Chapter 23
“My parents used to love me. But now, because of you, they want to throw me in jail!”
Lucile stepped closer to him, her eyes blazing. “I loved you so much, Antonio. How could you do this to me? From the very beginning, you and my parents were always on my side. But the moment Grace faked her death, you all changed.”
“Did you ever really love me? How could you turn your back on me so easily?”
Deep down, Lucile had always known that Grace was kind.
Even when she bullied Grace, Grace never once retaliated. Even after finding her biological parents and gaining such a privileged status, Grace never came back to settle scores.
But the better Grace was, the more Lucile envied her.
Especially after Antonio changed his mind–her jealousy burned brighter.
Why did all the good things always happen to Grace?
At first, Lucile thought she had won. But the Simpson family was. wealthier than the Parrish family, and they could destroy them without a second thought.
She was always beneath Grace.
And she couldn’t stand it.
Especially now, when Antonio had exposed all her past misdeeds. Even the Parrish family no longer shielded her.
Just last night, they had told her to leave, disowning her as their daughter.
How could they?
How could they treat her like this?
Fueled by rage, Lucile had tampered with Mr. Parrish’s brakes. Soon enough, they’d get what they deserved.
How could they disown their own daughter without facing consequences?
Lucile was now inches from Antonio. “Antonio, you loved me. Why did you change?”
Antonio looked at her, his brows furrowing as he took a step back. “The only woman I ever loved was Grace.”
If he hadn’t investigated Lucile’s past, Antonio might never have realized that the woman he idealized wasn’t Lucile. It had always been Grace.
He had loved Grace all along.
But he had mistaken her for someone else.
He had married her, only to lose her by his own hand.
“Oh, really?” Lucile sneered. “Then why didn’t you act like you loved her when you were helping me torment her?”
Lucile’s laugh was cold and bitter. “Antonio, you don’t love anyone. You only love yourself.”
Her expression twisted as she suddenly pulled a knife from her sleeve and lunged at him. “If I can’t have you, no one can!”
Antonio had no time to react. The blade sank deep into his side, and his legs gave out as he collapsed against the desk.
Lucile watched him coldly, then yanked the knife free. “But Antonio, I really do love you. So I won’t let you be alone.“”
With that, Lucile drove the knife into her own chest, collapsing onto Antonio with a twisted smile.
As his vision blurred, Antonio thought of Grace.
The woman he’d mistaken ten years ago.
The one who had confessed her love to him five years ago.
The one who blushed shyly at their wedding three years ago as he kissed
her.
The one who greeted him with a bright smile every evening when he came home from work.
The one who nestled in his arms, teasing and playful.
And the one who was pale and hollow–eyed, seeking his help with a gaze full of despair.
But the final image burned into his mind was of Grace’s cold, emotionless. eyes–eyes that no longer reflected any trace of him.
At that moment, Antonio laughed.
He laughed at himself.
His life had been nothing but a tragedy.
Mistaking the wrong woman, loving without realizing it, and only regretting once it was too late…
Now, it was all too late. Even knowing the truth, he couldn’t forgive himself.
11
How could Grace ever forgive him?
