How to Train Your Ex-Billionaire novel Chapter 161

A single careless remark, through a butterfly effect, had caused Winifred so much pain.

Yvan's heart ached uncontrollably. “You should have told me. Why didn't you call me back then?”

“But I did call you. I called, hoping you would comfort me, make me feel less lonely and helpless.” Winifred was crying and laughing at the same time. “But a woman answered your phone. She said you were in the shower.”

Yvan finally remembered.

It was shortly after he had gone abroad. He had trouble adjusting to the new environment and fell seriously ill.

Yetta had come all the way from home to look after him.

One day, he came out of the shower, and Yetta told him a girl had called and asked him to call back.

He saw it was Winifred’s number and scoffed inwardly, thinking, Did she cave so quickly and call to beg for forgiveness?

He decided to make her wait and deliberately didn't call back. But when he tried calling a few days later, the line wouldn't connect. He figured Winifred had blocked him, and in a fit of anger, he never tried again.

He never imagined that through this twist of fate, he had missed his chance to make things right, leaving Winifred to bear all that pain alone.

“I’m sorry, Winifred, I’m so sorry.” Yvan wished he could slap himself.

“Does sorry help? If you say you’re sorry, will my pain lessen even a little? No, not at all!” Winifred looked at him, her tear-filled eyes tilted upward. “Yvan, because of what happened with me, my grandmother, who loved me most, couldn't handle the shock. She fell ill suddenly and passed away.”

She clutched her chest in agony. “It was all my fault. I was stupid, I made a mistake, and that's why my grandmother worried so much. I should never have gotten involved with you, I shouldn't have fallen so deep. It's all my fault. I killed my grandmother.”

This was the root of her depression back then.

Yvan was indirectly responsible, but she was the one directly at fault. It was all her mistake.

She was trapped in a vortex of self-blame, sinking deeper and deeper until she couldn't escape and fell into depression.

After years of suppressing her grief, Winifred finally let out a wail, crying so hard in his arms that she could barely breathe, unable to even stand.

Yvan lifted her and placed her on the bed. Winifred turned on her side, her back to him, and closed her eyes.

Yvan sat by the bed, watching over her until she fell asleep. He moved to her front and looked down at her face.

Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, her eyelashes still damp, and tear tracks still stained her cheeks. Even in her sleep, she would let out an uneasy sob from time to time.

Yvan’s heart clenched in pain again.

He gently wiped the tear stains from her face with his thumb, pulled the blanket over her, and then lay down on his side, gently wrapping his arms around her.

Winifred had a dream. She dreamed she was a little girl again.

Back then, her father was still alive, and her grandmother lived with them.