Chapter 36
When Daphne slowly opened her eyes, she found herself lying safely in her familiar room.
Sunlight streamed gently through the gaps in the curtains, warming her face with a comforting glow.
Gracie and Jonathan immediately gathered by her bedside, their eyes filled with worry and tenderness.
“Daphne, you’re finally awake. How do you feel? Are you in pain anywhere?”
Gracie’s voice trembled slightly as she tightly held her daughter’s hand, afraid of losing her again.
Daphne mustered a weak smile and replied softly, “Mom, I’m fine. Don’t worry. But…. why did I faint again? What happened?”
Jonathan’s face darkened at her words. He turned away from the bed, his tone brimming with anger. “It’s Matthew again! This time, I won’t let him off the hook!”
Gracie, trying to comfort her daughter, spoke gently, “Daphne, let’s stay far away from Matthew from now on. Don’t give him another chance to hurt you, okay?”
A wave of conflicting emotions surged through Daphne. She thought back to her conversation with Matthew the night before and the fleeting image of Calvin that seemed to
appear.
“Mom, how did I get back last night? I remember…” She hesitated, hoping Gracie might offer some clue about Calvin.
“Oh, your brother went to pick you up,” Gracie replied simply, unaware of the subtle shift in Daphne’s expression.
Jonathan, still fuming, caught Daphne’s questioning look and made an effort to suppress his anger.
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“What did Matthew say to you last night?” he asked.
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Chapter 38
Daphne carefully studied her brother’s reaction, speaking softly, “He… he said we were married once.”
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, worried she might provoke Jonathan.
“What?! He has
the audacity to bring that up?”
Jonathan’s anger flared again. His fists clenched tightly, and it seemed as though he was ready to storm off and confront Matthew.
Seeing this, Daphne quickly tried to calm him. “Jonathan, don’t get worked up. I have no feelings for Matthew anymore, and I’ll never have any connection with him again. I just want to know–what else have you been hiding from me?”
Jonathan hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to tell her the truth.
“You were deeply in love with Matthew back then and married him despite everything. But he betrayed you–he brought another woman into your life. You were so heartbroken that you chose to undergo memory–erasure surgery to forget everything and start over.”
Daphne was stunned.
She had always thought her memory loss was due to a severe illness, never imagining the intricate emotional turmoil behind it.
After a moment of silence, she looked up at Jonathan and her mother, her eyes resolute.
“Jonathan, Mom, don’t worry. I’ll move forward and live my life well. I won’t let the shadows of the past affect me anymore. I have no feelings for Matthew now and won’t have any ties with him in the future.”
Hearing this, Jonathan and Gracie exchanged relieved smiles, as though a weight had been lifted from their hearts.
“No matter what, we’re family, now and always,” Daphne reassured them, filling the room with a warm and harmonious atmosphere.
After they left, Daphne sat alone in her room.
She unlocked her phone and once again stared at Matthew’s contact and the photo of the
Forsaking the Years of Longing
Chapter 16.
woman on the beach.
In that moment, the truth finally dawned on her–Matthew had secretly taken the photo during one of their trips to the beach.
Yet, her thoughts weren’t on the past anymore.
Only one question filled her mind:
When would she see Calvin again?
