Chapter 13
Nolan’s pupils contracted sharply, his fingers involuntarily clenching.
The classmate went on, “Then Evangeline showed up, and get this–Aurelia actually pushed you into her arms and told her to take the credit for saving you. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. If Aurelia was really the monster everyone made her out to be, why the hell would she risk her life to save yours? And then why give someone else the glory?”
Nolan’s mind flashed back to that night.
He remembered waking up with Evangeline by his bedside, her eyes filled with concern.
She had told him she had risked her life to save him from the fire. And he had never once questioned it.
“You’re certain… it was Aurelia who saved me?” Nolan’s voice was rough.
The classmate nodded firmly. “I saw it with my own eyes. There’s no mistake.”
Nolan’s heart sank as unbidden images of Aurelia’s pale face appeared in his mind.
The scars on her back, her cold responses, her unflinching admission of her “cruelty“… everything suddenly connected in this moment.
“Why would she do that?” Nolan asked quietly, seemingly asking himself as much as the person who had already vanished from his life.
The classmate shook his head. “I don’t know. But I’ve always felt that Aurelia might not be as worse as everyone made her out to be.”
Nolan fell silent, a storm brewing within him.
All the emotions he had deliberately suppressed, all the memories he had forcibly locked away, came rushing back at once.
He remembered Aurelia’s smile, her tears, her tenderness, and her betrayal.
But if she was truly so malicious, why would she save him? And why give the credit to Evangeline?
“Nolan, what’s wrong? What did he tell you?”
It wasn’t until the classmate had left that Evangeline’s voice broke through his thoughts.
Nolan regained his composure and said flatly. “Nothing. Let’s go home.”
Chapter 14
Evangeline nodded, taking his arm, her sweet de touring okay to
Hut Nolan’s heart would never be at peace again
Hack home, Nolan stood alone try the window, gazing at the night dry
He held a glass of untouched wine in his hand. The clavate’s words erioed in his mandate Images of Aurelia’s pallid face.
Deep in the night. Nolan sat alone in his study, holding, a yellowed better.
It was Aurelia’s letter to her future self, which he had secretly taken from the reunion when no one was looking
The envelope’s edges were worn, as if hearing the weight of too many years. His fingertips trembled slightly as he slowly opened it and removed the letter inside.
The handwriting was delicate and familiar, each stroke seemingly etched into his heart
He took a deep breath as his gaze fell upon the words.
To Aurelia Thorne, ten years from now
If you’re reading this letter, I hope you still remember Nolan Creed. That boy who always wore a serious expression, yet treated you with such tenderness. The person you once vowed to love for a lifetime.
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