“Really? Are Maisie’s parents and brother the ones you’re referring to? Didn’t she grow up with you?”
Joey caught the sarcasm in her words.
He recalled everything that had happened over the past few years, and a wave of guilt washed over him. He hurriedly tried to explain.
“Gigi, why do you have to hold this against May? Yes, we favored her, but it was all because she agreed to marry into the Stewart family for you.
“We just wanted to make it up to her. Think about it, before she came, we treated you the same way, didn’t we?”
Whenever Maisie was mentioned, it always came back to the same excuse.
Margot was tired of hearing it.
She looked at Joey calmly.
“After tomorrow, I will have no more ties to the Johansons or to you.
“You can go ahead and make it up to whomever you want. I don’t care, and I don’t want to hear any more of this nonsense.”
“You’re jumping into a pit of fire just to get back at us, Gigi. Is it really worth it?
“Calm down, return to Veridian City with me. I promise you, nothing from the past will happen again!”
Joey spoke urgently as he reached out to hold her hand.
Margot stepped back a few paces, creating distance between them.
“I don’t need it, and I don’t want it. I will never set foot there again. Please leave.”
The firmness and coldness in her tone caused the last shred of hope in Joey’s heart to sink like a stone.
What followed was an overwhelming sense of anger and confusion.
“Must you be so absolute, leaving yourself no way out?”
A way out?
1/2
Chapter 19
Margot smiled faintly. She had long since lost any hope of a way out.
The Stewarts may be strangers to her now, but it was certainly not her way out.
She turned her gaze away and looked toward Dominic who had been closely observing their exchange.
Her heart slowly found peace.
“This way out is better left to Maisie. No, I suppose she would be Mrs. Johanson now.”
Seeing the panic flicker in Joey’s eyes, Margot suddenly found the situation amusing.
+15 BONUS
“I heard that Charles and Maisie have already registered their marriage. When you return to Veridian City, could you do me a
favor and pass along a message?
“Tell them they are not invited to my wedding, and they don’t need to invite me to theirs.
“From now on, let’s each go our own way.”
Then Margot walked away without looking back.
Joey was now so flustered that he couldn’t find his bearings.
He pulled out his phone, intending to confirm things with Charles, but the moment he opened it, he saw Maisie’s most recent
social media post.
[Looking forward to the rest of our lives together!]
Accompanying the post was a photo of her and Charles holding their marriage certificate.
When he saw the photo, Joey froze completely.
He had thought that today he would bring Margot back, then find a chance to explain things to Maisie, and everything would
return to the way it had been.
But the situation had turned out entirely differently from what he had expected.
Now, one was about to marry into the Stewart family, and the other had already married Charles.
He had failed to hold on to either woman.
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