This chapter is the reason the story exists in the first place. That's partly why it took me so long to update, since I wanted to make it as good as possible. It was originally supposed to be two chapters, but dropping a cliffy when I knew it would most likely take me a long time to update again made me combine them. The other reason for not updating fast enough is homework (of course).

Why am I getting more reviews than usual all of a sudden? Is it because of the drama? I admit that my first chapters were quite boring, with nothing happening at all except Scarlett being angsty. But, this is the end. Last official chapter. If it's rushed though, please tell me, I'm pretty sure I will write an epilogue for you. Please tell me if you want me to add the epilogue or if the ending is OK for you. Or you can tell me you hate it, I don't think I will mind. I just hope it's original and that no one came up with something like this before.

p.s. Porcelina, I don't mind if you want to criticize/make false accusations, but please next time criticize the story too, that way I can improve it. If you want to continue making somewhat unnecessary comments on my personality and my author notes though, please use my personal E-mail. Or you could always stop reading my ANs. Thank you for reviewing, by the way.

p.p.s. Tuduvant, I suggest you don't read this ending. It's for your own good.

I warned you.

"Scarlett?" Rhett peeked inside Scarlett's bedroom. She had stayed in bed until noon and refused to get out, which was why Mammy had concluded she was sick.

"Are you still going to Tara today, my dear?" He sat on her bed.

"Yes." She said abruptly. She sounded more as though she was trying not to cry than trying not to burst from anger, which wasn't exactly what he had expected. Her face was blank and she was averting his eyes.

"Oh. Is everything packed, then?" He said casually.

"Yes." Scarlett still refused to look at him.

Rhett sighed. Scarlett apparently hated him. And she had every right to do so. When he had come back, he had done everything he could to be disagreeable, that way she would divorce him. But he had to admit that yesterday, he had gone too far even by his own standards. "Listen, I didn't mean what I said yesterday evening. I was quite drunk, as you know, and…"

"Shut up." Scarlett murmured.

"Pardon me?"

"Remember Ashley's birthday, Rhett?" She said with venom. "You apologized, told me you were quite drunk, and acted as though nothing had happened. You are doing the exact same thing right now."

"Your point being?"

"You meant every single word you said." She hissed.

"God-damn it, Scarlett, I told you I didn't mean it! I apologize, all right? I am sorry!"

"'You think by saying I'm sorry, all the errors and hurts from years past can be remedied'…" She answered. "That's what you told me, Rhett. And you're right, like usual. Apologizing is useless."

Rhett was abashed. And quite surprised by the fact that she still remembered so clearly what he had told her so long ago, when Melanie had passed away and he told her he would leave her. It suddenly seemed to him like Bonnie and Melanie had died an eternity ago. A lifetime ago, even. It was almost hard to believe he had ever been happy.

Scarlett chuckled grimly at his astonishment. "I still have your handkerchief, you know." All of a sudden, she looked at him squarely in the eyes. Her delicate features grew hard.

"I ruined your life, didn't I, Rhett?" Rhett didn't answer. "Do you wish you'd never met me? I know I do, I wish that very often." Tears tickled her lashes, but her voice wavered only slightly. "If we'd never met, we both wouldn't be as miserable. I'm a very miserable demon, you know."

She began sobbing and what she mumbled became hard to understand. "God's nightgown, I loved Ella! I loved her! I did, I did. And Wade, I loved him too. I tried, and he's still scared of me! Pa and mother and Melly, I loved them more than I ever told them, and I didn't want Frank to die, no I didn't, I really didn't, I felt so guilty when he died! Everyone else, is it all because of me? It can't be all because of me! I didn't want… I didn't mean to, it can't! And… and I LOVE YOU RHETT!" She suddenly shrieked the last sentence.

"I know." He answered more or less calmly.

"But I ruined your life! I ruined it! And mine too! What's wrong with me? Why? ..." She shrieked tears rolling down her cheeks like rivulets.

"Darling, don't cry." He was not sure how to soothe her. And after all, he was the one responsible for putting her in this state in the first place. For a second, he hesitated on whether or not he should take her in his arms. But he didn't. He couldn't bring himself to do it. He really was a cad.

