Chapter 11
I couldn’t stand it anymore. I kicked the ring aside with disgust.
“Get away from me, Mark,” I spat, my voice shaking with fury. “Every time I look at you, think of you, I feel incredibly disgusted!”
I clenched my fists, my whole body trembling. “In this lifetime, even if I die, I will never be with you. If you ever show up in front of me again, I-”
Without thinking, I picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at him, aiming to show him just how serious I was about ending things.
This time, Mark didn’t dodge.
The stone hit his head with a sickening thud. Blood oozed from the wound, mixing with his tears as he stood there, stunned, his face expressionless. His tears fell silently like he couldn’t believe what had
70% 10:53
1/7
10:53
Chapter 11
just happened.
I
“So, you really hate me this much?” he asked, his voice hoarse and broken. “I thought… after eight years, you’d at least feel a little guilty and reluctant to let go. thought you’d come back to me. But you really hate me, don’t you? Have you really forgotten all the good times we had?”
The “good times” in Mark’s eyes were times that I had sacrificed everything for.
The emergency money to save him from the brink of disaster? I sold my gold jewelry
to get it.
The countless meals I painstakingly cooked to suit his taste? They were all made from hours of research and practice.
The dust on the floor didn’t magically disappear. The dirty clothes didn’t wash themselves. The housekeeper wouldn’t have cared so much. And Chloe definitely wouldn’t have.
What Mark couldn’t let go of wasn’t me. It
70% 10:53
2/7
71
Chapter 11
was my sacrifices, my unwavering dedication to him.
But what did I get in return after all these years of giving? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I was left broken and empty.
I had spent my youth seeing through Mark’s selfishness and coldness. Even though I had nothing now, I would never fall into that abyss again. From now on, I would live for myself and I would live a life that had nothing to do with Mark.
After I made my decision cleár, Mark stood there, silent for what felt like an eternity. His head dropped low, tears mixing with the blood on his face.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea… I really had no idea how much you’ve suffered for me,” he muttered, his voice barely audible. “I got so used to your love, your kindness. I never stopped to think about what you had sacrificed for me…”
Suddenly, he lifted his head, his eyes filled
70% 10:53
3/7
Chapter 11
with pain. Then, without warning, he fell to his knees in front of my mother’s grave.
“Rachel, please, give me one more chance. Just one more chance.”
He held his hands out as though praying to the heavens. “I swear on Auntie’s spirit, I will treat you well. I will never let you suffer like this again. I’ll never let you carry all the burdens by yourself.”
When we were in love, those vows were touching. But now, they were nothing but empty words.
I laughed bitterly, my voice laced with disdain. “If vows could change anything, my mother wouldn’t have died and we wouldn’t have broken up.”
“Mark, stop fooling yourself. You’d be even more ruthless if you were in my shoes.”
Without sparing him another glance, I turned and walked away, my heart heavy. Luke was hiding in the shadows and without hesitation, I left with him, not
70% 10:53
417
71
Chapter 11
once looking back.
Mark’s broken cries echoed through the cemetery, but no one cared. The cemetery had seen too many tears and pain to offer sympathy.
Afterward, Luke secretly met with Mark. I don’t know what was said between them, but Mark never showed up again after that meeting.
I did receive a few calls from Chloe, though. She was crying, telling me how Mark had fallen apart after returning. He was drinking himself into oblivion, his company was in decline and everything he had worked for was falling apart. Now, Mark was planning to sue her to return everything he had once given her.
***
Chloe’s reputation was tarnished beyond repair. She was left with nothing and could. only beg me to return Mark to her.
I grew tired of her desperate pleas,
70% 10-53
ΕΠ
5/7
171
Chapter 11
blocking one number after another until her and Mark’s names faded completely from my life.
And with that, I finally stepped into a new chapter.
With Luke’s help, I opened a flower shop in my hometown. Every day, we would pick the most beautiful flower and put it in front of my mother’s grave.
Luke even helped me renovate the garden. Together, we planted it full of flowers, each symbolizing renewal and hope.
One day, under the bright sunshine, Luke wiped the sweat from his brow and asked me if I wanted anything else.
I thought for a moment, then smiled softly. “I want spring.”
The painful past had faded with time, carried away by the wind.
Now, all I wanted was to wait for spring- when the warmth would return and the
70% 10:53
6/7
Chapter 11
flowers would bloom again.
(The End)
