Chapter 1284: I Never Loved You
In the rearview mirror, that figure collapsed, and it was Jorge Saxton who reached out to support him.
And at the very moment he fell, Nicole heard that weak, hoarse, furious growl— "Nicole..."
Jose Floyd called her name before he collapsed—
Nicole’s fingers trembled even more violently, a sharp pain stabbing through her palm. She bit down hard on her lip, her gaze fixed straight on the rearview mirror, watching Jorge lift that figure into the back seat, a metallic taste of blood spreading between her lips and teeth...
The car drove forward, and nothing could be seen anymore in the rearview mirror.
Nicole felt as if all the strength had drained out of her, her head resting against the car window. She closed her eyes to hide the faint redness at their rims, her face pale.
When they arrived at the Seys Family home, Nicole didn’t say a single word and was the first to walk inside, heading straight for the second floor.
Ariel Morris watched her back and let out a quiet sigh. "The one you love isn’t necessarily the one you end up with. If I’d known it would be like this, I’d rather we’d never met in this life."
Arlo Seys pulled Ariel into his arms and said softly, "Don’t sigh anymore, go to bed early. Even if you don’t end up together, having existed in each other’s worlds is still beautiful. If I hadn’t married you, but in this life, when someone asked me, ’Arlo Seys, do you regret meeting Ariel Morris?’ I would definitely tell him, I’ve never once regretted meeting Ariel Morris. That year I spent with Ariel was the happiest time of my entire life."
Ariel pressed her lips together. "But Jose Floyd gave Nicole five years of indulgent love, and the two of them still ended up like this... I guess this is what it means to be fated but not destined."
"Love twists and turns a thousand times; who can know what kind of ending it will have."
Arlo Seys held Ariel as they went upstairs to rest.
Ariel smiled faintly, her voice soft. "Love twists and turns a thousand times, yet you have always been in my heart."
Fortunately, she and Arlo had only been separated for eight years and finally ended up happily together. The process had been grueling, but to trade it for this ending, she didn’t feel tormented at all. After weathering the storms, she and Arlo had gained the most beautiful rainbow.
"You too," Arlo said with a gentle smile. "Life’s road is long, but thank God you never lost your way and kept walking toward my side."
-
Nicole stepped into her room and leaned her back against the door; in the quiet room, she finally no longer had to pretend.
The calm, indifferent mask slid from her face, and her gaze deepened to a darker red. Thinking of the moment he fell, Nicole lowered her head and opened her palm.
The nails of her index and middle fingers had all snapped off into her own palm...
The imprints she’d pinched into her skin in that spot were now clearly visible. Eyes dark red, leaning against the door, Nicole whispered hoarsely, "Jose Floyd... I never loved you, never... I really never loved you..."
Inside the room, her hoarse voice, laced with sorrow, slowly spread out. The scenes of him collapsing kept replaying in her mind. As if to convince her own frantic, restless heart, Nicole kept murmuring under her breath, each word more trembling and rasped than the last.
"I have never loved you—never... Jose Floyd, I haven’t loved you at all... I never loved you..."
By the end, her voice was choked beyond recognition, and only the crystal drops on her face fell recklessly.
Nicole slid weakly down to sit on the floor, sobbing for a long time before she could, with exhausted lips, rasp again, "Why is it you, Jose Floyd, why does it have to be you... Why did you kill my brother, why did you kill your own child... Why does it have to be you, why did I have to meet you, the person I hate the most..."
-
Hospital.
The medical staff carried Jose Floyd down from Jorge Saxton’s car and rushed him straight into the emergency room.