Chapter 14
Or was it the days when he was supposed to be with her that he forgot about and recklessly missed appointments? He had assumed there was still plenty of time ahead, so he had carelessly broken promises. But now, too many things have gone wrong.
Vincent thought over and over again. He sat in their originally planned wedding house, tears streaming down his face. He truly deserved to die.
The carefully planned proposal, which should have been a special moment for them both, was now missing the main character who was supposed to be there.
Everyone in the room exchanged uncertain glances, unable to believe that Claire had quietly disappeared to join a secretive medical research project.
And she had left for ten years.
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It was like a silent message to every
that no one had given her a reason to here.
лу
Vincent took out the custom–made diamond ring but could no longer find his bride, who had gone silent without a trace.
He cried, he laughed, he couldn’t control himself. His phone calls went unanswered and his messages received no replies. He wanted to apologize, to repent, to seek forgiveness and a chance to start over. But he couldn’t even see her again.
The feeling of being out of control, suffocating him, felt unbearable.
‘Claire, how could you be so cruel? In such a decisive manner, you vanished from my life completely.‘
Zoe rushed to him, embracing him tightly. “Vincent, she doesn’t love you anymore, don’t do this. It’s breaking my heart to see you like this.”
His mind suddenly flashed back to the
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early morning hours when she had held his phone, the look on his face as he questioned her: “Did Claire call?”
Zoe had been anxious. “No, no, uh.”
Lies.
He gripped her throat tightly. “Zoe, I’m asking you again. Did you delete the call record? What did she say?”
Zoe stubbornly denied it. “I didn’t! Vincent, please trust me.”
Just then, someone stepped out from the corner of the room.
The person opened a video recording, showing a screen capture of a video call.
He and Zoe habitually stayed on video calls. until dawn, sometimes even recording the conversations. This video showed Zoe chatting with Claire late at night.
–“Is something wrong? It’s so late?”
“”
Vincent? He was so tired. He‘ s in the
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shower right now.
–“If you don’t need anything else, I’m hanging up. We still have the second half of the night to go.”
The room fell silent.
Everyone understood what these
ambiguous words implied. They began to speculate–how many times had Zoe
blurred the line between brother and sister
over the past year, causing Claire to misunderstand their relationship?
“Vincent, listen, let me explain!”
Zoe was on the verge of tears.
Vincent pushed her away violently, his face cold. “Zoe, the favour your family did for me is repaid. Leave now.”
Zoe, frantic, shouted, “Vincent, I admit I was despicable! But I truly love you. That’s why I did all this. We’ve grown up together. You‘ ve been so kind to me. Why can’t I be the one if you‘ re getting
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married?”
Her words became more disgusting as she said, “I’m younger, I’m more beautiful, I have more time to be with you! Claire is gone. Let me take her place and love you, okay?”
Zoe’s makeup had all but melted away from crying.
Vincent looked at her coldly. “No. I’ve only ever loved Claire Olivia in this life.”
“You, get lost!”
***
Three months later, a new custom–made wedding dress arrived at his home. Vincent opened the door, barely standing upright from a heap of empty bottles.
As he unwrapped the giant gift box, his mind flashed back to the day in the bridal shop when Zoe had worn her dress, pretending to play wedding games with him.
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He remembered seeing Claire standing outside, talking on the phone.
