“You must hate me a lot, don’t you, Kendrick? You don’t even want to see me anymore, right?” Her tone was weak and her complexion was pale, exaggerating her sickly state. “I can’t live without you, Kendrick. Don’t you know? I can give everything, even my life, if it means that I’ll have you. I’d rather die than lose you!”
Tears began to stream down her heart-clenching and pitiful expression. However, Kendrick’s face remained stoic as he turned a blind eye to her act.
Nevaeh sobbed, sorrowful tears falling in large droplets from her eyes. “I know I did something wrong and disappointed you, Kendrick, but we have so much history. Won’t you give me another chance?”
“Chance?” Kendrick finally reacted. The man chuckled humorlessly, and his tone was crisp when he said, “Did anyone give Niamh a chance?”
“…” Nevaeh was stunned, never expecting Kendrick to ask such a question.
Her heart skipped an inexplicable beat as she lifted her reddened eyes to meet Kendrick’s cold and dark ones.
“Does this mean you don’t want me anymore?” Nevaeh pouted as her voice wobbled. “You were the one who promised to marry me back then, Kendrick. I—”
“If you want a marriage, I can give you one,” Kendrick spoke emotionlessly.
Nevaeh was elated. “You mean it? Oh, Kendrick!”
“I mean it, just like how I’ll mean the divorce right after.”
“…” Nevaeh’s smile froze. “Why, Kendrick?”
“Meeting you back then was like a blessing, I meant every ‘I like you’ and promise I made. Yet it took losing her for me to realize that those words were merely said out of infatuation during a relationship that was more like puppy love. It took losing her for me to realize what true love felt like.”
“…” The blood drained from Nevaeh’s face, further paling it.
The expression of unbearable pain Nevaeh wore had Kendrick slightly reluctant as he remembered the scenes from his youth. However, his eyes quickly turned cold again when his mind helped him recall everything Niamh had gone through.
His gaze stared straight into Nevaeh, the depths of his eyes acting like a whirlpool that made Nevaeh’s breathing become hitched. “So yes, we can get married. But I don’t love you, so you’ll only be in pain.”
“No! That can’t be!” Refusal swam in Nevaeh’s round eyes. “You’ve never loved another woman, Kendrick! I’m the one you love! You’re just sorry for what you did to Niamh. You don’t love her. You don’t! I won’t have it!”
Nevaeh wailed heart-wrenchingly while strengthening her grip on Kendrick’s hand. She was about to say more when Kendrick’s phone rang.
The caller ID showed that it was from an unknown number.
While Kendrick had never been one to answer calls from unknown numbers, his desire to rid himself of Nevaeh was greater.
Picking up the phone, he was met with Daniel’s anxious and heavily accusatory tone. “It’s you again, isn’t it, Kendrick Waldburg? How much more do you want to torture Niamh? Tell me where you took her!”
Kendrick furrowed his sharp brows. “What did you say?”
“When will you stop, Kendrick? Until Niamh dies? Is loving you so much of a sin? Tell me, where did you bring her?” Firing the questions at rapid speed, Daniel’s worry and anxiousness became apparent and real.
Still, Niamh was already dead. It was the truth no matter how much he refused to face it.
Soon enough, he thought of Vera Quinn.
Vera was the only possible reason why Daniel would believe that Niamh was still alive.
Did something happen to Vera?
His heart sunk as a feeling of unease began to bubble within him.
Without another thought, Kendrick broke out of Nevaeh’s grip and turned around.
Nevaeh was stunned for two whole seconds and by the time she looked up, Kendrick had already walked out of the hospital ward. “Kendrick! Kendrick, where are you going?”
She asked frantically, but Kendrick did not even spare her a glance from the corner of his eye, let alone turn around.
Rose, who had been waiting outside the door, immediately pushed it open and entered only to watch Kendrick leave.
Then, the next thing she saw was Nevaeh knocking a cup of water from the nightstand to the floor in fury.
Rose immediately ran over. “What’s wrong, Nevaeh? What did you and Kendrick talk about?”
“Hmph! What’s wrong?” Nevaeh clenched her fists, anger and indignance flaring in her reddened eyes. “He just told me he’s been in love with Niamh all his life! He likes that b*tch!”
“…” Shocked, Rose prodded carefully and asked, “You mean Kendrick told you he loved the Niamh he met when they were young, right? That’s alright since Kendrick thinks that you’re that girl anyway!”
Rather than quenching Nevaeh’s anger, Rose’s words had only added fuel to the flames.
She understood what Kendrick meant too well.
Kendrick only ever had Niamh in his heart, be it when they were young or now.
He liked her so much to the point of fancying a woman who looked like her!
Her, on the other hand? She never had a place in his heart!
Everything nice he had given her was merely the product of Kendrick fulfilling the promises he once made to Niamh!
Nevaeh smiled sinisterly when she remembered how Kendrick had rushed to leave moments ago. “Give me your phone.”
Rose quickly handed her phone to her, a greedy smile growing on her face. “Remember to tell the men to tighten the ties, Nevaeh. So tight that the liquid gets wrung out of her. Let’s see how she’ll keep acting arrogant in front of us after that!”
The corners of Nevaeh’s lips quirked upward. “As if I’d stop at wringing the liquid out of her. I’ll make sure she’ll never see the sun tomorrow!”
…
After leaving the hospital, Kendrick took the initiative to contact Daniel.
The two agreed on a place to meet. When he saw Kendrick, Daniel immediately rushed toward the other to hold the man by his collar.
“How can you even call yourself a man, Kendrick Waldburg? I understand that you don’t like Niamh anymore, but why do you have to hurt and torture her? Why did Niamh have to fall for such a b*stard like you?!”
Kendrick spoke indifferently in the face of Daniel’s furious accusations, “Let go.”
His tone was cold as his icy eyes stared at Daniel’s infuriated expression.
“You played a part in the souring of my and Niamh’s relationship back then, Daniel.”
Daniel scoffed humorously as he let go of Kendrick’s collar. “You call yourself a man, Kendrick? You have the guts to do it yet not the guts to admit it?”
Kendrick straightened his shirt lazily until his collar was completely void of wrinkles. Then, he stared and shot Daniel a smile, one that was more sarcastic than the one Daniel gave him.
“Have the guts to do but not the guts to admit, huh?”
The corner of his lips slowly tugged into a smirk.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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