Chapter 16
Tears streamed down Nova’s face as she covered it with her hands. Choking up, she replied, “Yes.”
Flynn’s eyes lit up with disbelief. For a moment, it all felt too surreal. Was Nova really his girlfriend now?
When the realization finally sank in, joy rushed through him like a wave. He couldn’t help but pull her tightly into his arms. Then he whispered in her ear, “I’ll treat you right for the rest of my life.”
However, Ewan wasn’t ready to give up. After everything he had done to Nova, a little rejection meant nothing to him.
He returned to Berning, took a month off, and once again boarded a plane to head straight for Feshral Village. When he finally arrived, what he saw froze him where he stood.
In a quiet, remote corner against a wall, Flynn had Nova pinned gently to him with one hand on the wall. The scene was intimate.
Just as Ewan widened his eyes, Flynn leaned down and kissed her. It was passionate and possessive.
To his surprise, Nova kissed him back just as fiercely.
Ewan’s eyes reddened. His fists clenched involuntarily, trembling with rage. Until that moment, he had convinced himself that all he felt toward Nova was guilt and nothing more. Even when he heard she was dating Flynn, he had felt anger, not heartbreak.
However, now, all he could feel was jealousy. It was a crushing jealousy that was driving him mad.
If she were family, there would be no reason for him to feel this jealous. That was when he realized that he had fallen for her, maybe long before he had ever admitted it to himself.
Nova never had a boyfriend, and she spent so many years revolving around him. Thus, Ewan assumed she would always have eyes for him only. He never thought she would actually leave him completely.
The urge to tear them apart surged inside him, but he didn’t move. He had no right. If he charged in now, Nova would only look at him with disgust, hence pushing her even further away.
Thus, he stood there in silence while watching. As she nestled shyly into Flynn’s embrace, Ewan felt completely helpless.
For the first time in his life, Ewan understood what it meant to love someone you could never have. It was a strange kind of pain, and it nearly swallowed him whole.
He kept staring until Flynn finally walked off with her in his arms. Only then did Ewan shift his gaze. After they left, he slammed his fist into the wall beside him. Blood started dripping down his hand.
So, this was how Nova must have felt all those years when she watched him stand beside Wynter. Only now did he truly understand the cruelty of what he had done to her.
Ewan knew there was no forgiveness left and no second chance for him. Not after he had made Nova donate her kidney.
Hence, this time, Ewan didn’t fight. He finally understood that he was no longer worthy of her.
With sorrow darkening his eyes, he took out his phone and called the military base. “Hey, cancel my leave, please. Yeah, I don’t need it anymore.”
There was nothing left for him there, and every extra day he stayed only carved deeper into his chest.
As he walked away, a bitter smile tugged at his lips. He knew for sure that Nova was gone from his life for good.
