Chapter 22
“Dylan, do you really not know?” Julia asked.
Her voice was empty of emotion. Each word was like ice–tipped needles piercing his body, freezing him on the spot.
Kaitlyn’s screams broke through the locked basement door and echoed clearly into their ears.
“Dylan, if you want revenge for her, then you’re the one who deserves the most punishment!” Kaitlyn snapped.
Dylan felt his blood turn cold. He wanted to pretend he hadn’t heard any of that, his instincts telling him to run. However, Julia’s gentle hand on his cheek stopped him in his tracks.
Light spilled in through the narrow window, but it couldn’t reach the darkness at the basement entrance.
Julia withdrew her hand, stood up, and walked past him toward the exit.
Yet her voice still came, clear and deliberate. Even though he didn’t want to listen, every word sank deep into his heart.
“Dylan, she’s right. If you want to avenge me, then you’re the one who deserves the worst punishment. I was just a poor orphan with no parents. People like them wouldn’t have hated me for no reason. In the eyes of people like you, we poor folks don’t even exist.
“You were the one who brought me into this world, the one who kept calling me your girlfriend but flirted with others. And you were the one who stood idly by while they humiliated me and hurt
“Dylan Schneider, everything
Dylan didn’t want to admit
He opened his mouth in
it
He suddenly found himself back in
happened was all because of you.”
an attempt to deny it, wanting to say that he loved her. But in that moment, memory after memory came crashing back.
moment five years ago.
Back then, his face was filled with impatience. He scolded Julia for following him and for deliberately burning Kaitlyn.
He saw his past self rushing without hesitation to protect someone else when danger approached.
He saw his past self playing a piano duet on stage while his girlfriend was in the audien
money to hush it up, shielding those who had hurt her.
getting her hand crushed without him knowing. Later, he even used
He saw himself at the scene when Kaitlyn and Julia were kidnapped, and the kidnapper demanded that one be left behind. In front of everyone, he chose to abandon Julia.
Was that the proof of his so–called love?
Even Dylan wasn’t sure anymore.
Julia’s footsteps grew more distant. Every step was like a stomp on his chest, and every breath he took fol
Should he just give up like that? But he was unwilling.
Just as he mustered the courage to turn and chase after her, there was a loud crash.
Then, he heard Julia’s voice, filled with surprise and joy.
“Miles!”
They hadn’t been apart that long, and yet in this moment, she felt tears welling up.
“Miles, what took you so long!..”
Upon hearing the sob in her voice, Miles immediately panicked.
ke he was breathing in needles.
He pulled her tightly into his arms, feeling her body’s warmth. Since hearing the news that Julia had gone missing, his heart had been beating wildly with anxiety. Finally, in this moment, it settled down.
He gently patted her back and softly comforted her, “It’s okay now. It’s okay. It’s all my fault I should have found you sooner…”
When Dylan turned and looked back, that was the scene he saw.
When he had seen them together the last time, he managed to convince himself that they could’ve just been friends. This time, it was clear as day, leaving him with no more excuses to deny the truth.
He watched the scene in tormented silence, his feet feeling like they were chained with the weight of the world, too heavy to lift.
His heart felt completely drained, as dead as a barren wasteland. He wanted to walk toward her, but he couldn’t muster up the courage to do so.
So, he was the one she hated.
She truly didn’t want him anymore.
Dylan’s grief didn’t last long. Miles hadn’t come alone.
The police he brought with him burst through the door right behind him.
“Freeze! This is the police!”
Perhaps the voices coming from the basement had been too disturbing, because even though Dylan was all on his own, the officers were still on high alert. Their weapons were drawn and fully prepared for a major confrontation.
Chapter 23
