Chapter 11
The moment Bryce heard my voice, his whole body trembled.
He turned around slowly and saw me standing there.
He froze, staring at me for a long time.
Gradually, a light flickered in his eyes.
He stepped forward softly, as if afraid to disturb a fragile dream,
reaching out with trembling hands–inch by inch–until he finally
pulled me into his arms.
He buried his face in my neck, breathing me in, his voice rough
and muffled.
“Angela, you really scared me.
“They all said you were dead, but I couldn’t believe it, I just
couldn’t.
“See? I waited, and you finally came back…”
pushed him away coldly, my eyes empty of any emotion as I
looked at him.
“Bryce, I am dead.
Chapter 11
“Don’t you remember? Two years ago, right in front of you, I jumped from the 19th floor.
“I fell with my blessings for you and Karley, right under your
gaze.”
His long lashes quivered, lost and helpless.
wy
It seemed he was finally realizing that yes, I had died right before his eyes two years ago.
One moment I was speaking softly to him, the next I was falling
backward from the 19th floor.
No hesitation. No regret.
Just like that, I vanished from his world.
Bryce’s face went paper white in an instant, his hands shaking uncontrollably as he gripped my shoulders.
“No, no way.
“Angela, you’re standing right here. You came back!
After you left, I made Karley get rid of the baby. I cut her off–l
haven’t seen her since.
“Angela, let’s try again. Let’s live together, please?”
Chapter 11
I shook my head, looking at him calmly.
“Bryce, there’s no going back for us.”
I glanced out the window where the night stars glimmered
faintly.
Pain twisted across Bryce’s face.
“Angela, I’m sorry.
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“All those years, you never left me, no matter how much I
changed.
“I got too comfortable, too sure of myself.
“That’s when I started craving something new.
J
“Back then, I could do anything, get anything I wanted.
“I just couldn’t stand the thought of an ordinary life anymore.
“I wanted to try everything I’d never had before.
“Including other women…”
He hung his head, hands clenched tight.
never thought you’d actually leave.
Chapter 11
“I thought, after eight years together, you barely mattered to me
anymore.
“But after you fell that night, right in front of me-
“I haven’t slept a full night since.”
He looked up at me, his hands trembling as he tried to reach for
mine.
“Angela, I was wrong. I swear, I was wrong.”
I pulled away, cold as ice.
“Bryce.
“Two years ago, when you pinned me in front of the mirror,
called me old, said I wasn’t even a shadow of who I used to be-
“You didn’t hesitate. You didn’t feel a thing.”
་
I’ll never forget the look of pure joy on his face when he held Karley, whispering sweet nothings to her.
And I’ll never forget the ugly contempt and cold indifference he showed me every time we fought.
Love is like tending a flower.
He watered me with poison–betrayal and infidelity–until I
Chapter 11
withered away.
Bryce’s eyes were rimmed red, so raw and bloodshot it looked
like he might start bleeding tears.
“No, that’s not true.
“I just lost my head in those fights. I didn’t know…
“Angela, I’ve only ever loved you.”
“Bryce, you always claimed you never cared for Karley.
“Is that really true?
“You gave her money, your time, your special attention.
“If that’s not love, what is?
“You say you loved me–was your love just coldness, arguments, and constant conflict?
“If that’s what love is, I don’t want any part of it.”
By now, Bryce had collapsed to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
He watched as I stepped toward the window again, reaching out
with a trembling hand, desperate to hold onto me.
Chapter 11
“Angela, don’t leave me. Please, don’t leave me!”
“We loved each other once, but that love is gone now.”
Somewhere in the universe, Bryce traded five years of his life for
my brief return–just five hours.
But that was all.
There was no love left to keep us going, not for another
moment.
I looked at Bryce one last time.
His tears fell, burning hot on my hand.
Eight years ago, when he loved me most, his tears were just as
warm.
“Bryce, goodbye. This is the last time.”
“Angela, don’t!”
And with those words, I disappeared from Bryce’s life forever.
Leaving him alone in that enormous house, sobbing in the darkness.
