Chapter 9
I heard Matthew let out a muffled grunt, and my eyes instantly turned red with worry.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
He had been planning to play up the pain a little to get my sympathy, but when he saw I was on the verge of tears, he immediately changed his
tone.
Pulling me gently into his arms, he said with a pained yet reassuring voice, “It doesn’t hurt. Not at all.”
I cast a dreadful glance at Stephen lying on the ground, then took Matthew’s hand and walked away.
Stephen was covered in cuts and bruises, looking utterly disheveled. But no matter how much pain his body was in, it couldn’t compare to the agony gnawing at his heart.
Watching me show concern and protect Matthew–it felt like a knife stabbing through his chest.
Only now did Stephen truly understand that he had really lost me.
Still, he refused to accept it. He kept showing up in my life, doing everything he could to make up for what he’d done, desperately trying to win me back.
A bracelet worth 15 million he obtained at an auction.
A sprawling pink rose garden he planted with his own hands.
0.00%
1417
288 (Vouchers
Chapter 9
He even had my name tattooed over his heart.
One night, he lit up the entire city with blue fireworks that rained from the sky.
But no matter what grand gestures he made, I remained unmoved.
Matthew and I had already begun preparing for our wedding. I’d wanted to wait a little longer, but Matthew didn’t want to delay another moment.
He told me he wanted to bring me home as his wife as soon as possible.
I agreed.
When Stephen found out, he came to me like a madman.
“Jessica, I know I was wrong. I’m begging you–don’t marry him.”
Tears splattered the ground as he begged.
“I’ve already cut ties with Joey. From now on, it’s just you–only you.
“I know you hate her. I’ve sent her overseas. She won’t appear in front of you ever again.
“Everyone you dislike–I’ve made sure they’re gone.
“Jessica…”
I looked at him and asked coldly, “Then why don’t you disappear?” Stephen stumbled back like I’d slapped him, his face pale and hollow.
I didn’t want to revisit the past, but every time he appeared, it was like reopening the wounds I had barely managed to heal.
“I know it was me who wanted to marry you back then. That’s why my
29.8
289 (Vouchers
family approached yours about the arranged marriage. But Stephen–if you really didn’t want to marry me, why didn’t you say no?
“After the Delami family got through that crisis, you turned on my family immediately. Can you really say the Kingston family’s bankruptcy had nothing to do with you?
“I must have been completely blind not to see it then.
“And you knew how much I looked forward to giving birth to the children in my belly. But they weren’t even mine.
“You made me carry your lover’s children!
“Stephen–what gave you the right?”
I stared at him as I laid bare every betrayal, every cruelty. And with each word, his face turned whiter and whiter.
Matthew arrived just then. I saw him lift a foot and begin walking toward Stephen.
Stephen still tried to reach for me, but just as his hand was about to touch
stopped.
me, he hesitated and c
I took Matthew’s hand and walked away without a backward glance. I didn’t hear Stephen’s choked whisper behind us.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…
Later, he left in a daze and got into his car. On the way, he was in an accident and died on the spot.
When they found his body, he was still clutching my wedding ring- stained dark red with blood.
When the news came, I felt nothing.
61.20%
14:17
Chapter 9
To me, Stephen was just a stranger.
A week later, Matthew and I held a grand wedding ceremony.
And in front of all our family and friends, we sealed it with a kiss.
The end.
