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“How could Ambrose fall in love with someone like you? How could your heart be so cruel? He loved you so much, and the Wright family treated you well. How could you bear to hurt your former lover like this?”
Claudia’s voice grew more and more hysterical, her words sharp and biting. Ambrose, face drawn in a mix of exhaustion and regret, quickly had her dragged away, still muttering apologies to Hazel.
Even as she was being hauled off, Claudia continued to scream curses.
Ambrose, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly broke his silence.
“Hazel… is not at fault. I’m the one to blame.
His eyes locked with Hazel’s, his voice trembling with a weight of sorrow.
He had made too many mistakes. Grave mistakes.
It was his greed, his failure to cherish her, his selfishness, his constant disregard for what she wanted.
C
He had thought he loved her, but it was only his own needs he’d focused on. Never once had he truly thought about what she needed.
And that had been the wedge between them, driving them farther apart.
As the realization settled deep within him, Ambrose’s tears fell once again, like a flood of regret he could no longer hold back.
Banting Away turns Manage, Leaving songton Hond
He lowered his head, his voice barely a whisper. “Hazel… I don’t dare to hope for your forgiveness. I only ask that you don’t forget me. Even if you hate me, please, don’t forget me…”
Zaccheus paced in a restless circle, his thoughts a tangled mess, but not a word escaped his lips.
Once, he had dreamed of climbing into the Wright family’s circle, convinced it would bring him success. Now, his eldest daughter had run away, and his youngest had destroyed everything.
All his efforts had crumbled into dust, leaving him with nothing but a bitter feud with the Wright family.
Unable to contain himself, he glanced toward Gianna
She was more beautiful now than she had ever been, her radiance shining brighter than ever.
And then there was Althea, what was her beauty worth now? She had aged in the twenty years that had passed, fading with time.
Zaccheus longed to approach Gianna, to say something, but the coldness in her gaze froze him in his tracks. He could only sneak a furtive glance at her.
Hazel saw it all.
She knew her father likely regretted his decisions now.
For some, the things they could never have and those they had lost forever were the most precious.
The Wright family had exhausted nearly all their wealth trying to resolve Ambrose’s situation.
After countless negotiations, massive compensation was finally paid, and Ambrose was sent back to his country.
Just before his departure, Ambrose stole one last longing glance at Hazel.
As though trying to convince himself, he asked softly, “Will we meet again?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Hazel answered, her voice unwavering, “Never.”
She had already applied for a restraining order, sealing the final chapter between them. Ambrose would never again be allowed near her.
Her former lover, now a stranger in a distant land, never to cross her path again.
Ambrose suddenly crumbled, tears streaming down his face.
Before everyone, Ambrose cried out, broken and desperate.
“Why did this happen?”
“Hazel, you’ve stood by me for so long… I thought you’d never leave me. I thought you’d forgive me no matter what I did.”
“I never imagined you’d slip away so quietly. I never thought I’d lose you forever.”
“When you left, it was like the whole world shifted. I never wanted to hurt you. I was just weak. When I finally woke up, I knew I wouldn’t choose Scarlett, but I couldn’t bring myself to let go of her. So, I tried to make you into her.”
“I thought I could have both of you… but I forgot…”
He forgot that there could only ever be one Hazel.
No matter her faults, she was irreplaceable.
She could never bear being someone else’s second choice.
Hearing Ambrose’s words, Hazel remained unmoved.
She had already understood everything, and the irony cut deeper. Ambrose only now realized his feelings.
With a quiet sigh, Hazel hooked her arm through her mother’s as they turned to leave.
“I saw the list you made, the one on the calendar. I thought, even if I couldn’t bring you back, I could at least make up for some of what I had taken from you, I never thought… I never thought it would end like this…”
The wedding that never came to be. The wedding photos that never existed.
The Ferris wheel they never rode. The happiness they never had.
Twenty years of knowing each other, ten years of loving each other, and in the end, every moment was tinged with regret.
The wishes on the calendar no longer belonged to Hazel but to the haunting demons of Ambrose.
The sky above was clear, without a cloud in sight.
Ambrose stood there, despairing, watching Hazel walk away, her figure bathed in sunlight, moving step by step toward the future that was hers alone.
With each step, she grew farther from his world, resolute and unshaken, never once glancing back.
D
