Chapter 10
Luke Brooks scratched his head awkwardly.
“I saw you come back yesterday and I thought I was mistaken,” he said, a little. sheepish.
“Then I heard you arguing with someone. just now and I got worried. I thought your might be in danger, so I came to check on you. Are you okay?”
I shook my head, still not quite believing. what had just happened and thanked him again. Luke was considerate enough not to press me about what had happened. He reminded me to rest and that I could reach out to him anytime if I needed anything.
“I am still living next door,” he added.
“If anything happens, just call me like we used to when we were kids.”
After all these years, a lot of things have changed. The man who had promised to
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love me forever had betrayed me. The mother who was supposed to see me off at my wedding was gone. And now, the little kid who used to follow me was standing there to protect me.
Life was so unpredictable.
Afterward, I tried to distract myself. I cleaned the house, did a few chores and even washed Su Chen’s jacket to return it to him. He came by regularly, checking on me, going with me to visit my mother’s grave and bringing me little treats to cheer
me up.
For several days, I didn’t see Mark. I thought maybe he had given up and gone. back to live his carefree life with Chloe. But
then, one day, I saw him at my mother’s
grave.
He wore the same clothes he had on when
he first came, but they were wrinkled and his face looked tired and worn.
“Rachel…” Mark called out, his voice
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strained, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace than anything else. “I’ve wanted to talk to you, but your little bodyguard has kept me away.”
“We have nothing left to say,” I replied coldly, not bothering to look at him.
I didn’t even feel angry anymore. People like him weren’t worth any moment of my time or energy. I thought Mark would say something hurtful like he always did. But instead, he stood there, silent for a long time. Finally, he lowered his head and to my shock, tears began to fall.
“Rachel,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “I don’t know how we ended up like this. I never imagined you would really leave me.”
For a moment, he looked like he was on the verge of breaking down. “These past few days, Chloe’s been pushing me to return to work, but I can’t bring myself to. I keep thinking, if I go back now, it’ll really be over. Eight years of love… I just can’t let go.”
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Eight years of love? Was that all it meant to him? Not enough to stop him from being with Chloe. He wasn’t upset that I was leaving; he was upset because he was losing a maid–someone willing to do everything for him.
I pushed him away, my hands trembling with anger. I wiped the gravestone with force, trying to push all the pain away.
“You have no right to be here,” I said, my voice steady despite the hurt. “Neither my mother nor I want to see you.”
Mark didn’t resist, allowing me to push him aside without a word. But as I turned to move further away from him, he suddenly grabbed me, pulling me into an embrace.
“Let me fire Chloe. I won’t let her near you again. I have brought the ring, the one I promised you. I’ve been planning to
propose for a long time. I really do want to marry you,” he pleaded, his voice desperate.
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“The things I said before, they weren’t lies. I really do love you.”
I pulled away from him with all my strength, slapping him hard across the face.
He instinctively reached up to touch his cheek, and in the process, the diamond ring he had been holding slipped from his hand, rolling across the ground until it landed at my mother’s gravestone.
The ring. The very same one Chloe had flaunted on their one–hundred–day anniversary post early.