"You are not to blame, my pet." He finally said tiredly, after a long moment of watching her sobbing. "After all, I'm the one who killed Bonnie, am I not?"

Scarlett looked at him, startled. "Rhett! For God's sake, you know you didn't kill her! It wasn't your fault! She wanted to jump, and she was so headstrong, and…"

"Well, if I shouldn't feel guilty, then you neither, I suppose. Sometimes you shouldn't listen to what I say when I don't mean it, my pet."

"But you meant what you said." She replied softly.

Rhett sighed but said nothing.

"I know you meant it. And I know that you don't love me."

He looked at her wet eyes. So green, and so very wet. "I don't love you." He said flatly. He couldn't lie to her. Not now.

"Will you ever forgive me, Rhett?" She whispered.

"Probably not." He slowly responded.

They both stayed quiet for a long moment, staring at each other. Finally Scarlett opened her mouth, and with all the strength she could muster and all the remains of the courage she possessed, she uttered a single sentence.

"I accept." She felt as though those two words had wrenched her heart out of her ribcage.

"Accept what?" He asked, startled.

"The divorce."

She could almost hear her heart breaking into hundreds of pieces like a vase that someone had thrown against a wall.

Scarlett was waiting for the train. Hopefully, it wouldn't be late. She wanted to arrive at Tara as quickly as possible, and the train couldn't come fast enough. Wade was gripping Rhett's hand and refused to let him go. Who knew when Uncle Rhett would come back? Wade was sure he would go away to Charleston, or London, or wherever he went when he wasn't home once they were at Tara. Scarlett silently agreed. Rhett had come for Ella, not her. Now that Ella was dead too, he would go. There was nothing she could do about it. After all, she most likely wouldn't be his wife for very long after she came back to Atlanta from this trip.

And who knew if she would ever see him again, then.

She felt weary. She didn't think she had ever felt more tired in her whole life, and even the night when the Yankees took Atlanta seemed less draining than now. She felt so sick of it all. Sick of loving, of hating, of anger, of pity and kindness, of so many other things. But most of all she was tired of life. She could be strong with Melanie standing beside her, her love for Ashley driving her on and Rhett watching over her without her knowledge. Now, she had nothing to fight for, nothing to give her the strength she so desperately needed. Nothing. Tara was Suellen and Will's now. Her parents were dead. Ella and Bonnie had both died and Wade… She would make Rhett send him to a school. If Rhett didn't do it, she would refuse to sign the divorce. Wade would be able to make some friends in a new school, and with Ella gone and Beau not allowed to talk to him, he would be lonely if he stayed with his mother. Scarlett didn't want to send him away, she wanted to keep him as close to her as possible, as long as possible, before having to let him go. But she knew that the child loved Rhett more than his own mother, and the fact that Wade still did not love her after all this time was extremely disappointing. But Scarlett didn't see how she could blame him. She loved Rhett more than herself too.

If only she could have something to fight for, and kill for, and die for. And live for too. That was what she needed right now. Something to live for. She had Rhett to live for, of course, but soon, Rhett wouldn't count anymore. He never did count. After all, when he had loved her, she didn't love him, and when she did love him, he didn't love her. His tone when he had said those few words "I don't love you" had been so final, so unfeeling, so… heartless. Rhett was gone. He was just as dead as Ella. He was just a cold stranger who didn't love her. Oh, God, why must everything be so awful?

If only Ella hadn't died. If only Bonnie and Melanie hadn't died. Maybe they could have been happy. Maybe. But probably not, since a life full of misery seemed to be her fate. Scarlett sighed and scowled at the chilly wind that started blowing at her. She knew she was being weak, but she simply couldn't bring herself to be strong. She had used up all the strength she had left. Gosh, she had changed from silly little Scarlett Kennedy, running sawmills, riding alone in front of free uppity Negroes in her little buggy, ready to do anything as long as Ashley or money were involved. Now, she was a broken and bitter woman, who had boundless contempt for Ashley, despised money far more than poverty, and wouldn't stop ruminating dark thoughts like she was doing right now.

