I pulled out my phone and showed her the photos of Natalie and Matthew together . " I loved her once , with everything I had . But since she isn't worth it , I got over her . I moved on . Yvonne , you might not believe this , but I lived an entire lifetime in a dream . In that life , we both died alone from illness . When I woke up , I had only one wish . I want us both to live . Together ! " My hands trembled slightly as I took hers in mine . She stared at me as if struggling to believe it . " You really want to marry me ? " I pulled out the ring I had prepared and gently slid it onto her ring finger . " Yes ! We may have come from different paths , but we were always meant to end up together . So , please promise me you'll go through with the surgery tomorrow . Don't give up on your life , okay ? " Yvonne gripped my hand tightly . Her palm was warm and damp with sweat . I watched her cry as she finally said , " Okay . Neither of us will die alone . " I nodded in relief . Since the surgery was the next day , she was nervous . I stayed by her side the entire night . The next morning , both of our families gathered at the hospital . We watched as Yvonne was wheeled into the operating room . The surgery dragged on for over ten hours . The elders , strained and exhausted , could not bear the wait and eventually went home to rest . I stayed and waited outside the operating room . Yvonne had said that she wanted to see me the moment she opened her eyes . Before I could see her again , Matthew showed up to see me . " Seriously , Cole ? How low can you stoop ? You're really going this far just to spite Natalie ? What a joke ! Not that it matters , but Natalie couldn't care less about you . When that sickly girl actually ends up marrying you , I can't wait to see how you clean up the mess ! " His smug face looked nothing short of grotesque to me . It was as if winning Natalie's affection was some kind of grand contest . I sneered and ignored him . Naturally , trouble doesn't end so easily . Natalie , who had been silent and out of sight for a while , showed up suddenly . " Natalie ! " Matthew's eyes lit up in surprise and joy .