Chapter 629:
And he could still hear her words from the charity gala, when they had stood together in the terrace garden.
“Mr. Watson, you shouldn’t let your concern extend beyond your partner, or else you’ll only end up betraying her. That kind of thing would only break her heart. Some people hardly matter, Mr. Watson, but some really do. And if someone important chooses to walk away, you might never get a second chance.”
It was him. He was the one who had kept hurting her, over and over, until sadness was all she had left.
She had been so broken, so sick, yet she had told no one. She had tried to treat herself quietly, without drawing attention. Because they had both wanted a child, she had refused to take the medication that could have helped her. Meanwhile, Vivian had pretended to be depressed just to pull his focus toward her and keep herself from being blamed.
The truth was brutal—Millie had been the one who had been truly ill.
If that employee in the archive hadn’t made that careless mistake, Brandon would still be in the dark.
While she was fighting her illness, what had he been doing?
A bitter laugh escaped his lips.
He had only been making things worse for her, adding to the weight she was already carrying.
In fact, it was his fault she had fallen ill in the first place.
Brandon flipped through the records, searching for the date of her first appointment. As he did, his mind began to search his own memory, trying to pinpoint what had happened during that time — something that must have broken her completely, driving her to seek help when the symptoms could no longer be ignored.
His thoughts wandered, pulling up memories one after another. It felt as though time itself was moving backward. The more he thought about it, the more he realized she had been pulling away from him little by little.
𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝖺𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀⩸𝖼𝗈𝗆
Eventually, he could pinpoint the exact moment when something in her had changed. Her eyes, once filled entirely with him, had started to lose their light. The warmth had faded, replaced by quiet disappointment. And eventually, she had let go for good.
It had been about a year ago when it all started to unravel. She had come to him, holding her phone, saying they needed to talk.
“Brandon, she sent me a message.” She had been wearing a long white dress that day, her hair smooth and flowing over her shoulders. On the surface, she looked calm, but her voice carried a faint edge.
Holding out her phone, she said, “Brandon, I need you to explain this. I’ve been hearing rumors about you and that florist, Vivian. And now she’s messaged me herself. It’s a direct provocation.”
He had barely glanced at the screen before irritation flared.
“She didn’t need to send you anything. Millie, what’s going on with you lately? You’re always like this. Do you know how exhausting it is?”
“This is the message she sent me. And you think I’m overreacting?” Her eyes had reddened as she pressed on. “I keep getting messages from her… with photos of you dining together, going out together, and other things.” Her voice had grown sharper. “Brandon, my husband is surrounded by gossip, and a woman like that has the nerve to provoke me directly. How am I supposed to just ignore it?”
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