Chapter 29 [Extra]
Zach’s Perspective:
Every day after breaking up with Serena was a torment of anxiety and regret.
I’ll admit I showed favoritism to Hannah, felt a need to shield her, but my heart always belonged to Serena. I never considered this a
source of conflict.
When Hannah asked me when we would break up, I casually told her to wait a little longer. I knew she would wait, and that Serena
wouldn’t break up with me.
After all, we had been together for ten years. I trusted she wouldn’t give up on our relationship.
So when she mentioned breaking up that day, I didn’t really care at first.
Initially, I thought she was just acting out. But later, I noticed she was growing colder, more distant. Eventually, the look of “love” in her eyes disappeared entirely.
That’s when panic set in. I tried to win her back, but she repeatedly shut me out. Hannah tried to help me, saying that women understand women best.
Following her advice, I flaunted my relationship to Serena and even sent her a fake pregnancy test report, but I didn’t realize that Serena was drifting further away from me.
When she stood me up and went abroad to avoid me, I completely collapsed. I didn’t understand why I felt so insignificant and desperate. In a fit of anger, I accepted Hannah’s confession.
When I learned she had returned to the country, I drank heavily. That day, I don’t fully remember what happened–I may have gone to see Serena, or perhaps Hannah took me away.
A month later, I discovered Hannah was pregnant. I resolved to forget Serena completely. But for some reason, the company’s situation worsened day by day.
I worked tirelessly, investigating, only to find that the person betraying me was Hannah. I broke down.
Even as Hannah expressed regret and remorse, I softened and still wanted to help her. I told myself Serena was already successful; a setback wouldn’t ruin her. But Hannah, she was still young and deserved a chance.
But that day, Serena came to fix my leaking water pipe and, on the side, took out the trash. I was standing on the bedroom balcony when I saw her crouching, feeding a stray kitten.
After she left, Hannah returned from the street. She walked up to the kitten, paused for two seconds, and then suddenly extended her foot, kicking the obedient little cat violently.
At that moment, it was like being struck by lightning. I saw it then, the rot wasn’t just around me; it was inside me.
Fortunately, there was still one last chance to make things right.
It stuck me then, I had spent a lifetime never truly helping Serena. But this…this final, twisted act? Let it be my atonement.
