne, she handed


    over a


    primack of documents, all primary data from herb andel


    Wontent


    rted academic papers. belongs to


    Roseanne skimmed through them.


    Some of the papers were old and, because of their specialized topics, difficult to find in full online.


    Gathering them must have taken a lot of effort!


    Roseanne pursed her lips, knowing exactly what Madeleine was thinking.


    "All these documents were scrounged up from your seniors, m just the asker, all thanks to them! My old bones couldn''t have gathered all this valuable information."