Chapter 197 – Until You Say Sorry Novel

Staring down at her like a champion looking at the loser, the man oozed with a frightfully domineering aura.

“You wouldn’t waste my time unless you want a painful death coming your way.” He warned frostily.

Nevaeh coughed twice for the sake of it and raised her head with difficulty. “I… I know I shouldn’t have lied to you, Kendrick. But… But I promise, the love I feel for you is real. I love you, Kendrick, I really do—”

“Cut the bullsh*t,” Kendrick interrupted emotionlessly.

Nevaeh fell face-down on the ground and bit her lip. “Alright, I’ll tell you…”

Head down, Nevaeh’s eyes flashed with deceit. ‘If I can’t get this man, Niamh, then you can forget about getting a shred of his love as well!’

She clenched her jaw and swore internally before opening her mouth to say, “There was an elective I took with Niamh in my freshman year, and there was a girl with the nickname Nia in that class. Niamh and I had accidentally taken a look at her diary, and we found out that she shared a past with you, Kendrick. So I…”

Nevaeh paused before continuing, “The girl transferred for some reason in the end, but I managed to steal her diary before she left. I think Niamh wanted to pretend to be that girl too, but she couldn’t because I was a step ahead of her.”

With that, she reached out to tug Kendrick’s pant leg and begged with newfound humility. “Please, Kendrick. For Jack, let me go…”

“How dare you speak of Jack? You were never fit as his mother at all!”

Kendrick kicked Nevaeh away coldly as his words fell. Then, he turned around to leave, bringing the cold he oozed with him.

“Kendrick, Kendrick…” Nevaeh wailed with her rigid throat, but the man slowly vanished from her vision anyway…

Leaving the detention center, Kendrick sped his way to the gates of a cemetery.

He lit a cigarette and stared sorrowfully into space.

Nevaeh’s words reminded him of something Niamh had told him six years ago.

Tears were streaming down her face while she lay by his feet, accusing him of turning back on the promise he made to her when they were young. He was shocked and mere moments away from believing that Niamh was indeed the girl years ago when Nevaeh had suddenly appeared with her sly words that convinced him Niamh was lying and that she was a wicked woman.

Yet the fact remained that Niamh was not such a woman at all.

She had given without a thought of repayment—a virtue hard to come by.

How could such a woman peek at the contents of another’s diary, and then steal their identity?

Kendrick’s heart thrummed erratically in his chest. After taking a long drag of the cigarette, he exhaled a puff of white smoke.

Then, he had an epiphany. It was an explanation that resolved every confusion and question mark in his head.

For a split second, he could not describe the flurry of emotions within him.

Just then, his eyes caught sight of a white figure slowly standing from what should be Niamh’s grandfather’s grave. Her figure was a replica of the one in his memories.

He thought about the same silhouette he had seen the last time, though he was not able to find out who exactly the woman who left the flowers was.

Kendrick’s heart picked up its pace as he immediately extinguished the light and strode over.

After leaving flowers for her grandfather, Niamh stood and walked over to the grave to caress the name engraved on the tombstone.

“I know you’ve always wanted to help me find my parents, Grandfather, but now that I’ve finally found them, I don’t know if I should acknowledge them or not.”

She smiled but felt the corner of her eyes sour.

“It’s almost hilarious how my dearest parents and the man I used to love the most had held dear the wicked woman who killed you, my child, and almost me.

“But don’t worry, Grandfather. Nia’s really close to avenging you two!”

The thrilling rush of revenge flared in Niamh’s eyes as the corner of her lips quirked into a smirk.

She turned around to light him a candle, only to find someone standing not too far from her the moment she turned around…

The man before her gave off an air of frost and avoidance, his chiseled features betraying nothing as he stared at her.

The wind blew strongly in the deep of autumn at the cemetery, caressing the cheeks of those who visited.

Niamh calmly gave a soft smile at the man who had appeared in front of her. “Why are you here, Kendrick?” she asked, her tone casual with a hint of surprise. However, she did not let out the nervousness she felt.

Kendrick walked over slowly before turning to look at the tombstone. “Why are you here? And who’s this? Why are you paying respects to him? This is your first time in Glendale, isn’t it? I didn’t know that you had relatives resting here.”

