Chapter 23
“That bangle was my mother’s keepsake. Now that Pearl has left me, I’ll get it back and bury it with my father…” Jonah lamented.
The crushing weight of regret in his heart was immeasurable, so heavy that he could hardly breathe.
His mind was in turmoil. Just as he was preparing to get the bangle back from Cecelia, he was informed that she had fallen from a building and was currently in the ICU, clinging to life.
One blow after another left Jonah completely drained. He moved through the motions of arranging Nathaniel’s funeral in a daze.
It wasn’t until three days later that his assistant brought him the shattered bangle.
On the day of the funeral, Jonah numbly saw off wave after wave of guests. Everyone told him the same thing.
“The past can’t be changed. You must keep your eyes forward.”
However, Jonah simply couldn’t do it.
After the last guest left, he slumped to the floor beside Nathaniel’s portrait, as if drained of all strength.
In his hands, he gently caressed the broken aquamarine bangle. Every piece was still there, but it was simply impossible for the shattered aquamarine bangle to be whole again.
Nothing could fix it, and time would not rewind for him.
Only now did Jonah understand how painful that realization was.
When he looked up, a figure in a long black dress appeared at the door. It was the one person he had longed to see day and night–Pearl.
For a moment, Jonah thought he had finally lost his mind, hallucinating from grief. But when the vision drew closer and increasingly distinct, it eventually spoke to him, “Mr. Lawrence, I’ve come to pay my respects to Nathaniel.”
“Pearl… It’s really you!” Jonah jumped to his feet and reached out to touch her hand, trying to confirm whether this was real.
However, Pearl stepped back and said in an icy voice, “Jonah, I don’t want to argue with you in front of Nathaniel.”
Her cold tone instantly jolted Jonah back to reality.
He paused, then lowered his head deeply. “Thank you, Ms. Hamilton, for coming all this way to mourn my father.”
1
“I’ve been attracting too much attention in the country recently, so I could only come visit my mentor after all the guests had left.”
Her eyes were red as she placed a bouquet before the portrait.
Three days ago, when she had learned of Nathaniel’s passing, she cried the entire night.
She had lost her parents at a young age. Her relatives in her village saw her as a burden and avoided her. It was through her own hard work that she made it into Northriver University.
The kindness she received from Nathaniel and Marlene was something she had never experienced before. After she married Jonah, they treated her with even more love and care.
Even after being deeply hurt by Jonah, she still felt that meeting the Lawrence couple had been the most fortunate thing in her life. In her heart, she had already come to see them as her parents.
She had bought the earliest ticket home and traveled for two days to return to Northriver. But the moment she arrived at the airport, someone had secretly taken photos of her
Clearly, the online controversy in Ethria had grown beyond anything she could have imagined while she was in Nyora.
To avoid stirring up any trouble at Nathaniel’s funeral, she had no choice but to wait until nightfall and come wearing a mask and hat.
“Pearl, about everything that happened… I’m sorry. I’ve investigated it all. It was Cecelia. She was behind everything—‘
Jonah was about to tell her that he was preparing a press conference to clear her name, but Pearl cut him off coldly before he could finish.
“So what now? You’re apologizing on Cecelia’s behalf? Are you about to ask me to take the fall and be the scapegoat just to help boost her popularity?”
she demanded.
Her eyes were filled with scorn and detachment.
“No, Pearl! I’m planning to hold a press conference to explain everything between us. It’s just… with my father’s sudden passing, it had to be postponed.”
That won’t be necessary,” Pearl said calmly. “I’ve returned this time to settle this myself.”
From her four years of marriage to Jonah, Pearl had learned an important lesson–never to place her hopes in someone else.
She could only rely on herself.
