Chapter 20
“A chance to choose all over again…” I murmured, repeating Zack’s words, but I didn’t know
how to answer him.
My mind drifted back to the year I fell in love with Abigail.
She was my first love, and it was love at first sight. I went all out to win her over, putting everything I had into our relationship.
Once we were together, we were inseparable.
Our friends used to say that we were like conjoined twins. Wherever one of us was, the other was sure to be right there.
But life had other plans. Abigail’s father’s business collapsed, and he jumped from a building in despair.
His company was on the brink of bankruptcy, barely holding on.
We spent every day racking our brains, trying to find a way to keep the business afloat, to fend off the vultures circling to pick apart what was left.
Their goal was simple. They wanted to dismantle the company and carve up the profits. Whoever could get the largest share of the Bardots would walk away with millions.
Abigail had begged her parents‘ old friends for help, crying and pleading, but nobody was willing to lend a hand. They had all thought that Abigail wasn’t worth the risk.
To them, she was just a young, inexperienced girl with no capital, no resources, no real abilities. What future could she possibly have?
Even if she somehow managed to take control of the company, they believed it was doomed to fail under her leadership.
In their eyes, it would be better for the company to be divided up among them than for her to run it into the ground.
It was during this difficult time that Zack approached me.
He told me he was willing to invest in Abigail’s company. But he had one condition–he’d only help Abigail if I agreed to his terms.
He said he wanted me to leave with him, to move to the capital city and build my career there.
I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Abigail, but I also couldn’t stand seeing her so helpless and heartbroken. I didn’t want her parents‘ hard–won legacy to be destroyed.
So, I agreed to Zack’s terms and told Abigail we had to break up.
After losing her parents, Abigail had come to rely on me completely.
When she found out I was leaving her, she fell apart.
It was as if her last source of support had been ripped away. The series of blows was too much for her, and she fainted on the spot.
I rushed her to the hospital, and as she drifted in and out of consciousness, she clung to my hand, whispering for me not to leave her.
When she finally woke up, the first thing she did was search for me, desperate to see if I was
still there.
I hadn’t left because I couldn’t bear to walk away, not when she was like this.
She threw her arms around me, her eyes red and swollen, her grip on my hands so tight it hurt as if letting go would mean losing everything.
With a trembling voice, she pleaded, “Samuel, my parents are gone, my home is gone… if you leave me too, I don’t know what my life will mean anymore. Please, don’t leave me. Please.”
Abigail sobbed in front of me, tears pouring down her face.
She was shaking, her hands ice–cold, and watching her like this left a deep ache in my heart.
I squeezed her hands and said, my voice unsteady, “Abigail, please don’t cry. Seeing you cry breaks my heart.”
But what good did my sympathy do?
couldn’t help her with the company. The only thing I could do was leave quietly while she slept.
It was as if she sensed my plan, though, because the moment I stepped out of the hospital, she jolted awake.
She ran after me, stumbling and tripping in her rush, and when she saw me getting into the cab, she screamed, sobbing, “Samuel! Samuel! Come back! I won’t let you leave!”
My heart twisted painfully. I hadn’t expected her to chase after me like that.
But what could I do? Staying wouldn’t help her.
All I could do was accept Zack’s help for her and then make the hard choice to walk away.
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