Chapter 19
Calvin couldn’t help but grin at the words, barely restraining his smile. “No matter what you get me, I’ll love it. I promise
Nettie’s own smile grew brighter, her eyes alight with a secret hope
Please, she wished silently, let him truly like it.
Soon enough, Calvin’s birthday arrived. The estate buzzed with the city’s elite, champagne flutes clinking as laughter echoed through the halls.2
Yet, instead of basking in the spotlight, Calvin spent the evening ushering Nettie from one conversation to another, never letting go of her hand
Gradually, the guests‘ attention shifted from Calvin to Nettie herself.
Nettie understood exactly what he was doing.
Not so long ago, it had always been Charis at Calvin’s side–Charis, the darling of every party, the one everyone fawned over
But before Charis, Nettle had once been the center of it all!
Tonight, Calvin was simply returning what had once belonged to her.!!
At the height of the celebration, as fireworks burst in a riot of color beyond the tall windows, the party reached its crescendo.
Surrounded by toasts and well–wishes, Calvin led Nettie by the hand to the first slice of cake.
He looked at her, and for a rare moment, his voice softened with genuine emotion–a wish he hadn’t spoken aloud in years, but now cherished deeply.
“My wish is simple,” he said quietly, “that every year, every day, you’ll stay by my side.”
A guest called out with a laugh, “Careful, Mr. Beaumont! If you say your wish out loud, it won’t come true. Aren’t you worried?”
Calvin just chuckled, utterly unconcerned. “Wish or no wish, I’m not leaving Nettie, and she’s not leaving me. We’re family, after all. Isn’t that right, Nettie?“;
Nettie smiled along with him, but her eyes stayed cold and distant.
Calvin, rll never leave you,
Not until I see vo
see you get what you truly deserve.
The party pressed on, but Nettie’s exhaustion became impossible to ignore.
Calvin, noticing her fatigue and feeling a pang of guilt, gently suggested she go upstairs to rest.
She didn’t argue. Lifting the hem of her dress, she slipped away from the noise and made her way up the grand staircase.
Upstairs was a world apart–quiet, empty, not a soul in sight.0
Just before entering her own room, Nettle paused, casting a cautious glance around the hallway.
She needn’t have worried. Her system had already ensured their privacy, blocking out any prying eyes.
Satisfied she was alone, she turned and slipped into Calvin’s room instead.
Less than half a minute later, she emerged as quietly as she’d entered, hurrying back to her own room.
The birthday passed, but Calvin was already making plans to whisk Nettie away on a string of trips.
But just as he finished packing his suitcase and was heading downstairs, a wave of blackness crashed over him–he collapsed, unconscious before he even hit the floor!!
After a thorough examination, the doctor assured everyone it was nothing serious.
Calvin shrugged it off, unconcerned. But that night, the nightmares returned.X
He dreamt the same horrors that had haunted him for years.X
He saw Nettie, dying in front of him–again and again, the nightmare replayed N
In his dreams, he kept putting Nettle onto a cruise ship, and again tried desperately to pull her back. It was all in vain.
Every time, he could only hear her scream, her voice raw and broken–her eyes streaming with blood–red tears–as she demanded to know why he’d sent her onto that doomed ship
Time and again, the dream repeated Nettle bound to a chair on the deck, begging him if she would really die there, if she’d truly never see him again X
The same scenes, the same guilt, over and over, until Calvin’s mind began to fray.
МНИЙ 1
No matter what he tried–doctors, pills, endless remedies–nothing could bring him peace.
He knew, deep down, that he could never separate himself from Nettie’s death.
Again and again in his dreams, he tried to beg her forgiveness, but every time, Nettie’s face twisted in fury and heartbreak, her words cutting him to the bone: I will never forgive you.
It wasn’t until a substitute–someone who looked just like her–appeared in his life again that the nightmares finally eased.
With her return, Calvin’s nightmares faded, his sleepless nights grew rare.
But peace was fleeting. It wasn’t long before the nightmares returned, more vivid than ever.”
