Heartstrings on Fire (Agnes and Jared) novel Chapter 740

Alyssa said, "Dad, you don't have to sugar-coat it for me. I actually like the kid too. He looks a lot like Jared did when he was a child. Seeing him takes me back to twenty years ago, when Jared was still a baby, clinging to me. Back then, he depended on me, trusted me. I was the closest person to him in this world, but now..."

Tim said, "No matter what, you're still the closest person to Jared. If it wasn't for that woman's trick years ago, the Whitfields wouldn't be in this mess now."

Alyssa bowed her head, "Dad, it was my fault what happened back then. After all, her mother died because of me."

"You've felt guilty about this for so long. It wasn't your fault at all. You say her mother died because of you, but did you force her to embezzle that money? Did you push her into corruption? She brought it upon herself. Why should you carry all the blame? It wasn't your fault. All you did was leaving two million dollars there, it's not your fault."

Alyssa shook her head, "But I knew she was in financial trouble, and I knew how much that two million meant to her. I left the steak in front of a starving wolf, how could she not take a bite? I led her to commit the crime. I knew what would happen, and yet I still did it. I killed her. It was my fault."

Thinking of the past, Alyssa still couldn't let it go, because the one who died was Julia, who was once her best friend.

She knew Julia was on the edge of a precipice at the time, but instead of pulling her back, she pushed her off.

In the end, she did harbour such malicious thoughts. She wished for Julia's death. She thought that once Julia was dead, she would be free. But when Julia really died, she didn't feel free. She fell into a never-ending hell.

Tim didn't know what to say to his daughter. She had always been kind-hearted.

He had shielded her very well, keeping her gaze from the harsher realities of life. She had always been privy to life's brighter aspects, untouched by world's cruelties. So, at her brightest, she was attracted to a boy who lived in the shadows, exuding an aura of darkness.

Then Julia died, and she took all the blame onto herself, torturing herself with it for years.