"Miss Scarlett?" Mammy asked hesitantly. "D'you feels all rite mah chile? Ya look lak yo gwine ter be sick wid dis cheelly wind blowin' at ya."

"No Mammy, I'm not all right. I feel terrible." Scarlett groaned.

"Are ya shore ya want ter go ter Tara terday? Ah's t'inkin' ya should go sumday else. Ya kain travel if yo is sick." Mammy looked indignant.

"Yes I can." There was something in her voice that made Mammy stop asking questions.

She finally heard the train coming. A low rumbling sound, like thunder, or the canons during the war. She could see the locomotive, a small spot growing larger and larger, and suddenly, without thinking or planning, she decided she would die today. Right now. It was an incredibly stupid thought, and completely against everything she had ever done, but at that moment, it somehow made sense. She had no idea why, but dying felt like the only option she had left that wasn't going to make her suffer for the next fifty years or so. So what, if suicide was a sin? She had committed enough sins for more than two persons to go to hell, another one would not change anything. And if she didn't die now, she would be divorced, which would not make the Lord any happier.

She started walking towards the train, rapidly, steadily, as though someone else was moving her legs. She could hear Mammy yelling "Whut are ya doin' chile? Git bak' hyah!" Wade starting to whimper in fear, and Rhett's voice hollering "Scarlett!" almost with anger, almost with worry. She almost turned back at Rhett's voice, but she didn't, she couldn't. All she could do was keep her eyes on the train coming towards her, walk forward with her feet tripping occasionally on the tracks, and feel the train coming nearer and nearer, her death coming closer and closer.

She heard quick footsteps behind her, someone yanked her arm roughly and she almost fell down. "What do you think you are doing? Have you lost your mind?" Rhett's voice told her. He pulled her out of the train's path, and she was safe again. The train passed in front of her, loud but inoffensive, not even touching Scarlett. When it finally stopped, she started crying painfully. Mammy ran towards them as fast as possible, yelling "Is Miss Scarlett hu't, Mist' Rhett? Is mah lamb gone crazy Mist' Rhett? Huccome you done dat, honey, it's so danj'rus?" while Wade sprinted in front of her, sick with fear. Not mother too! Wasn't Ella enough?

Scarlett felt Rhett's arms around her, holding her, and she cried on his chest. "For, God's sake my pet, you scared me. Why in the world did you do it? Do you want to die? If you really don't want a divorce, you don't have to accept, I'll understand. And after all, Ella just died a few days ago. You don't have to make it so hard for yourself, darling…" Rhett said softly, a voice so tender it seemed to belong to a stranger, a Rhett that had disappeared long ago, the Rhett that had once held her in his arms and consoled her when she had nightmares about fog and hunger. But the embrace also reminded her of something else. Ashley. Ashley's hug before his surprise party. There was only gentleness in these arms, no passion, no love… No love. Never love. Why was she always so unlucky with love? Rhett went on talking, but she didn't understand any of his words. All she wanted was to hear his voice, soothing and kind, and feel his arms around her, even if he didn't love her any longer.

Scarlett was dreaming, and for once there was no fog. She was lying on her bed, in her bedroom, and everything looked so normal that for a second she thought she had merely awakened. But it was sunny and warm outside when it was currently December, and that was a proof that she must be sleeping. She could hear voices coming from the window and listening more attentively; she finally distinguished Bonnie chattering excitedly and Rhett laughing good-heartedly. Both of those sounds could not possibly exist anywhere except in a dream. She looked outside and saw Rhett, dashing and young looking again, with Bonnie telling her father how she was able to jump higher on Mr. Butler. Scarlett felt incredulous because of the happiness on both their faces, and she was torn at the same time by both joy and sorrow. But Scarlett lost no time thinking about her contradictory emotions and she immediately ran downstairs, her hair flying loose on her shoulders. She yelled "Oh Rhett!" and hugged him as tight as she could, making Rhett visibly amazed by her strange behavior. After all, his wife, who hated him, had just run into the garden in a wrapper and her hair undone just to hug him for no apparent reason!

