Remarriage Failed Again Today

But that was only ever ’like’.

"It’s probably because you didn’t love me enough. You just confused interest with a passing whim, didn’t you? Ryan Linton, do you have any idea how a simple greeting, a single glance from you, was enough to keep me going until now?"

"Why would you abandon me now, just when I can’t live without you?"

She wiped furiously at the corners of her eyes and shrieked hysterically, "Yes, I know I’m the one who’s been shamelessly clinging to you, the one who wouldn’t let you go! But why did you ever respond to me? I never asked you to! Why would you play with my heart like this?"

’Was it because she lied to him?’

’What did she lie about? Her identity? Reporting that incident last time?’

’Okay, lying about her identity was wrong, but she didn’t think it was *that* big of a deal!’

’And the report... She showed him the evidence, told him it was Kiera Keane, but he still wanted to take her abroad, right?’

’I guess the greatest way someone can show you their affection is by being biased in your favor, huh?’

’So now, even if Kiera Keane were to murder her, he’d probably help hide the body, wouldn’t he?’

Watching her suffer, Ryan Linton felt as if a thousand knives were piercing his heart. So many times, he wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her the truth.

But he knew all too well the price of acting on impulse.

’Even Annabelle said the prognosis for Kiera’s leg was grim. And Ashley... she comes from such an enviable family. She has better options.’

Ryan Linton’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He called out her name unconsciously. "Ashley..."

Ashley Grant looked at him, her eyes filled with expectation.

But in the end, Ryan Linton only lowered his gaze and said one thing: "I’m sorry."

Ashley Grant burst into tears again.

She couldn’t see any hope left.

Wiping her tears away again, she forced a smile and said, "Ryan Linton, you listen to me and listen good. Starting today, I, Ashley Grant, have nothing to do with you. Take your things back. I’ll return every last one. From now on, we don’t owe each other a thing. Got it?"

A sharp pain lanced through Ryan Linton’s heart, but he knew he couldn’t let a single trace of his feelings show. In the end, he just pressed his lips together and said nothing, simply watching her.

"I’ve loved you for so long. It’s a shame we didn’t have more time together, but that’s alright. At least I got to love you. It’s like a wish come true."

"As for Kiera Keane, you go ahead and stay by her side while she gets that leg of hers treated. I hope she manages to stand on her own two feet again sometime in this lifetime."

"That’s all. Goodbye."

The corners of Ashley Grant’s mouth lifted into a faint smile, and without wasting another second, she turned and walked away.

A watery mist clouded Ryan Linton’s vision as a tear slid from the corner of his eye.

’Ashley, I’m so sorry. I really can’t ruin your life like this...’

’Wait for me. Wait until everything is okay again. Once we’re past this youthful recklessness, we’ll get married. Okay?’

As if afraid he might do something irrational, he gave himself no chance to act on impulse and resolutely walked away in the opposite direction.

He pulled out his phone and made a call, his voice choked with emotion. "Sis, please... take care of her for me."

Ashley Grant slowly came to a stop and turned around. Staring at his tall, slender back as he walked away, she felt fresh tears stream down her face.

She thought she finally understood the old saying: to love too young is to love a love that won’t last.

’We really did love too young...’

’Love is a deadly poppy. From now on,’ she thought, ’I’ll never touch it again...’

Ashley Grant left the airport and followed the crowd onto a bus.

She remembered a time when she and Ryan Linton had taken this very bus to an amusement park. They had been so happy then.

But in the blink of an eye, it had all become an illusion, and she was crashing back down to reality.

She looked at her own reflection in the bus window. Dejected, her face streaked with tears—she was a wretched sight.

Who would have thought that the day would come when she, Ashley Grant, would be the one getting dumped.