C09
Terrence chuckled softly and pulled a business card from his pocket.
Bruce took the card, glanced at it–and instantly collapsed onto the floor.
“This… this can’t be real!”
His voice shook with disbelief. “You’re the chairman of Eclipse Entertainment? I don’t believe it!”
He lifted his gaze to me, his eyes bloodshot with desperation.
“He’s just someone you found to fool me, isn’t he? This is all fake! A setup!”
He sounded like a child throwing a tantrum over a toy being taken away.
“Ysabelle, I was wrong. Please, don’t do this to me.” His fists clenched tightly as he pleaded, “After all these
years, how can you just walk away like this?”
“I’ll break up with Gianna right now. Let’s go back to the way things were.”
“I’ll never make you sad again, I swear. Please?”
He fell to his knees, inching forward bit by bit, desperate to close the distance between us.
Alarmed, Gianna grabbed his arm. “Bruce, what are you saying?!”
“You’ve lost your mind! You’d throw me away for her?”
But Bruce wasn’t listening. With a furious roar, he shoved her aside.
“Don’t touch me!”
Gianna stumbled backward, hitting her head against the wall. A bright red stain bloomed across her forehead.
She barely seemed to notice. Her face twisted with horror as she scrambled to her feet and fled in humiliation.
I watched the scene unfold, and an ironic smile played on my lips.
When I wanted him, he refused to give me the time of day.
Now that I’ve let go, he was kneeling at my feet.
Bruce remained on his knees, his red–rimmed eyes locked onto mine.
“Ysabelle, forgive me,” he choked out. “I was only playing around with her. It was never real. You were the only
one in my heart all along.”
“You’ve always been special. Ever since we were kids, you could do anything–no matter how difficult the path, you always found a way forward.”
“You could get into any university you wanted. You succeeded at everything you set your mind to.”
“I was always standing in your shadow.”
His voice cracked. “That’s why… that’s why I kept testing you. Over and over again.”
“I had to know if you really loved me.”
He sounded utterly broken.
But my next words shattered whatever remained of his hope.
“You don’t have to test me anymore,” I said, my voice was steady and firm. “I don’t love you.”
As soon as I said it, an unexpected sense of relief washed over me.
All these years, had I truly loved him? Or was it just my unwillingness to let go?
It didn’t matter anymore.
Terrence, ever perceptive, noticed my momentary weakness and silently moved closer, offering quiet support.
Bruce finally crumbled.
He couldn’t bear the sight of the girl he once took for granted, standing beside another man, laughing like he
never existed.
“Ysabelle… I’m sorry…”
My Childhood Sweetheart Regrets Everything After) Dumped Him
“Ysabelle… I’m sorry…”
Tears streamed down his face. His back curled inward, as if he carried an unbearable weight–though there was nothing behind him but empty air.
I placed my script on the table, turned around, and walked away.
From this moment on, Bruce and I were nothing more than strangers.
In the parking lot, as the cool night air brushed against my skin, I hesitated before turning to Terrence.
“Have we met before?”
He stopped mid–step, then let out a helpless sigh.
“Ysabelle, you don’t just need to check your eyes–you should check your memory too.”
With that, he reached into his coat and pulled out an old phone.
Curious, I took it from him and powered it on.
The screen flickered to life, revealing a series of long–forgotten messages.
As I scrolled, familiar words resurfaced, unlocking memories I had buried long ago.
Terrence watched me with quiet patience. His gaze was impossibly soft.
“In a little alleyway, there was once a chubby boy,” he murmured.
“Everyone laughed at him.”
“No one wanted to play with him, so he sat alone at the alley’s entrance, day after day.”
“But even then, the other kids didn’t leave him alone.”
“They shoved his head into the mud. Locked him in dark rooms.”
“They tripped him, called him cruel names.”
“The little boy thought the world was a dark and endless tunnel, stretching on forever with no way out.”
“But then, one day, he met a little girl.”
“She was just like him.”
“But she was completely different from him–she was always positive, cheerful, and fearless.”
“When he was being bullied, she stood in front of him and brought light into his life.”
“She would send him words of encouragement every day, typing them out on her old, battered phone.”
Terrence flicked my forehead lightly.
“Do you remember now?”
I stood there, stunned, as the flood of time swept over me.
We had both changed so much.
Some people, for the sake of love, lost themselves.
Others, for love, kept cherished memories like old chat logs saved for years.
Terrence sighed softly.
“I just didn’t expect that I was always one step behind.”
“But at least, fate has favored me. I still have a chance to fight for it.”
His gaze was sincere, and the unspoken meaning was clear.
But at that moment, I hesitated.
All these years, I had confined myself, endlessly trying to please Bruce while neglecting who I really was. Before I became someone’s girlfriend, I needed to first become myself.
“I… I’m not sure yet.” I sighed.
