Chapter 118
Third Person’s POV
Noms gently pushed Matthew’s hand away. As much as he wanted to stay angry, there was still a faint thread of familial connection
between them
But that was all it could ever be.
He cupped the boy’s face softly and said, “I’m not your father. Go back and tell Gabrielle to stop pushing that idea.”N
As soon as the words left his mouth, he picked Matthew up and set him outside the door. Then he changed the passcode to the house. Once again, the place fell silent and empty.
Norris stumbled back into the bedroom, his mind blank. Then, his eyes fell instantly on the fireplace.
He remembered how cold and distant Clarissa had been at that family dinner. He’d sensed something was wrong that day. So why hadn’t he asked her about it?
What if he had? Would things have turned out differently? Would she still be here with him?
Gripping the wall for balance, he dropped his head, shoulders heavy with regret.
Then, the faint crackle from the fireplace drew his eyes up. Suddenly, like a man possessed, he rushed toward the flames and shoved his hand right into the fire.
There was madness in his eyes. The fire licked his skin, but he didn’t flinch.
“Where is it….? Where the hell is it?”
Veins bulged along his neck, sweat broke across his forehead, and still, he kept digging through the flames.
The searing pain in his hand brought back the memory of Clarissa’s injured hand that day before getting into the car. She must have been in so much pain, and he hadn’t even noticed.
Burns sizzled on his skin, but he didn’t care. He kept going, fingers searching blindly until finally, he found it.
A scorched, blackened ring.
He clutched it like it was the most precious thing in the world, his eyes instantly brimming with tears.
The smell of burning flesh filled the room, but he didn’t loosen his grip on the ring. He sank to his knees, staring out the window with vacant eyes, and whispered like a prayer, “Clarissa… I found the ring. When are you coming back to get it?“N
But just like always, he was answered with silence.
Even so, Nomis kept muttering to himself, as if the silence might answer back, “It must be something I did wrong. That’s why you won’t come to see me. What else….? The wedding photo! That’s right. The photo!”
He jumped up and began overturning every trash can in the house.
But the housekeeping lady had already cleared out the garbage days ago.
Still, he refused to believe it. His lips trembled, his hands trembling, until he even searched the public bins outside. But his efforts were futile.
The wedding photo was gone.
When he finally dragged himself back home, all strength left him. He collapsed to the floor, wrapping his arms tightly around Clarissa’s spare wheelchair.
“Clarissa… please come back. I miss you so much…“\
His voice broke into low, choked sobs.
“Didn’t they say everyone has a soul after they die? Can’t you come see me? Even just in a dream would be enough…”
For the first time, Norris realized that he truly, deeply loved Clarissa.
Images of her laughter, her tears, and her silly temper all rushed back into his mind like waves.
He had once believed, with full certainty, that Clarissa couldn’t live without him. But now he knew that he was the one who couldn’t live without her.
The thought of living the rest of his life without ever seeing her again tore through him like a blade.
Maybe it was the exhaustion, or the emotional collapse, that he finally fell into a deep, uninterrupted sleep that night.N
By moming, he had regained a bit of composure.
After cleaning himself up, he wasted no time and headed straight for the hospital, toward Gabrielle.
The root of everything, every single one of these tragedies, all started with her.”
His eyes turned dark with anger as he barged into her office. It looked empty at first glance, so he was just about to leave when he heard a voice coming from the corner.
“Give me the money! Or you can forget about ever seeing your son again!”
After a pause came another, sharper voice, dripping with disbelief.
“You still don’t trust me? Weren’t you the one who watched me get rid of the child Nortis and I had with your own eyes? Don’t act like you don’t know who Matthew’s real father is.“%
