Chapter 20
James didn’t leave. He bought the apartment across from mine and moved in.
And he started showing up at my
y school every day.
He clung to me shamelessly for half a year, with an attitude that suggested he was prepared to spend the rest of his life
wearing me down
Sometimes, when I got really angry, I would yell at him: James, stop acting out this outdated passion, will you?”
Hearing this, his eyes immediately welled up with tears, and he said in a choked voice, “Emily, please, don’t do this to me,
beg you.
“I shouldn’t have been so thoughtless, I shouldn’t have said those hurtful things, I shouldn’t have tried to run away from
our wedding and embarrass you.”
you.
He gripped my hand tightly, as if it wore his last lifeline. His as were full of pleading and regret: “I truly love
oyes
it was
just that ridiculous pride that made me resentful. I know I was wrong” His eyes were brimming with supplication and
ramorsa.
His voice trembled, with a hint of a sob. Ha gently caressed my chook with his other hand, as if confirming I was really
there. “Please, don’t reject ma”
“Haven’t you over missed the times we spent together? Haven’t you missed my kisses and touches?” His fingers lightly
traced my lips, as if trying to awaken memories of our past happy times,
I felt nothing inside, and oven found it somewhat amusing: “James, this is really quite pointless of you.”
I continued to ignore him. No matter how he called after me or chased me down to poster me, I never gave him another
glance. This belated display of deep offaction no longer held any meaning
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more ridiculous, Kovin, having heard about James from somewhere, also
showed up.
Sometimes I think these two really are cut from the same cloth, both with performative personalities.
I must have committed some heinous crimes in my past life to deserve encountering these two lunatics in this one.
On Christmas Day, they both asked me out at the same time.
I agreed.
I wanted to clear things up with them once and for all.
James had rented out an entire restaurant. He stood in the center, impeccably dressed in a black suit that fit him
perfectly, his hair slightly tousled. He gazed at me tenderly, a faint smile playing on his lips. The restaurant was filled with
blooming camellias, their snow–white petals looking particularly lush and vibrant under the lights. The air was filled with a
subtle floral fragrance and the worm scont of candles.
The happiness on his face wasn’t fake, but it drained away the moment he saw Kevin appear behind ma
“Why are you horo?”
Kavin snorted coldly: “She called me.”
I put my bag on the table and tilted my chin up: “Both of you, sit down.”
“Emily James called out to me.
“Today, I’m going to clear everything up once and for all.”
“The three of us have known each other for eighteen years now. We’re all thirty years old, let’s stop playing these childish
games.”
I turned to Kavin, Tm grateful that you were a beacon of light when I was helpless, but perhaps what I liked was just that light and not you. When you didn’t respond and became tiresome to me. I let go of those foolings. So Kevin, I don’t owe you anything, and I’m telling you now, your current obsession with me is only because that timid, obedient girl has grown into someone who doesn’t need any protection and no longer revolves around you. You just can’t accept it.”
“Tm not some toy for you two to use in your petty rivalry, so Kevin, loove. It’s better for both of us.”
Kevin looked at me silently, seemingly wanting to say something more, or perhaps reach out to hold me back, but in the
end, he left.
Watching his retreating figure, for a moment, I felt transported back in time, seeing my twelve–year–old self hiding in the
bathroom, hurt and insecure. But this time, it wasn’t him who saved me.
It was me who finally learned to fight back.
It took quite a while, but it wasn’t too late, was it?
“Emily… I know you once liked me, truly loved me with all your heart”
James, perhaps already sensing what I was about to say, looked pained.
My feelings for James were perhaps a bit more
I took a breath: About Hannah…
complicated.
He hastily explained: “I never loved her, never even touched her.”
I nodded: “Yes, you just wanted to vent your resentment towards me, especially as the wedding date drew closer, you felt
increasingly frustrated”
“I won’t lie to you, during those five years we were together, I was happy, I suffered, I struggled, I felt sweet moments, I
experienced what it was like to be in love, it was part of my life, and I once thought I would spend the rest of my life with
you
“I do miss v
I your smile, your hugs and caresses, I miss the intimate times we shared…”
“But sometimes life is unpredictable, I heard those words, I played along with your act, I used the very things you wanted
to use to hurt me to hurt you back…
“Stop. Emily I looked at his outstretched hand, the familiar touch making me shiver.
“Eighteen years, you’re asking me to give up, how can I give up….
James choked up, tears rolling down his face. “What do I need to do for you to forgive me? Please, tell me.”
I sighed heavily, my voice full of resignation and fatigue: “The three of us have been entangled for too long, we can’t find
happiness this way”
“Besides, it’s like that wedding dress, once torn, it can’t be manded properly. A remade one just won’t fit the same.”
“This is the end of what’s between us.”
I slowly stood up, turning my back to him, my voice calm and resolute: “So, stop looking for me. I can’t bear the weight of
your love.”
“And I won’t look back.”
He ran his hands through his hair in anguish “The future is so long, isn’t there even one chance you can give me?”
I looked at him with a smile: “James, did you receive the painting I had your favorite artist create for me when I was
twenty–three?”
He was stunned for a moment, tears finally rolling down his chooks: “We’re really over, aren’t we?”
I didn’t say a word.
Turning and walking away was my answer.
Each step was incredibly difficult. Tears blurred my vision. But I know I couldn’t turn back.
What’s missed is missed. I might occasionally fool regret, but I won’t look back
As I closed the door, James was still standing there, motionless.
But I knew, everything was over.
Mountain and sea have their time to return, wind and rain are bound to meet again. What’s hard to accept will eventually
reconcile, and all things will turn out as we wish.
I also wish myself a joyful and fulfilling journey through the sea of life.
For there will always be a gentle breeze or two in this world that can fill my countless dreams.
(End of main text)
James’s Extra Chapter
Published By EasyNovel Hub With Authority Of Sarah Nolan