13.6%
Chapter 20
Adrian knelt before me—this was the second time in his life he’d ever bowed his head.
The first was to beg for medicine for Lillian. Now, he was begging me to forgive him.
But to a woman who no longer loves him, even if he knelt for an entire night, it wouldn’t matter. Whatever we had was over long ago.
I stared at him, disheveled and desperate on the floor, and felt nothing but disgust–and a bitter kind of amusement.
He once stood proudly beside Lillian, swearing he’d never regret it. And now? Not even a month later, he was divorced and crawling back to me.
I waved at Blake. “Blake, go upstairs for a minute. I need to talk to him alone.”
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask questions. With a nod, he turned and headed up the stairs.
I turned back to Adrian and, without hesitation, slapped him across the face.
It was loud and sharp–I hadn’t held back.
His cheek instantly flushed red and swollen, but he didn’t react in anger. Instead, he lowered his voice and said, “If hitting me helps, hit me. Yell at me all you want. I just want a chance–for you to forgive me.”
I let out a cold laugh, pulled a wet wipe from the box on the table, and slowly cleaned my hand.
“That slap was what you deserved. And Adrian… you honestly disgust me now.”
His expression froze. I went on, voice as sharp as a knife.
“If you’d truly loved Lillian, even if I didn’t agree with your choice, I would’ve respected it. But now, you’re blaming everything on her–as if you had no part in it. You take zero responsibility.”
“You say it was her fault we missed our chance. But did it ever occur to you that the real problem was you? You were always running–from commitment, from truth, from consequence. You don’t love her. And you certainly didn’t love me. What you love… is your own damn superiority. You thought lowering yourself would move me? You thought a divorce was some grand gesture that would wipe your slate clean? Choices come with consequences, Adrian.”
With each word, his face grew paler. But he still shook his head and tried to explain.
“No–it wasn’t like that! Evelyn, she lied to me! She told me she was the girl who played ‘Liebestraum‘ that night. If not for that–how could I have chosen her over you? It was always you I cared about!”
“You and Blake–you’re not even compatible. You’ve hated each other since childhood. Don’t throw your life away out of pride–please.”
I looked at him with something colder than anger–pity.
“Who told you I didn’t love Blake?”
I lifted my chin and spoke clearly, with steel in my voice. “I love Blake, Adrian. You hear me? I love him. I’m not getting divorced. I’m not looking back I’m staying with him–for life.”
He looked like someone had slammed a brick into his chest, eyes wide with disbelief.
“But he’s being deployed to the front lines! Evelyn, I heard it myself. There’s war coming, and his family’s deep in military development–when it breaks out, he won’t be spared. Do you know what that means? He’ll leave you. He might never come back! Are you really willing to spend your life waiting for a man who might die?!”
I met his panic with quiet calm. My voice didn’t waver.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“In the last life, I waited alone because I loved you. And now? If something happens to Blake–I’ll wait for him the rest of my life too.”
