‘Mom, I’ve grown up. I can take care of myself now, and I won’t let anyone push me around anymore. You don’t have to worry
about me.”
I held onto my mother’s tombstone, whispering stories to her for a long time.
Suddenly, Maverick appeared before me, looking utterly disheveled. Without a word, he dropped to his knees before my mother’s grave and began to grovel. When he looked up at me again, his voice was laced with sorrow.
“Lia, why didn’t you tell me about Layla’s passing?”
His pitiful appearance only made me feel sick to my stomach. My voice was icy as I asked, “And why should I inform someone
who has nothing to do with her?”
He grabbed my hand, his emotions running high. “Lia, I know you’re still mad, but I’m your fiancé! I’ve always treated Layla like
my own mother–how can you say I have nothing to do with her?”
I shook off his hand. “Your own mother? Maverick, do you even hear yourself? Since my mom got sick, have you even visited her
more than five times?”
He tried to explain, “I was just too busy with work–”
“You didn’t have time to visit my mother, but you had time to fool around with Emma every day. My mother has been dead for ten days, and you didn’t even know. But the moment Emma got a tiny scratch on her hand, you rushed to take care of her. Don’t you
+15 BONUS
think that’s laughable?”
Faced with my accusations, he finally lowered his head. “Lia… I’m sorry. I let Layla down, and I put you through so much pain. I’m willing to spend the rest of my life making it up to you
“I swear I’ll never betray you from now on. If I do, may I be struck by lightning and never have peace!”
I met his eyes, my expression cold. “The best way you can make it up to me is by never showing up in front of me again.”
Panic flashed across his face. “Lia, have you forgotten that Layla’s greatest wish before she passed was for you to marry me?”
“As for calling off the wedding, I believe my mother would understand.” With that, I turned and walked away without looking
back
For more than half a year, I had been torn between worrying about my mother’s illness and drowning in the pain of Maverick’s betrayal with Emma. I hadn’t felt happiness even for a single day.
I once thought that five years of love would be impossible to let go of. But now that I finally had let go of it, I felt lighter than ever. That night, I had the best sleep I’d had in a long time.
When I woke up, I found my phone flooded with messages from my friends.
They were all asking about my wedding with Maverick, furiously scolding me for being weak and forgiving a scumbag like him so easily.
