mashed hard from the clouds to the dirt.
After the Reynolds bankruptcy, he once came to me
Holding a huge bouquet of roses.
“Emily, I finally understand…
I’ve always loved you.
Yes, I approached you with ulterior motives at first,
But I fell for you truly, Please, just give me one more chance.
Just one… I’ll prove my love, my sincerity…!
“Jacob, you really are something. What exactly makes you think you deserve me now?
“You’ve got nothing–penniless again—and you want me to take care of you?
Sorry,
but now I just find you disgusting. Your face alone annoys me.
“Besides—why on earth would I choose a broke loser like you, when I could choose the CEO of Montgomery Enterprises? I’m not blind, you know.”
He walked away, hollow and broken,
After that, he started showing up at the gate of my residence every day-
Flolding those same roses, begging me to take him back.
And then one day,
r
He simply vanished from my life.
Alexander told me later.
He got back together with Sophia
Because–Sophia was pregnant
Chapter
Chapter 9
A few months later, in the dimly lit basement of a crumbling apartment complex-
“Jacob! You useless piece of trash! Where’s today’s delivery money?! If we don’t pay rent by tomorrow, we’ll be kicked out!”
Sophia, her swollen belly strained against a stained maternity dress, greasy strands of hair plastered to her sallow face
Her once–delicate face was now sallow and bitter from resentment and malnutrition
She snatched the sweaty delivery uniform Jacob had just taken off, violently rummaging through the pockets.
“Stop your damn nagging!”
Jacob shoved her away in frustration and collapsed onto the broken–down sofa, the springs jabbing painfully into his back.
*I was out all damn day and got hit with two complaints. They docked half my pay! The rest was just enough for this garbage!”
He pointed at two cups of cheap instant noodles on the table.
“Half?! What can we even do with that?! I’m carrying your child, and I can’t even afford prenatal vitamins!
Sophia shrieked, flinging the delivery uniform to the floor.
“This is all your fault! If you hadn’t pissed off that bitch Emily, we wouldn’t be in this hellhole! That psycho Alexander wouldn’t have ruined us! I can’t even afford a proper check–up!”
“My fault?!”
Jacob shot to his feet, eyes bloodshot as he glared at her.
“If it weren’t for you! You and that cursed ring! You had to wear it! You had to throw it in the river! You had to act like a lunatic and push her! If not for you, I’d still have Emily! We wouldn’t have offended Alexander! The Reynoldses wouldn’t have gone bankrupt! You’re the jinx! You and your thieving mother–both nothing but a curse!”
“You dare insult my mother?! Jacob, you heartless bastard! Now I’m dragging you down?! I’m carrying your child!”
“Child? Who knows if it’s even mine?!”
lecob exploded, all the resentment and pressure he’d bottled up finally detonating.
“You’re nothing but an ugly, broke shrew now! I must’ve been blind to give up Emily–a phoenix for a common sparrow! She’s Mrs. Montgomery now! The Carter heiress!”
“And you? You’re worse than your mother! At least she stole something! What did you steal? The privilege of rotting with me in this dan basement, eating instant noodles!”
“Jacobi I’ll kill you!”
Sophia lunged at him.
In the cramped, filthy basement, the two tore into each other–screaming, cursing, throwing things.
In was the soundtrack of a life drowned in misery and
regret.
Meanwhile, at the majestic St. Genevieve’s Cathedral, the most prestigious in the city-
I walked slowly down the aisle, dressed in a custom floor–length wedding gown crafted by a top
His eyes
were slightly red as he gently patted my hand, his gaze filled with pride and joy.
pdesigner, arm–in-
in–arm with my father, Richard Carter.
At the end of the red carpet stood Alexander, resplendent in a tailored tuxedo, standing tall and proud like a pine under the sun.
He looked at me with eyes full of tenderness and unwavering love.
And as I walked toward him, step by step,
And placed my hand into his warm, steady one
the past pain and shadows seemed to dissolve
the presence of the priest, and surrounded by friends and family,
Alexander slipped the eternal diamond ring onto my finger,
