Chapter 9

Three months later, I found Aiden standing in front of my daughter’s tombstone.

He looked nothing like the man he once was–hunched over, significantly thinner, with sunken eyes and gray hair.

He resembled a terminally ill patient. In that moment, he seemed normal again.

“Clare…” He stammered and tears started to flow.

“How did you find this place?” I asked coldly.

“Your mother took pity on me and told me where you were, where our daughter was,” he replied.

In front of my daughter‘ s tombstone were her favorite dishes and a bouquet of baby’s breath, symbolizing longing. “Now that you’ve seen it, you should go back,” I said icily.

“Let’s reconcile. Without you, I live in hell every day.”

“Mr. Stewart, please mind your words. I am no longer your wife.”

“Clare, I’ve been tormented this past year, repenting every day. Every time someone knocked on the door, I hoped it was you. You are the woman I love most in my life.”

“Please, give me another chance. Let’s remarry. I swear I will never make you sad again,” Aiden begged bitterly.

“What is lost will never come back, and what comes back will never be the same.”

“From now on, there is no more ‘us.‘ Mr. Stewart, please go back and let us never see each other again in this life. Also, please don‘ t come here again.”

“My daughter is resting peacefully, and your presence brings back her painful memories. You abandoned her at a highway intersection and didn’t save her at her last moment.”

With that, I turned and left.

Behind me, he cried heart–wrenchingly.

I didn’t look back–he didn’t deserve sympathy. Half a year passed, and Aiden never showed up again.

One day, it was raining heavily when I received a call from Lydia.

“Clare, Aiden is dying. Please, see him one last time,” she pleaded.

She told me Aiden had saved a girl on the road but was hit by a car in the process, and the doctors said there was no hope for him.

“Clare… Clare… I love you so much… I miss you so much…”