Chapter49
Death was actually the quickest way out. It was living that was the real
torture.
After I thought everything through, I decided to go study abroad and forget about the past.
When I left, I only told Janet. She looked like she wanted me to stay, but in the end, she just said, “Take care of yourself.”
She told me that maybe it was payback, but Celia really had cancer now.
I smiled a little, and that last bit of grudge in my heart just disappeared.
All the bad stuff was behind me now. The future felt wide open.
The Side Story of Antonio:
I liked Grace when I was still a kid.
She was like a little sun, all warm and bright, and she just burst into my life and took over my heart.
When our family was going through its hardest time, only Grace and her mom wouldn’t give up on us.
They were like angels sent to save us.
At that time, I made a silent promise that I’d be good to them, no matter
what.
But one day, my grandma passed away suddenly, and our whole family went back for the funeral.
I never thought that in just a few days, something big would happen to the Parrish family.
Melvin’s mistress showed up, pregnant, and started making a scene, saying a lot of mean things to his wife.
玆
But I only heard about all this from other people.
When we got back. Grace’s mom had already asked for a divorce and started her trip around the world.
It took me a lot of work to help Grace get over what happened.
I thought I’d be with Grace for good; we’d get married, have kids, and be together forever.
But then Celia came into the picture.
She told me she liked me many times. And whenever Grace wasn’t around, she’d stick to me like glue.
At first, I was as cold as ice when it came to her. She was the daughter of that other woman, after all.
But one day, she just stopped clinging to me.
And I felt kind of empty, like something was missing.
From then on. I couldn’t stop myself from paying attention to Celia.
I had planned to propose to Grace on her birthday.
And I even bought a diamond ring.
But the night before, Celia came to me, crying so hard that she could barely breathe.
She saw the ring and asked if I was going to propose to Grace.
“Antonio, listen to me. Things aren’t what you think they are!
“You know my dad and his first wife weren’t happy together. They only stayed married because of Grace.
Chapter49
“My dad lied to my mom, saying he was single. That’s why my mom got together with him. By the time she found out the truth, she was already pregnant with me.
“My mom wanted to leave, but Grace’s mom had all these connections. She found out about my mom’s medical records and sent people after her. They almost killed my mom!”
I didn’t believe Celia at first, but then she started crying hard and threatened to jump off the building to prove that she and her mom were
innocent.
I quickly stopped her, but she clung to me and started kissing me madly.
“Antonio, I don’t want anything; I just want to be with you. Please, don’t push me away.”
Celia had a strange smell on her that made my head all fuzzy.
By the time I came back to my senses, I was already naked in her bedroom.
I made a huge mistake.
So, I had to tell myself over and over to believe all of Celia’s stories.
I knew she was lying, but she used all that stuff to force me into marrying
her.
And I agreed.
I thought Grace would always wait for me if I pretended not to know the truth.
But I was terribly wrong.
After Grace went abroad, I kept dreaming about her all the time.
s
One night, I ended up calling out her name in my dream.
I woke up suddenly and turned my head, only to see Celia right next to me. Her face was all twisted up as she was staring at me.
She screamed and pounced on me like a lunatic.
“You’re still thinking about that bitch, aren’t you? I won’t allow it! Absolutely not!”
Celia grabbed my neck with both hands and started choking me. I grabbed a figurine from beside the table and slammed it into the back of her head.
At first, Celia just got knocked out and hurt, but then I just couldn’t stop myself.
Half an hour later, I turned myself in at the police station and told them everything about what happened.
That night, I finally got a good night’s sleep.
In my dream, Grace wasn’t cold anymore. She was that little girl with pigtails again, bouncing over to me.
“Antonio, why are you here? Let’s go have some fun!”
Yeah, she used to call me by my name with a sweet smile a long time ago.
The end.
