Chapter 12
Matthew.couldn’t hold back the agonized
roar that tore from his chest.
the saine e
She was still wearing
ng there
from the last time they’d met. The earrings charred and twisted from the fire were ones he’d personally put on her Even the pink diamond ring on her finger was the one she had chosen just weeks ago, beaming with excitement in the diamond
store.
That ring had meant so much to her. She never took it off, not even in the shower.
Yesterday, she had been warm in his arms.
Alive.
Now, she was gone. Snatched away by a cruel twist of fate, separated from the
world forever.
Matthew’s face contorted with a storm of despair and hatred. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he fell to his knees, his body
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Chapter 12
trembling uncontrollably. His anguished. cries echoed through the sterile room, filling the void left by her absence.
Mr. Ban, standing solemnly to the side, approached him with something in his hands.
“This is Miss Cassandra‘ s phone,” he said softly, handing over the scorched
device. “It was found at the scene of the
fire. She deliberately left it behind for you.”
Matthew clutched the phone with
trembling hands, his gaze unfocused as Mr.
Ban continued.
“Miss Cassandra… she didn’t die immediately.”
Matthew’s breath hitched and his blood
turned cold.
“She held on. Miraculously, she clung to life until the firefighters arrived. In her final moments, she kept calling your name -over and over again.”
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Mr. Ban paused, his voice heavy with sorrow. “But it’s a pity. She never got to see you one last time. That was her only wish.”
Each word sliced into Matthew’s heart like a dagger, leaving him gasping for air.
“Cassey…” he whispered hoarsely, his voice cracking. Then, with a guttural scream that shook the walls, he bellowed her name.
“CASSANDRAA!”
His fists slammed into the cold, hard ground, again and again, with reckless. abandon. Each strike sent a jolt of pain up his arms, but it wasn’t enough. He craved the physical pain–it was the only thing that could momentarily drown out the storm of guilt and grief consuming him.
Mr. Ban watched silently, his expression grim. He stepped forward, as if to intervene, but stopped short. There was no point. Matthew was a man lost in his
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Chapter 12
torment, punishing himself for sins he couldn‘ tundo.
It wasn’t until Matthew’s knuckles were raw and bleeding and his body threatened to collapse from exhaustion, that Mr. Ban ordered others to drag him away.
*kk
Cassandra’s belongings were delivered to Matthew days later.
He sat in his empty home, staring blankly at the remnants of her life. Jewelry, charred and broken from the explosion, sat in front of him. He reached out to touch them but stopped midway, his hand trembling.
He couldn’t even cry anymore.
The Lawrence Family, concerned for his health, sent a doctor to sedate him. The anesthetic dulled his physical exhaustion, but the emotional torment persisted. Even in his unconscious state, he gripped her phone tightly, refusing to let it go.
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Chapter 12
“Will he be okay?” Julia s voice
quivered as she looked at him, her face painted with feigned worry.
“Don’t worry,” said Matthew s aunt dismissively. “He’s always been rational. He won’t let his emotions get the better of him for long.”
Her tone grew colder. “Besides, what s done is done. Cassandra is gone. There‘ nothing he can do now. Stick by his side and he’ll come around soon enough.”
Taking these words to heart, Julia took it upon herself to erase every trace of Cassandra from the house. Every photograph, every keepsake, everything that once belonged to her–gone.
S
She replaced them with her own belongings, decorating the villa in her image. Standing in the transformed space, devoid of even a shadow of Cassandra. Julia felt triumphant. Humming a cheerful tune, she went to the kitchen and prepared millet porridge, eager to surprise Matthew
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with her care.
But when she entered his room, the tray in
her hands, she froze.
Matthew was gone.
xxx
A roar of fury erupted from downstairs, shaking the walls.
“Who gave you the right to throw away Cassey’s things?!”
Matthew’s voice was raw and menacing, his rage palpable.
“Find them! All of you, go out and look for them! If anything is missing. I’ll make sure you pay–with your lives!”
Julia’s hands trembled and the porcelain bowl slipped from her grasp. It shattered on the floor, sending hot millet porridge splashing across her legs. She screamed in pain, clutching her scorched skin.
But it was nothing compared to the cold,
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Chapter 12
murderous glare she saw when she looked
up.
Matthew’s dark eyes locked onto her, his expression chilling. There was a flicker of something primal in his gaze–a quiet, deadly promise of violence.
Julia recoiled instinctively, covering her mouth to stifle a gasp.
Matthew took a step toward her, his tall frame looming over her like a shadow. His narrowed eyes glinted with a dangerous light and every movement radiated barely restrained fury.
“You think you can replace her?” he said, his voice low and venomous.
Julia’s heart raced as he leaned closer, his words sending a shiver down her spine.
“Let me make this clear,” he hissed, his tone sharp as a blade. “Cassandra is irreplaceable. And if you ever touch her things again…”
Talupter 12
He didn’t need to finish. The unspoken threat bung heavy in the air, suffocating
her.
For the first time, Julia realized that the man standing before her was not the same Matthew she thought she knew. This was a man consumed by loss and his love for Cassandra had turned into something
terrifying.