I Supported My Bankrupt Boyfriend for Three Years, Then Met His Wife Chapter 09
Kael’s unexpected arrival threw all my plans off track.
I sent my father and daughter to wait for me in the car, then gestured toward the man standing there, hollow and defeated.
“Let’s go to a café. Didn’t you say you had things you needed to tell me?”
Even after I sat down and calmly ordered my coffee, Kael remained stuck in a stunned daze. When the server asked for his order, he only mumbled he wanted plain water.
A short laugh slipped out of me.
“Mr. Rainer, cafés don’t serve free plain tap water. Are you hoping to mooch off me?”
My words dripped with unmasked mockery.
Surprisingly, Kael didn’t grow mad.
Instead, he pulled out his wallet and slid it across the table toward me.
Now it was my turn to stare in shock.
“What’s this supposed to be, Mr. Rainer?”
Kael fell silent for a long stretch before speaking quietly.
“I’m not mooching off you. Everything inside this wallet is yours.”
“Celeste… have you been alright all these years?”
I answered politely, warm but distant.
“I’ve been wonderful. I met the love of my life, we had our sweet little girl, and now my father’s free. Our whole family’s finally together.”
Kael’s gaze turned blank and distant, and he whispered under his breath.
“You have a child now…”
“I love my husband deeply, and he loves me just as fiercely. Our little girl came naturally out of that love.”
My face softened into pure happiness as I spoke of my new life.
it was as if my words had stabbed him. He dropped his head sharply.
“That’s good… that’s really good…”
He tried to force a friendly smile, but every line of it reeked of bitter sorrow.
I stirred my coffee and lowered my eyes.
“What about you? How have things been with Seraphina?”
Kael’s body stiffened instantly.
After a long pause, he murmured quietly, “We’re divorced.”
My fingers tightened around the spoon in my hand.
I hadn’t expected that.
Kael rolled up one pant leg and met my eyes with a bitter smile.
“Celeste, the words you said before you left came true.”
“I really did lose my leg. This is a prosthetic.”
An empty pant leg covered a half-mechanical prosthetic limb glinting with cold metal.
Kael seemed unable to bear looking at it any longer, quickly tugging his pant leg back down.
“After you left, I never stopped searching for you. Seraphina was always throwing tantrums. The one time I didn’t drop everything to soothe her, she spiraled completely out of control.”
“She threatened to jump off a building. I rushed to pull her back, but I lost my balance and fell instead. Both my legs had to be amputated.”
“So we split up. She left with nothing, and I’ve no clue where she’s hiding away these days.”
Kael spoke of the last two years in a flat, detached tone, numbness thick in every word.
‘I knew he’d felt rage, regret, hatred-all of it -but none of those emotions could turn back time.
In that moment, I finally understood why he’d changed so drastically.
“Celeste… I’m sorry.” Kael bowed his head toward me.
No elaborate excuses, just a single, quiet apology.
Yet I could see how much weight his shoulders could no longer bear.
He truly regretted everything.
Unfortunately, there was no such thing as a time machine.
“Alright, I’ve heard your apology. My dad and little girl are waiting for me in the car. I need to go. grabbed my bag and stood, but Kael called out to me before I could reach the door.
“Celeste… will you come back?” He shifted awkwardly, faint hope flickering in his eyes.
“I mean… will we ever get to see each other again?”
I said nothing, simply shook my head.
That tiny spark of hope in his gaze flickered out instantly.
Back in the car, I didn’t mention Kael to my family.
All I wanted was to take my father far away from this place filled with heartbreak for both of us.
I booked the earliest flight available and headed straight for the airport.
As the plane prepared for takeoff and my phone was about to power down, a news headline popped up on the screen.
#BREAKING: CEO of Kael Group Found Dead by Suicide at Private Residence #
Every word had come to pass exactly as foretold.
Kael had deserved to rot in the mud all those years ago. I’d been the one to pull him out and give him a second chance.
Now everything had fallen back into its natural order.
I tapped to dismiss the notification and switched my phone off completely.
“Mommy, when we get home I wanna take Grandpa horseback riding!”
I looked at the two people I loved most in the world, a gentle warmth spreading soft and slow through my chest.
“Sounds perfect. Hazy can teach Grandpa how to ride, and Mommy’ll take photos of the both of you!”
