Returning the Ten Years I Stole Chapter 08
And yet, Graham had pinned the blame entirely on Gwyneth.
He divorced her, tormented her, left her penniless, and blocked her from ever finding work. She’d died in her rented apartment with no one by her side. And the last thing she’d heard from him was. “Your love disgusts me, Gwyneth Rowland.”
Graham buried his face in his hands, trembling violently.
He remembered everything. He’d finally remembered everything from his previous life.
Graham didn’t sleep a wink the whole night.
As soon as it was light out, he grabbed his phone and called Gwyneth.
“The number you have dialed is not in service.”
He froze, then dialed her number again. Yet, he got the same response.
He went onto WhatsApp and sent her a text message. “Gwyn. I need to talk to you.”
However, he noticed that her “last seen” was missing, and the message he sent only registered a single gray tick even after a long time.
Had she blocked his number?
Graham’s hand trembled as he gripped his phone.
Leanna finally woke up. She saw him sitting by the bed, his face deathly pale.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, sitting up. “Did you have a nightmare?”
Graham turned to look at her, his eyes bloodshot.
“Anna…” His voice was so hoarse that he couldn’t even recognize himself anymore. “I… I just recalled something…”
“What is it?” Leanna asked, looking stunned.
He opened his mouth to explain, but he just didn’t know where to start. Ultimately, he told her everything from start to finish. He then closed his eyes and spoke shakily, “Anna… Help me… Help me contact her.”
Leanna shook her head. “I won’t help you.”
“Please.”
“Graham,” she said, looking at him calmly, “you have no right to plead with me, and even more so with her. She died alone in her rented apartment in her previous life. And the last thing you said to her was that she disgusted you.”
Graham’s face was as white as a ghost. He couldn’t say another word.
“I won’t help you contact her. You have to think of another way yourself if you want to apologize to her. But whether or not she forgives you is her choice.”
That night, Graham wouldn’t stop trying to call Gwyneth, but it kept telling him that her number was not in service. He went crazy trying to find a way to contact her and ended up with nothing. She’d blocked him everywhere.
In the end, he begged Leanna to pass his message to Gwyneth.
Leanna hesitated for a long time. Finally, she sent a text message.
“Gwyn, Gran just recalled everything that happened in his previous life. He’s also told me about it. He wants to apologize to you.
”
A long time later, Gwyneth finally, replied with a single line. “I don’t hate him, but don’t forgive him either. And I’m never looking back.”
Leanna showed the message to Graham.
He stared at the line of words for a long time, reading each word over and over again. Then, he laughed. He laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face.
After that, Graham began to drink.
He drank every day, from early in the morning till late at night. He neglected company affairs, let his projects fail, and clients disappeared.
His business partners called him to berate him, but he just hung up and continued drinking.
Leanna came to visit him once.
The huge mansion was now filled to the brim with empty beer cans and wine bottles. The curtains were also tightly drawn shut.
“What is the point of all this, Graham Rowland?” Leanna asked, standing at the door without going in.
He slumped against the couch, his eyes unfocused. “There’s no point anymore.”
“Then why aren’t you pulling yourself together?”
“For who?” Graham asked, chuckling to himself. “Gwyneth isn’t coming back. And neither are you.”
Leanna went quiet for a while. Then, she said, “You’re right. I’m not coming back either. Let’s break up.”
Graham didn’t ask her to stay. He knew that he didn’t have the right.
Half a year later, Rowland Group was hit with a massive financial problem, and Graham was held accountable.
The company went bankrupt, his properties were seized, and all of his assets were frozen.
Once, he had been the CEO of the company with a bright future ahead of him, but now, he lost everything overnight.
People in the industry shook their heads in pity when they talked about him. \
“He’s done for.”
Others wondered, “He used to be so capable. How could his empire suddenly collapse?”
Nobody knew the answer.
Only Graham knew that he had destroyed himself.
Three years later, Gwyneth stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows of her new company back home in Sunland City, overlooking Red Lake.
She’d returned home after completing her studies in Angland and joined a top design firm. In just six months, she’d been promoted to director.
Today was the launch event for the project she spearheaded, and it was a massive success.
