Chapter 189
Remembering the broken expression on Kris’s face when he found her in his mother’s room, Thalassa’s heart squeezed painfully. She couldn’t bear his silence any longer
She blurted out, “What? Are you upset with me because I did what I had to do to bring your mother to justice?”
“Upset?” A humorless chuckle left his mouth. “In what world could I be upset with you? No, I’m not upset. I’m
ashamed.”
Pain flashed in his eyes. “You told me. You told me so many times that it was my mother behind the attack on you and the death of our child, and I still refused to believe you called you a liar. How can I be upset with you when I know I don’t even deserve your forgiveness?”
A self–deprecating look settled on his face. “I knew it. I knew I didn’t deserve your forgiveness or your love, and yet like a fool, I allowed myself to dream. I dreamed that you still loved me and that we could finally be happy together.”
He pursed his lips, the hurt in his eyes intensifying. “But I didn’t deserve your deception either, Lassa. I was already having my mother investigated. If you had told me about your suspicions regarding her involvement in the underworld, I would’ve tried to retrieve the evidence myself. You didn’t have to go to the trouble of lying to me and making me believe you still had feelings for me when, in truth, you never stopped hating me.”
Thalassa’s heart constricted so tightly it was hard to breathe. She wanted to tell him he was mistaken. Tell him
that she still loved him so much it hurt. But the words refused to leave her throat.
A tear slid down Kris’s cheek, but he quickly wiped it away before gazing into her eyes again. “I accept it now. I accept that I can never have you back, and I know I have no one but myself to blame for it. From now on, I won’t bother you anymore. You’re free to be with a man who truly deserves you.”
He took a step closer, raising his hand. Thalassa could see he was about to touch her face, but he stopped himself, his hand slowly falling to his side.
“Goodbye, Lassa.”
With that, he turned and walked out of the station.
After he was gone, Thalassa stood numbly for a full minute. Finally, she gathered enough strength to leave the
station.
She had to force her way through the horde of paparazzi, this time alone, but she managed to reach her car and sped off.
When she got home and entered the house, Luisa quickly met her at the door. “Oh, Lassa. I was so scared Linda might get away with it, but thank God Kris stepped in. Now that woman is finally going to pay for everything she did to you.”
Thalassa nodded slowly, looking straight at Luisa but not really seeing her. “Yes, thank God Kris stepped in.”
Luisa paused, frowning. “Hey… are you okay? I thought you’d be happy. Aren’t you?”
“Happy? Of course I am,” Thalassa said, emphasizing her declaration with a wide smile. “I’m just tired. I’ll go get some sleep now. Let’s talk tomorrow.”
With that, she sidestepped Luisa and made her way upstairs to her bedroom. The plan had been to take a long shower and sleep afterwards, but she suddenly felt too tired to even take off her clothes.
Mechanically, she slowly walked over and lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Luisa was right. She was supposed
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to be ecstatic with joy. So why was she feeling like this?
Suddenly, Kris’s last words to her at the station rolled through her mind: ‘From now on, I won’t bother you anymore. You’re free to be with a man who truly deserves you.‘
And just like that, a tear rolled down the side of her face. She furiously wiped it away. She had no reason to cry. She should be laughing, happy.
Another tear came, then another. And another. The more Thalassa wiped the tears away, the more they spilled from her eyes until she accepted that fighting them was fruitless.
She curled herself into a ball and cried, allowing the painful sobs to rack through her body.
