Chapter 22
Wilder had been hiding like a fugitive for half a month.
The infection in his leg was excruciating–painful enough to make him want to crawl out of his own skin.
He finally couldn’t bear it any longer. He was going to find Summer.
What he didn’t know was that Summer had been expecting this. Every day, she went to the place where they had first met, waiting.
Caleb had stationed people nearby to ensure her safety.
And eventually, Wilder did appear.
Fifteen days on the run had left him a complete mess, a far cry from the man who had once stormed in to crash a wedding.
He wore clothes he probably picked up off the street, a cap pulled low over his face. He wanted to reach out and take Summer’s hand, but when he saw how clean and put–together she looked, and how filthy he was, he quietly withdrew.
“Summer… have you let it all out yet?”
“I just… I only wanted you to cool down in there, to rein in your temper. I was afraid if something ever happened to me, you’d be left unprotected. I didn’t send you away because I despised you. I really loved you. How could I ever despise you?”
“I had no idea what they did to you in there… I really didn’t. I arranged for a private cell–I just wanted you to calm down. I didn’t know Grace would send people to hurt you… Do your wounds still hurt?”
His voice cracked, eyes rimmed red, and anguish washed over his face.
But Summer only let out a soft, bitter laugh.
“Let it out? Wilder, which part are you talking about?”
“Was it the fake marriage certificate? Or when you said sleeping with me felt like touching your own body–no thrill, like holding a dead fish? Or was it when you had Martha sent over to serve Grace?”
Wilder’s eyes narrowed, visibly shaken,
So she’d heard those things.
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He panicked, trying to explain. “No, Summer, listen to me–those words didn’t mean anything. I was just talking crap. I didn’t mean it! If you heard that, then you must have also heard me say I love you–that I could never live without you!”
But the contempt in Summer’s eyes only deepened.
“Wilder, do you really know why I’m here? Did you think I came just to hear your little apology?”
“Do you honestly believe that after everything you did to hurt me, I’d pretend it never happened and forgive you like nothing’s wrong? Who do you think I am?”
“Twelve years, Wilder. I spent twelve years trailing behind you, watching you love me, and then fall in love with yourself instead. I knew you’d changed. I knew you weren’t the same man I fell for. And yet, I still waited–like a fool–hoping one day you’d come back to me. That was my stupidity. I accept that.”
“But Wilder, I’m not the kind of woman who forgets. I repay kindness, and I repay betrayal.”
She shot him a cold glance and handed him a phone.
On the screen were videos–footage of everything he had built burning to the ground.
She wanted him to watch it all fall apart, the empire she helped him build, reduced to ashes.
Wilder stared blankly at the footage, watching Ben in it, pointing to one destroyed site after
another.
His cheeks puffed out briefly, and he let out a laugh.
So it really had been Ben.
He’d always suspected Ben was on her side.
But he didn’t expect her to actually go this far… to show him there was no turning back.
There was a time, no matter what mistake he made, Summer would give him three chances. Every
single time, she’d let him fix things.
But somewhere along the way, he’d used them all up–and never even realized.
She had given up on him long ago. He just hadn’t seen it.
Tears ran down Wilder’s face.
He took off his cap and extended his hand toward her.
“If you’re the one who turned me in… I think I’d feel better about it.”
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She stared at him flatly.
And what good would that do?
She didn’t respond, didn’t make a move.
Summer turned and left.
”
Just then, police officers surrounded the area. Fearing he might try to escape again, they pinned him to the ground.
His face hit the dirt, tears falling into the earth.
He kept his eyes open, trying to catch one last glimpse of her as she walked away.
Because this might truly be their final goodbye.
