Chapter 11
Aliana gave a faint, cold smile and turned to leave.
“But I won’t hurt others just to make myself feel better. When I say I don’t love you anymore, I mean it.”
“Aliana!” Jeremy scrambled to his feet, grabbing her wrist. All the pride he once carried was gone, replaced by des- peration and a trembling voice on the verge of tears. “Just look at one last thing… please…”
She didn’t pull away, simply watching as he fumbled with his phone and opened an encrypted video file.
On the screen, Kendra was locked in the shock room, her hair matted to her sweat-soaked face, her eyes vacant and unfocused as she gasped at the camera.
“Aliana… I was wrong… I framed you… Jeremy never loved me… you’re the only one in his heart…”
She knelt on the ground, bowing over and over until her forehead bled, oblivious to the pain. All her former glamor was gone, replaced by the madness of her rambling confession.
The video ended. Jeremy’s eyes glinted with a manic obsession. “Aliana, did you see? She got what she deserved. Doesn’t that make you happy?”
But Aliana felt no thrill of revenge-only a chill that cut to the bone. “Let her go.”
He clung to her hand in panic. “Why? She hurt you! I already got revenge for you… Aliana, look at me…”
Tears welled in his eyes. He’d finally found her, yet she felt like sand slipping through his fingers-no matter how tightly he tried to hold on, she only drifted further away.
Suddenly, she laughed, a barren pity in her gaze. “Is Kendra the only one you think ever hurt me?”
Before he could answer, her voice turned glacial. “No, Jeremy. The person who kept hurting me… was you.”
“You threatened divorce again and again, just to watch me beg you to stay. I gave up every ounce of pride, even risked my life, just to make you turn back. But to you, it was all just a game.”
She paused, watching the color drain from his face. “When I realized your so-called ‘love’ was nothing more than a series of cruel tests, I knew I had to walk away.”
Jeremy opened his mouth, but every excuse died in his throat.
Once again, Aliana walked away from him. But this time, he had no idea what to say to make her stay.
Only now did he understand, the moment he decided to test her love by threatening divorce, everything between them was already over.
As she brushed past him, tears spilled down his face.
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“Aliana, you once promised we’d be together forever, that nothing could ever separate us.”
Aliana didn’t even pause, her voice scattering in the wind.
“You were the one who let go first.”
He drove away, shattered and empty.
Suddenly, a blinding white light flashed toward his car.
Bang!
The screech of brakes, the violent crash.
Jeremy was thrown forward by the force, his head slamming against the roof and steering wheel.
Blood poured from his wounds.
Death reached out its hand for him…
In that moment, Jeremy felt no pain-only a deep, aching regret.
He never got the chance to say goodbye to Aliana…
His life flashed before his eyes in a blur of memories.
He saw Aliana at 25, kneeling and begging him not to divorce her.
He saw her at 27, dressed in black, signing the divorce papers…
He had been so terribly, irredeemably wrong.
The next time Aliana heard about Jeremy was a week after she and Zachary got together.
Jeremy didn’t survive the accident.
The driver was Kendra.
Driven mad by her torment, Kendra had lost her mind and crashed her car into Jeremy’s.
Both of them died on the spot.
When Aliana heard the news, she froze for just a moment.
Then she leaned in and kissed Zachary’s lips…
