Chapter 23
In the picture, Bella and her parents sat together in a quiet corner of the airport lounge. Morning sunlight poured across Bella’s face, bathing her in a gentle glow. She looked even more beautiful than usual, and her parents on either side were laughing and chatting with her, sharing a rare moment of happiness.
But Candace didn’t even flinch.
“Mr. Rangel, I really don’t get why you keep insisting Bella’s alive. That girl in the photo isn’t her. Besides, didn’t you say you didn’t love her?”
Everything Sean wanted to say caught in his throat. “I…“N
How could he tell the truth–that he and Bella had both come back to life? No one would believe him. They’d just think he was crazy.
He hesitated, then tried again. “There were misunderstandings between me and Bella. But please, believe me. I love her.“>
Candace let out a cold laugh. “If you really loved Bella, why did you hurt her so much?“}]
Sean opened his mouth, but she kept going. “Look inside yourself, Sean. Everything you did–was that really love?“%
He shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. I just… I thought Bella didn’t love me, so I treated her badly. Later, I realized she always loved me, and I wanted to make it up to her. But by then, she was already—”§
Candace cut him off. “Sean, if Bella didn’t love you, she never would’ve married you. Even after you started seeing someone else, we called and begged her to leave you and come back to France. She refused. She said she didn’t want to give up on you, that she wanted to give you more chances. But you blew every one of them. Now she’s gone. You need to stop living in the past, stop torturing yourself, and stop bothering the Lopez family. If you miss her so much, go visit her grave. Don’t come here and make a scene, insisting she’s still alive.”
With that, Candace turned away, closed the door, and walked back into the house.
“Wait-”
Sean instinctively tried to follow, but the heavy doors slammed shut, leaving him alone outside. He stood there, staring at the closed door for what felt like forever, his hands clenched at his sides.
No, he couldn’t be wrong. That was Bella. He was sure of it.
He didn’t understand why Bella wouldn’t come out, or why her family kept lying to him. But it didn’t matter. He was willing to wait. If he waited long enough, Bella would come find him. She always did.
Just like back in high school, when he played basketball every day for a month, waiting for her to show up. In the end, her roommate dragged her to the court, and Bella appeared.}
So Sean waited outside the house day after day, hoping to see her. He waited from sunset to sunrise, through bright afternoons and cold, rainy nights. The longer he waited, the more the hope in his eyes faded.
Just when he thought he might never see her again, a familiar figure appeared at the gate.
“Bella!”
Excitement lit up Sean’s face. He jumped out of his car, rushed to her, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into a tight hug.
He was trembling. “Bella, Bella… I finally found you…“}
“You have no idea how much I missed you these past months. I missed you so much I thought I’d lose my mind. I really thought you were gone. Thank God you’re okay…“}
There was so much more Sean wanted to say, but all that came out was, “I missed you.”
But the girl in his arms suddenly looked up at him, totally confused. “Who are you?”
Sean froze. “Bella, it’s me–Sean. I’m your husband, I-”
The young woman didn’t want to hear it. She shoved him away. “What’s wrong with you? Grabbing random people and yelling their names?”
Just then, Aiden, the Lopez family’s butler, rushed out and bowed to her.
“Miss, welcome home.”
