Chapter 21
Outside the car window, I could hear Abigail’s heart–wrenching cries.
Her eyes were red and swollen from crying as she choked out, “Samuel, come back down here! I won’t let you leave. I never agreed to break up with you!”
Sitting in the car, I couldn’t even bring myself to look back at her. Because I knew that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to leave.
“Please, sir… Just go,” I said, taking a deep breath to steady myself.
The driver stepped on the gas, and the car shot forward, speeding away.
Abigail lunged toward the car, but she missed.
Not willing to give up, she kept running after us, crying as she chased us down the street.
But the taxi didn’t slow down. She ran until she couldn’t anymore, and finally, she collapsed onto the pavement, scraping her knee until it bled.
Through the rearview mirror, I saw her lying on the ground, and a surge of panic shot through
- me.
I wanted to jump out, to run back and help her up. But just then, the taxi made a sharp left turn, and Abigail disappeared from my sight.
I had no idea how she made it back home that night.
In my mind, all I could hear was her voice–her tearful pleas, her refusal to let me go, and her desperate cries for me to stay.
But no matter how much I wanted to go back, I knew I had to leave with Zack.
Only if I left would he agree to invest in Abigail’s company, giving her the chance to revive it.
Abigail had already lost her parents. I couldn’t imagine what it would do to her if she lost the company they’d poured their lives into.
For Abigail, I was willing to give up everything.
It didn’t matter what happened to me. Even if I had to die for her, I would do it gladly. But I couldn’t stand by and watch the woman I loved suffer any more than she already had.
So, Zack took me overseas, and I stayed away for five years.
Even though it broke my heart to leave Abigail to face all this alone, there was nothing more I could do.
During that time, Abigail was trapped in a deep, relentless sorrow, drifting through each day in a haze.
She’d once been a pampered heiress, a girl who only had to worry about eating, drinking, and enjoying life. But now, she had no choice but to shoulder all the burdens herself.
After Zack took me abroad, he taught me a great deal. And he also revealed a shocking secret.
After Zack took me abroad, ne taught me a
- dl. Anu ne diso Levedieu a stocking sec
It turned out my mother had come from a wealthy family. She’d nearly drowned while scuba diving on a trip, and my father, who was working as a diving instructor, had saved her.
My father saw an opportunity and took advantage of her. He managed to con her out of her money, and then, with me still an infant, he ran off with everything he’d stolen.
My mother, devastated and heartbroken, cried herself to sleep every night. Her health declined rapidly, and eventually, she passed away.
As for my father, he vanished without a trace.
Zack told me that my father had either died somewhere in Southeast Sunthora or become involved in a life of crime.
When I learned the truth, all I felt was rage.
I hated my father for being so completely irresponsible. But I also wanted nothing more to do with him or any news of his whereabouts.
Zack, as my mother’s closest friend, poured all his energy into raising me, determined to shape me into someone who could thrive in the business world.
He didn’t want to see me deceived or taken advantage of the way my mother had been.
So he wanted me to stay far away from Abigail and the life I’d had with her.
But he hadn’t counted on me plunging right back into it the moment I returned.
Looking into my eyes, Zack shook his head and sighed before giving a wry smile. “Life has a funny way of working out, doesn’t it? If I’d known, I would have kept you abroad and never let
you come back.”
