Chapter 10
Henry staggered and almost fell, but stubbornly lunged forward again, this time directly hugging my waist.
“Do you remember? In college, to celebrate your birthday, I secretly saved money for three months to buy you that bracelet… you said it was the most thoughtful gift you’d ever received.”
Henry choked up, trying to use memories to soften my heart.
“And at our wedding, you said in front of everyone that you’d only love me for the rest of your life…”
“Have you forgotten all of this?”
I suddenly turned around and pushed him away.
“I haven’t forgotten, but now I just feel disgusted.”
Henry’s body swayed.
“Gabriella, how can you be so heartless? Lily is still in the hospital fighting for her life… do you really want to drive us to death?”
Hearing Lily’s name, my eyes instantly turned ice-cold.
“That’s right, I want to watch you both die.”
I spoke slowly, each word stabbing into his heart like a knife.
“Especially her-it would be best if the resuscitation fails soon. Don’t waste medical resources.”
Henry’s face instantly turned deathly pale, the pleading in his eyes gradually turning to despair.
He suddenly collapsed into a rage, grabbing a file folder from the desk and hurling it at me.
“What right do you have to treat me like this! I sacrificed so much for you! What right do you have to just walk away!”
Henry’s voice was sharp and piercing, almost insane.
The folder hit me, and papers scattered across the floor.
I stood there, expressionless, watching him go crazy.
His madness lasted a few seconds, then suddenly subsided.
He knelt on the ground hugging my legs, his voice carrying a final plea: “Gabriella, please… don’t leave me… I really can’t live without you…”
I looked down at him, as cold as if I were looking at a stranger.
“Henry, from the moment you chose Lily, we were already finished.”
“Also, put away that pathetic performance.”
“You’re not afraid of me leaving-you’re afraid of losing those big clients, afraid Grant Corporation won’t be able to survive.”
“Get lost!”
I kicked him away and strode out of the room.
Less than a month after I returned to Washington, Grant Corporation declared bankruptcy.
Henry’s parents couldn’t handle the blow and chose suicide one after another: one jumped from a building, the other took poison.
Although Lily saved her life, her brain injuries were too severe, and she became a vegetable.
Years later, I returned to New York for a gathering with friends.
Walking on the street, I saw a raggedly dressed homeless man crouching by a trash can, searching for bread.
He was muttering to himself, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying.
That once-handsome face was now covered with grime and wrinkles.
Only those eyes still vaguely resembled Henry’s shadow.
A friend beside me sighed softly: “He’s been insane for a long time now, doesn’t remember anything…”
I interrupted her: “Let’s go.”
Before getting in the car, I looked back one last time.
He was holding a piece of moldy bread, smiling like an innocent child.
At that moment, I suddenly remembered the lakeside from years ago.
That Henry holding books, with light sparkling in his eyes.
Now, that light had long since disappeared, leaving only confusion.
The car started, and Henry’s figure grew smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror, finally disappearing around the corner.
Because of his betrayal, the promises and sweetness I once thought unbreakable turned into nothing but mockery and pain.
Three months later, Henry’s figure had almost faded from my memory.
But I never expected to see him again.
My step-uncle-Kayden Taylor.
As I walked through the estate, the air was still fresh, and the roses in the garden bloomed brilliantly, as if time itself had stopped here.
His silhouette stood out clearly in the sunlight.
I stopped in my tracks. He was more mature than I remembered, his eyes carrying a faint sadness, yet radiating an undeniable charm.
The man I had secretly admired as a teenager seemed to be waiting for me to come back.
When we crossed paths unexpectedly, a long-lost flutter stirred deep inside me.
Kayden’s care was gentle, yet wrapped in an elusive distance.
I realized-I was beginning to be drawn to him again.
Kayden wasn’t related to me by blood. Our relationship was complicated, yet pure.
He had been the warmest guardian throughout my childhood, my emotional anchor. In fact, the reason I initially liked Henry was partly because he reminded me of Kayden.
As time passed, I found myself unable to resist his presence any longer.
But this kind of love was far from simple.
There was family pressure, Charlotte’s lingering shadow, and the tangled past with Henry.
In the end, fate pushed me toward a choice I could never take back-marrying Kayden.
I married Kayden with a heart full of joy, believing that this time-finally-I was going to be happy.
But I didn’t know…
That was only the beginning of my second nightmare.