Bonnie simply looked at Scarlett with happiness and said "Mother, I'm going to jump, watch me take this one!" And the little pony immediately started running. Scarlett's brain froze, horror replacing her euphoria. "NO!" She shrieked as loud as she possibly could. Bonnie stopped the pony hurriedly, and yelled back in panic "Mother? What's wrong?" Her eyes were wide with surprise and fear. Scarlett said nothing, but took the little girl in the blue riding habit in her arms and sobbed in her black hair.

"Scarlett? Are you awake?" Rhett questioned behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Rhett, I love you, I've always loved you, don't you understand?" Scarlett answered. She mumbled incoherently, Bonnie's soft body was slipping away, Rhett's hand was gone, and she finally woke up. It was only then that she realized that Rhett, the real one, the one that hated her, was sitting in her bedroom, and he was the one who had asked the question in her dream. Mammy immediately asked anxiously "How d'ya feel, honey? Are ya better? Are ya… d'ya ree'con'gnize yo' ole Mammy mah chile?"

Scarlett completely ignored Mammy and looked straight at her husband. "Rhett?" She whispered. So softly that Rhett and Mammy had to move closer to her bed to hear better. "Rhett, is Bonnie still dead?" There was childish hope in her face. When she heard this, Mammy couldn't keep herself from sobbing and walked out of the room saying "She gone mad! Miss Scarlett's gone plumb mad! Oh, Gawd!"

Rhett fixed her face, his features more blank and unreadable than ever, and said surprisingly calmly "She is dead Scarlett. Bonnie is still dead. Don't you remember?" For Scarlett, her daughter had just died a second time.

For the following week, she was quite absent. No one was allowed to say the words horse, pneumonia, and divorce in front of her, or she would cry. She stayed in her bedroom because Mammy wouldn't let her out, and Rhett sometimes sat with her, even though they were supposed to be divorced soon. He listened to her talking to thin air, about Ella, and Bonnie, and everyone in her past. Wade would sneak in a few times a day, and she would tell him the story of her life, just like she did when Ella was alive. She completely ignored Rhett at those moments, and talked only to Wade and Ella, wherever she was. She knew her two little girls were probably together, and they were probably listening, in their far away heaven. If only she wouldn't go to hell! She could see her daughters again, then. Or maybe there was no heaven or hell. Maybe God did not exist, and her two daughters were gone forever, to some place no one had ever heard of. She didn't like this thought. She wanted Melanie to be happy and well, up there on her comfortable piece of cloud with her mother, and father, and M. Wilkes, and Charlie… the list was interminable.

She often seemed to be talking to herself when she was in fact speaking to dead persons. She must look very silly! Well, it didn't matter. The only one who knew she sometimes talked to the wall in front of her was Rhett, and he didn't count, as usual. He'd probably be even happier to divorce her since she'd turned out to be crazy. If only she could go back to Tara, at least. But both Rhett and Mammy had agreed that she was in no condition for traveling.

Wade was quite glad that his mother had allowed him to go to Harvard, even though she was recently acting a little strangely. He had promised Aunt Melly that he would study there, and become a great lawyer, and he would defend people who were being oppressed. He wasn't quite sure what oppressed meant, but he knew he would do something noble, and after all, it was Aunt Melly who had told him to do so. He wanted to be as noble as his father and Uncle Rhett, who had fought so valiantly in the war, and though he was not sure what a lawyer was either, he knew that Uncle Henry was one, and that was all he needed to know. What his mother must have felt about the matter did not cross his mind until years later.

Oh, if only she had died, Scarlett sighed. At least she wouldn't have to think too much after death. And quite frankly, she'd rather be dead than divorced. If only Rhett hadn't pulled her out of the train's path… If only… She'd be more at peace than now, she knew it. Regret and guilt were as bad as each other, and in hell, she'd be punished. It might lessen the guilt. And if hell didn't exist, well…

Maybe she wasn't meant to die like this, she suddenly thought one morning. Maybe she was supposed to die some place else, some time else. And… She laughed out loud and made Rhett jump. Of course, she couldn't die because of a train! That wasn't worthy of her! That wasn't how she should die, no, not Scarlett O'Hara! It was all so clear now. She understood her fate.

She turned to Rhett. Incredibly, she was smiling. "Tell me Rhett, where should I be buried when I die? Do you think it would be better in Atlanta next to Ella and Bonnie or in Tara with my parents?"

