Three Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 192

“They said no.”

One of the girls mentioned that, years ago, Odette had asked the very same question. There was a real difference between being pushed by someone else versus acting on your own, wanting to ‘stand up’ for your idol. They weren’t the same thing at all.

No matter if it was the police asking, or Odette herself, the answer had always been the same. These girls were young, impulsive, and easily swept away by emotions, but when it came down to it, none of them dared to lie to the law.

Still, Lawrence couldn’t wrap his head around it. He kept coming back to Hannah. Back then, she hadn’t meant harm, and she knew her own mess ended up hurting Bonnie. So why, after three years, would she do it all over again? Why attack Bonnie right where she was weakest?

Was it all… because of him?

The guilt wouldn’t leave Lawrence alone. Every day he felt like he was drowning in it. It was his fault, he was the problem, and some days he thought maybe the only way to end everyone’s pain—especially Bonnie’s—was if he just disappeared.

But dying wasn’t as simple as it sounded.

And if he gave up now, who would make things right for Bonnie?

His eyes, dark and bloodshot, bored into Hannah. The look was so heavy, so harsh, that she turned away, unsettled. Both she and Nana had sweaty palms, nerves prickling.

Still, Lawrence didn’t move. Hannah guessed he had only managed to dig up Penn’s personal details and those suspicious transactions with Nana.

But there was nothing more. No solid proof.

Honestly, even this much was more than Hannah had ever worried about. She’d never thought Lawrence would actually connect the dots and suspect her.

“It was Bonnie who came to you, wasn’t it?” Hannah’s voice was steady, a little too cool. “She thinks Nana and I set her up? Lawrence, come on, you have to believe me. What reason would I possibly have to air out the ugliest moment of my life—and my kid’s life—online? Why would I let strangers and fans judge us? This was just a crazy accident. The fans acted on their own.”

A flash of real fear crossed Nana’s face. For the first time, she understood what it felt like to be the one everyone was blaming, after so many ‘casual’ and twisted words were used against her.

She remembered the past—how she had done the same to Bonnie, weaving together lies and slivers of truth to confuse a too-young, too-trusting girl. At eighteen, nineteen, Bonnie hadn’t stood a chance. Each story, each half-truth, was like pushing a thorn deeper into Bonnie’s heart.

All those big rumors—Lawrence’s so-called love letters, the idea that he’d always been in love with Hannah, his supposed devotion—none of it was true.

It all started as little things, barely noticeable in the moment, just tiny details. But when twisted around, when whispered in someone’s ear, they became world-ending.

Like that love letter. Some guy from their dance group once shoved one into Hannah’s bag. Lawrence had only picked it up by chance, glanced at it, and put it back. But Nana turned around and told Bonnie that she’d seen Lawrence himself put the love letter there for Hannah.

Stories like that got told over and over. Nobody ever worried about getting caught, because if someone ever asked, Hannah could just laugh it all off and claim it was a big misunderstanding. And, just like that, everyone would move on.