Chapter 19
The shrill sound of the alarm jolted Robert awake. He found his heart pounding as he gasped for breath, unable to calm himself for a long time. He reached for his phone and silenced the alarm, only to notice that Gael had already sent him the report five hours earlier.
Pressing his fingers against his temples, he tried to ease the pounding headache from his hangover, but the pain remained. He opened the file and skimmed through it, his eyes quickly scanning line after line.
The more he read, the paler his face became.
After a long while, his phone slipped from his weakened grip and fell to the floor with a dull thud. A bitter laugh escaped his lips as he mocked himself–what an absolute fool he bad been.
Just how blind and foolish was he to have so easily believed someone else’s version of the truth?
He thought back to all his so–called grand gestures and all the things he had done in the name of love, only to realize now just how absurdly stupid they had been.
He had sent Enola away to a foreign country, cutting off all contact with her. He left her to fend for herself, nearly dying multiple times in a place where she had no one.
He had gotten involved with her so–called “friend“, foolishly assuming that it would help maintain peace between them. Yet, in reality, that so–called friend was none other than someone who had bullied Enola
Even after Enola returned home, Chloe had not stopped tormenting her. She even doused herself with hot milk just to frame Enola. Chloe had no limits to her cruelty, not even toward herself
And as for what came next–since she so enjoyed stripping others in public and humiliating them with photos, then it was only fair she got a taste of her own medicine. But before dealing with Chloe, Robert needed to see Enola one last time.
After forming such a thought, he didn’t want to waste another second. He was going to look for her.
Enola never expected to see Robert again so soon. Sitting across from him, she found herself momentarily at a loss for words.
She truly didn’t understand–what was he trying to achieve by doing all this?
“Robbie, is there something else you need from me?”
Her voice remained polite and distant, yet that very distance cut into Robert’s heart like a blade.
His reddened eyes and the rise and fall of his chest betrayed the turmoil within him. His expression carried a deep sense of loss.
He hesitated for a long time, unable to bring himself to speak directly. So, he took a different approach instead.
“Ennie, I’m sorry,” he said.
“I didn’t know what Chloe had done to you. I thought you were friends, so I never suspected anything. If I take care of things with her… would you be willing to forgive me and come back with me?”
His cautious plea, laced with uncertainty, made it clear that he had lowered himself completely. Looking at him, Enola couldn’t help but think of her past self.
Four years ago, she had begged just as humbly, pleading with him not to be so heartless. But at the time, all he could see was the unforgivable mistake she had supposedly made. No matter how rauch, she pleaded, he never relented, choosing instead to banish her abroad for four years. She had no intention of dragging him down into the past with her. That would be too unfair to Parker.
Yet at this moment, she couldn’t stop herself from wondering–if she rejected him now, would he finally understand the pain she had endured back then?
So, she shook her head and said, “Robbie, I’m already married. My home and my career are in Mekcian. I have no reason to go back.”
A simple sentence felt like a dagger to his chest. The searing pain spread from his heart, leaving his lips pale and pressed into a thin line.
It took him a long time to speak again, and when he did, his voice was laced with bitterness. “Ennie, does it really have to be this way between us?”
Could they never go back to how they once were familiar, close, and inseparable–rather than strangers divided by a vast distance?
“Robbie, I’ra only doing what you always wanted. You were the one who chose to send me away.
“Now, I’ve married someone else just as you wished. So tell me, Robbie. Why do you keep coming back? What is it that you want from me? “Surely you’re not expecting me to get a divorce and leave with you?”