"What a question, Scarlett! What suddenly made you think of that?"

"Katie Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy Butler! My, how will it fit on the tombstone? Do you think we'll have to leave out some names?" She laughed again. "I hope you won't write any of this Latin gibberish, you know I don't understand Latin." Her eyes were merry, without the absent look that had plagued her face since Ella's funeral and the incident at the train station. Mammy called it " Whut Mist' O'Hara's face affer Miss Ellen done died looked lak" and was sure that the oldest of Miss Ellen's daughter had gone completely berserk, like her pa before her. Maybe it was a family thing. It was hard to believe that someone like Miss Scarlett would ever turn insane, stubborn and strong like she was, but Mr. O'Hara was not the kind of man you'd think would go senile too, and yet he did… The Yankees couldn't lick them. But the loss of the one they loved the most was too much for them to bear. God, Scarlett was even more similar to her father than anyone had thought.

But Rhett, of course, had not seen Mr. O'Hara after Mrs. O'Hara's death. He couldn't understand. So he never could have predicted what would happen. After all, even Mammy didn't.

"Mist' Rhett! Mist' Rhett! Miss Scarlett's done gone!" Mammy yelled, one afternoon.

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Rhett was just about to check on her. She had been so oddly happy those past few days. Yesterday she had told him that she loved him, that she always would, and that she hoped he wouldn't forget her too quickly after she was gone from his life. Surprisingly, she had not cried at the thought of divorcing him. He had wondered whether it meant Scarlett was better or worse. She was worse.

"Ah din' t'ink she'd run away lak dat! Oh, Gawd, w'ere'd she go?"

"She ran away?" His face grew dark.

"An' she done took a ho'se too! Mist' Rhett, we have ter look fo Miss Scarlett! Whut ef sumpin' bad happen ter her? Lawd, how're we gonna fine her? She could be anyw'ere!"

"Scarlett took a horse? How could you let her do that? You know she's sick!" He yelled.

"Ah din'…" Mammy tried to say, but Rhett was already running down the stairs.

"Mist' Rhett? W'ere are ya goin'?"

"Tara." He simply replied.

Tara. Of course. Mammy could have slapped herself. It was so obvious! How come she didn't think of it?

"D'you…" She started again, following Rhett, but he interrupted her again. "Mammy, stay here. Look after Wade. Try to explain what's going on."

Mammy nodded and warily climbed up the stairs again, a feeling of dread clutching her heart. She wished Captain Butler would find Scarlett in time. She wished nothing would happen to Scarlett.

Scarlett sat on the exhausted horse, the cold wind sweeping her tangled black curls over her pale face. She was unexplainably happy. The tall pine trees seemed like old friends, and the white silhouette of Tara made her heart swell with joy. She was home. Even if Tara wasn't hers anymore, even if Tara didn't need her anymore, it was home. Suellen didn't matter. After all, she had hated Tara. Will, though, would probably understand her. He always understood, and he never thought less of her, whatever she did. For a second, she almost regretted not being able to say goodbye to him. She had said goodbye to Wade, and Rhett, and Mammy yesterday, but they hadn't realized what she meant. It was better this way. She didn't want them to realize yet.

She wished she could see Rhett, just one last time. It would be her last wish. She wished he would kiss her, or even just speak to her so she could listen to his voice before it was too late. But it was too late already. She sighed. With the kind of life she had led, it was dubious that God would ever grant her this wish. But she didn't regret it too much.

Rhett finally arrived at Tara, after asking directions along the way. The horse was tired, since it had galloped all the way from Atlanta, but Rhett was in frenzy. What if Scarlett wasn't at Tara? He didn't think his mount could make it back. Only then did he see Scarlett sitting on a horse, unmoving, and looking at him with astonishment. Her skin was ghostly white, her black dress making her face seem even paler, and her smile was warm but strangely unearthly in this gloomy weather. Her soft black curls, whipping the air from the wind's chilly blows, gave her an eerie appearance. But her green eyes were sparkling and more alive than they had ever been for almost a year.

"Scarlett! What on Earth made you run to Tara all by yourself?"