Niamh pretended to be shocked as she replied, “Don’t you know, Kendrick? Niamh was still technically your ex-wife. Don’t you recognize her grandfather?”

“My ex-wife’s grandfather?” He stared dazedly at the name engraved on the tombstone, the words ‘Grandfather of Niamh Delgado’ were indeed engraved on the bottom left corner.

“Why would you come and pay respects to my ex-wife’s grandfather out of the blue?”

“Sympathy, perhaps,” Niamh parted her lips to reply in a heartbeat as she stared at the flowers she placed. “I’ve been feeling sad for this Niamh Delgado as of late. The man she loved deeply doesn’t even like her, and she had died being known as the shameless woman who even your family thinks death’s the least amount of punishment for her crimes…”

She said with a smile before bending down to light the candle.

“Perhaps It’s because I look too much like Niamh and have fallen in love with the man she was smitten with, so I couldn’t help but sympathize with her past. I had someone help me look into her past connections. Knowing that her grandfather had passed away, I thought that maybe I could pay my respects for her.”

Niamh found no logical faults in her explanation.

Meanwhile, Kendrick stood stunned by the side. Staring at the flickering candle, his deep dark eyes seemed to have been lit by a bright flare as well.

“Oh, are you here to give roses to someone resting here too, Kendrick?” Niamh stood and smiled, brushing off non-existent lint and smoke out of Kendrick’s shirt collar.

“The strong wind’s giving me a bit of a headache. How about we return first?”

Kendrick turned to face Niamh’s crescent-eyed smile and nodded.

Niamh watched Kendrick quietly as they made their way back and realized that he had yet shown any burst of emotions on his face.

Did he believe the words she said?

Most likely.

He could not possibly stay silent if he suspected her, especially not with how much he hated her.

…

Headlines of Nevaeh’s conviction began to trend in newspapers a few days later.

Following that was the incident of Nevaeh stealing the identity of Montgomeries’ eldest daughter.

Netizens were in outrage. As much as they felt for the Montgomery family, they were also heartbroken for Jackson.

Such a smart and brave child did not deserve such a horrible and wicked woman for a mother.

While reading the news, the Montgomery family’s Twitter post about the search for their daughter caught Niamh’s eye.

Within the passage of text was a description of a butterfly-shaped birthmark on their long-lost daughter’s waist.

Niamh immediately tried to stop that from trending.

She could not let Kendrick see such a piece of news now.

At the same time, Niamh knew that she had to pick up the pace of her revenge.

Kendrick came to look for her just as she read the news and informed her of the date when he was going to bring her to meet his parents.

Niamh made sure to dress up that day and entered Waldburg Manor with her arm linked with Kendrick’s just as the sun set over the horizon.

Oh, how unwilling Kendrick was when she had stepped foot here back then.

Yet here they were, with Kendrick happily bringing her through Waldburg Manor’s doors.

Perhaps this was what people meant by the future was unpredictable.

Mrs. Waldburg, Karen Yaleman, immediately rushed forward to ask when she realized that Kendrick had arrived. “Is it true, Kendrick, the things I read on the internet? Did Nevaeh actually do all those things? Is she sitting for 12 years? Did she actually pretend to be the Montgomeries’ daughter too?”

Kendrick frowned in displeasure. “I don’t want to hear her name anymore.”

“But…”

“I’m here today for my fianceé to meet my parents. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak of depressing names and things,” Kendrick interrupted coldly before lowering his gaze to look at Niamh. “My mom made these dishes herself. I hope you’ll find them to your liking.”

“What?” Karen’s expression darkened instantly. “You told me we had an important guest over tonight, Kendrick. You even told me to make the dishes myself! You’re telling me it was for this woman?”

Niamh quirked a delicate brow and smiled lightly. “It’s nice to see you, Aunty.”

“Well, it’s not nice to see you, you witch!” Karen spared Niamh a disdainful glance. “Looking at you kills my appetite!”

“Vera will be your daughter-in-law soon, so would you please not use such a sharp tone?” Kendrick asked distastefully.

Mrs. Waldburg paused before huffing and marching to Mr. Waldburg. “Do you see this? Your son’s gone mad! I can’t believe he brought home a woman who looks exactly like his ex-wife. Why divorce that b*tch anyway if this is the case?”

That b*tch.

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