Chapter 21
With a slap, Nathen saw stars in front of his eyes and his whole body crashed into the wall.
As he listened to the anger and sobbing in his mother’s tone, he froze, not daring to lift his head and look at her again.
At this moment, silence signifies consent.
Tara knew that the whole incident of Melanie’s suicide was eerie.
But she never expected that the instigator of all this would be her own son.
She stared blankly at Nathen, who didn’t explain a word, and the anger in her eyes gradually extinguished, replaced by endless disappointment and disbelief.
She trembled all over, her voice piercingly sharp.
“How could you, how could you do such a foolish thing? That was Melanie! Have you forgotten that she saved your life? Have you forgotten how you were willing to face punishment just to be with her back then? Didn’t you promise me that you would take care of her wholeheartedly until old age? By doing this, what face will you have to meet the Perez family after I’m gone?”
The heart–wrenching accusations from loved ones became unbearable for Nathen.
He felt as if all his strength had been drained from his body, and he collapsed against the wall and
fell down.
If it is said that on the day he learned about Melanie’s death, his soul died along with her.
If his hidden dark thoughts were noticed today, it meant that he had started to decay.
And the death of the body occurred even earlier.
On the day he first agreed to Kenna’s invitation.
His body, covered in magnificent clothes, hiding the marks of death, was finally exposed to the
sunlight.
And all of this was the retribution he deserved to bear.
The Cowan family and the Perez family were neighbors for eighteen years.
Tara had always wanted a daughter, but unfortunately, she had never been able to fulfill her wish. So, when the Cowan family moved in, she instantly liked this mischievous little girl at first sight.
She watched as Melanie and Nathen grew closer and knew that they were secretly dating behind the adults‘ backs, but she never exposed them and just turned a blind eye.
It was not until Nathen was disciplined for misconduct that the matter of the two children came to
1/3
light.
The two families gathered together and discussed how to resolve this matter.
Nathen looked at their serious expressions and thought they wanted to break him and Melanie apart, so he immediately knelt down and swore.
He said that he grew up with Melanie and they had already made up their minds about each other. They wouldn’t do anything out of line and would work hard to get into the same university.
Back then, Nathen was only sixteen years old, a fearless young man who was not afraid of anything.
He was also an ignorant young man who was unfamiliar with the ways of the world and did not understand its impermanence.
Tara didn’t know whether to agree to the plea of the two young people to let them be together.
In the end, the open–minded Peter Perez, Melanie’s father, consoled her, saying that children and grandchildren have their own blessings, so let them have their own fun.
She nodded only then.
One reason is that she really liked Melanie.
Secondly, because she believed that if her son could say it, he could do it.
And after the car accident happened, Nathen matured overnight and began to learn to take
responsibility.
She was very heartbroken and yet very relieved at that time.
After they got married, her parents passed away, and Melanie visibly deteriorated.
Nathen took care of her while supporting their crumbling home.
She thought he had grown up enough to be able to stand on his own.
Little did she know, in a corner unnoticed by her, her son, whom she had raised single–handedly, would do such a thing.
Tara felt her head buzzing and couldn’t speak anymore.
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