"I love you." She simply replied, almost instinctively. Rhett was here! He was in Tara! For once, God had been kind.

"I know you do, but it's not a reason for acting so foolishly! Aren't you cold? Get off the horse, Scarlett." Seeing Scarlett sitting on a horse when a few days ago she had cried when anyone uttered this word was unsettling. Moreover, Scarlett reminded him of Bonnie, and it made him even more uneasy.

Scarlett smiled, showing her pretty dimples. She felt as though she hadn't shown her dimples in an eternity. She did not climb down the horse.

"You came, Rhett, I can't believe it! I'm so happy. I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore."

"I…" How was he supposed to tell her that he had thought she would… No. He refused to even think of it.

"Do you know how to sing 'Peg in a Low-backed Car' Rhett?" She said, ignoring how uncomfortable her husband felt.

"What?" He asked. What did this question have to do with anything?

"Oh nothing. Forget about it. It was just something my father used to sing." She looked at the barrier again.

"Scarlett, let's go inside, it's dreadfully cold and I wouldn't want you to get sick." He noticed how much she shivered.

"I hope you'll remember me once in a while in the future. I know you don't want to care about me anymore and that I would only bring back a lot of painful memories, but it would be nice if I wasn't completely forgotten." She replied.

"Remember you? You know you're the last person I'll ever forget. Now let's go inside the house, my dear."

"I thought about it, and this is most likely the best way to solve our problems, Rhett." She turned the horse around and made it face the fence.

"Scarlett, don't do this." His voice was low. Quiet.

"You want to get rid of me, don't you? You said so, I'm sure I remember you did. Well I'll never annoy you anymore. Doesn't it make you glad? And God will be happy since I'll receive my just punishment. Mammy… Well, at least I won't be any trouble for her, and she won't have to tire herself as much. She's so old now. And, and would you please find Wade a good school, Rhett?"

"Scarlett, I never said I wanted you to die!" He suddenly yelled.

"You said you'd do anything to get rid of me."

"But not that I wanted you to commit suicide!"

"Too late now. A divorce and a death are quite similar to me anyway. And it's not like you suddenly started loving me again, so there is no reason for you to dislike my choice."

"Well, no, but I…" He was unable to explain what he felt.

"Why do you care? If you divorce me you'll never see me again and the result will be the same. And I want to die. I'll be happy." She beamed. "I'm not doing it to hurt you Rhett. You'll probably be very happy too in a few years, when you realize how right I am, and how much happier you are this way, with me dead and completely out of your way."

"How much happier? Are you crazy? Scarlett please, don't do it, I beg you! No one wants your death, and you know it. Bonnie and Ella are enough already."

"Well I want to die. I'll be selfish to the end, then."

"Scarlett, it's not because I don't love you anymore that… I just… You know you are an enormous part of my life, and I won't be able to forgive myself if you die because of what I said to you when I was drunk."

"So you don't want me to die because you don't want to feel guilty?"

"Scarlett, for God's sake, I can care about your life without being in love with you can't I? We could simply be friends."

"No thank you."

"What can I do to make you listen to me?"

"Nothing."

"Scarlett!" He shouted, despair creeping into his voice "I don't want to watch you die knowing it's my fault! And what will I say to Wade and Mammy? We'll all be devastated without you. Please Scarlett, don't do it, you'll…"

"Honestly Rhett," she said lightly, "I don't give a damn anymore." Rhett looked as though he had been slapped. The last blow had been unexpected.

"My father died jumping this fence, in case you didn't know already." Scarlett continued. "He broke his neck. Just like Bonnie. And me."

Without warning, Scarlett hammered a heel into the horse's side, and the animal ran towards the fence, though it was already worn-out from its long trip.

"Rhett, watch me take this one!" She cried.

She came on with a rush, her black curls jerking, her green eyes blazing. The horse attempted to jump but did not make it. There was a fearful sound of splintering wood, a hoarse cry from Rhett, a melee of black crepe and flying hooves on the ground. Then Scarlett died, her neck broken.

I'm sorry the last chapter turns out to be the cruelest one. But I never said my story was happy ending, did I? You can flame at will, since I killed Scarlett.