He Left Me in the Fire Chapter 08
Vivian suddenly Taughed.
Her laughter was wild and unhinged.
“I wanted a handbag, so I sold them.”
Nathan lunged at her as if to tear her apart, but the officers restrained him.
William pushed the document forward again.
“Sign.”
Nathan knew he was about to lose the company.
Once it was gone, there would be no chance of winning me back.
Defeated, he picked up the pen and signed.
Vivian still wasn’t satisfied, even as officers pushed her toward the squad car.
She turned to Nathan.
“Oh, by the way. I never lost my memory.”
Only then did Nathan understand everything.
From beginning to end, he had been the greatest fool and the one most to blame.
He was the one who had driven away the person who loved him most.
Once they learned the truth, Robert and Elaine Carter came to the Ashford home to apologize and plead for
reconciliation.
“No one else should meddle in a married couple’s relationship.
“They’re only having a fight, and Serena is pregnant.
“It was all a misunderstanding. For the sake of the baby, they should make up.‘
My parents showed them no warmth whatsoever.
“And the heirloom bracelet? Was that a misunderstanding too?”
Elaine flushed.
“They should just focus on their life together. That’s what matters.
“Why don’t you let Serena come out? I’ll talk to her.”
William was usually a man of few words.
This time, he spoke before anyone else could.
“No one should be abandoned by the person they love when their life is in danger–least of all twice.
“My daughter won’t be coming out.
“Her pain isn’t something anyone can make up for.”
Robert and Elaine were thrown out in disgrace.
They were consumed by regret but powerless to change anything.
Nathan refused to give up.
For two weeks, he dug through the city’s largest recycling center.
At last, he found the ceramic flowers, every one of them shattered.
At the rehabilitation center, warm sunlight settled over my shoulders.
I wore simple, neat clothes. My face was relaxed, and the old exhaustion and resignation had vanished from my
eyes.
Derek sat quietly beside me.
He handed me a bottle of water with a smile.
“This takes me back to St. Agnes.
“Everyone bullied us and shut us out, but you still looked after me. You handed me a bottle of water then, just like this.”
From my wheelchair, I looked up at him. “The strong have always bossed the weak around.”
Derek’s expression turned more serious than I had ever seen it.
“Then I wouldn’t mind you bossing me around.”
I shook my head.
“Gratitude isn’t the same as love.”
I knew exactly what that felt like.
I didn’t want Derek to go through that.
Derek’s easy smile returned.
“True. Without all the money you sent me over the years, I might never have finished school.”
I joked, “Then be nice to me from now on.”
Nathan eventually found me at the center.
The first thing he saw was my relaxed, unguarded smile.
At last, he understood that I had truly let go.
He rushed over, his voice raw and hoarse.
“Serena.”
His voice held a humility I had never heard before.
I turned at the sound of my name. My expression remained calm, without a flicker of emotion.
I looked at him as if he were a stranger.
The distance in my eyes broke through Nathan’s last defense.
know I was wrong.”
His throat bobbed, and the words came out rough.
“Come back. The shares, the house, everything I have. It’s yours.
“From now on, I’ll listen to you. I’ll never overlook you again.”
Derek stepped between us.
“If you really understood what you did, you wouldn’t have come.”
Nathan ignored him.
I gently moved Derek aside.
Then I met Nathan’s gaze, my voice even.
“What I wanted from you was love, devotion, and care. I don’t want any of it anymore.”
Nathan’s fingers trembled as he reached for me.
Derek blocked him again, firmly.
“Stop interfering with her life.”
Nathan took in my calm, detached expression, and his chest ached.
He wondered whether the pain I had endured in the fire was a hundred times worse than what he felt now.
He pulled out a share transfer agreement, his pride crumbling further.
“All I’m asking is that you forgive me. Just once.”
I spoke quietly.
“Nathan, you don’t get to ask for my forgiveness.
“Every single thing that happened was a choice you made.
“I don’t hate you. But I will never forgive you. Now leave.”
Nathan looked as though every last ounce of strength had been drained from his body.
