Chapter 430
*** +25 BONUS
430
The more Irvin realized that treating Julianne well hurt me, the more he did it to inflict pain on me. He gradually got used to putting her above me, and that became a habit , which was terrifying.
One wrong step led to another.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt unworthy of me. He truly deserved everything that had happened up until this point. He had brought it on himself.
The best kind of love he could offer me now was to let go completely and allow me to move on into the light while he rotted away in the dark .
And the more he thought about that, the more genuine his gaze became. He truly wanted me to go and meet someone new.
He wanted me to stop hurting over someone like him and find real happiness.
I looked at him, who was apologizing and asking me to move on and find someone else. Though my tears were falling harder than ever, the heartache wasn’t as crushing anymore. In fact , it felt like closure.
Finally, I didn’t have to endure the pain and feel conflicted.
This was it. Things between Irvin and me were finally over.
Lefied so hard, maybe because of the pain of parting. After all, it had been 11 years. The most beautiful 11 years of my life. Having to remove a love that was so ingrained in me, how could that not hurt?
But fortunately, I had already been through so much pain that I was used to it. I could easily handle this amount of pain.
I reached up and wiped away the tears clouding my vision. I wanted to take one last good look at him.
From the bright young man I had met at 17, to the way his eyes burned when he confessed his feelings to me.
From how loving he was when we got married, to how cold and indifferent he became when Julianne returned.
To the pain he felt when he realized he had misunderstood me, to how he asked me to meet someone new, and how we eventually drifted apart.
People really did change. And love really did fade.
Just like the change of the seasons. From the first buds in spring, to the full bloom of summer, to the falling leaves of autumn, and finally, to the deadly stillness of winter.
As someone who loved me so much, he surely never imagined that one day, he would ask me to look for someone else.
And for me, someone who had once loved him so much, I never imagined that one day I’d hear those words and not feel excruciating pain. It didn’t make me feel like I wished to never be alive.
Instead, I felt relieved. It was as if a huge weight had finally been lifted from my chest.
In this world, there really was no such thing as forever.
I replayed details of him and our past memories in my mind and buried them all deep inside me. Then I smiled. “All the best, Irvin. I wish you well.”
Even though I no longer loved him and we couldn’t walk the rest of our lives together, I still hoped he would be well.
His hand, tucked in his pocket, clenched tightly. He lowered his eyes, holding back his tears . “Thank you. Fhope your life goes even better than mine.”
I smiled and replied, “Thank you.”
Then, I stood up. “That was all I came here to ask. Now that I have the answer , I’ll be taking my leave.‘
430
In those two years after Julianne returned , he had left me far too n
This time , I no longer wanted to watch him walk away.
I wanted to be the one to leave first.
430
+25 BONUS
In those two years after Julianne returned, he had left me far too many times, watching him disappear into the distance.
This time, I no longer wanted to watch him walk away.
I wanted to be the one to leave first.