Twenty-Six receipts of betrayal Novel novel Chapter 19

From that day on, Nicholas locked himself inside and didn’t come out.

Aside from his mother, who occasionally visited, he saw no one, nor responded to anyone’s messages.

Empty liquor bottles littered everywhere.

He drank himself numb just to get through the day. Just to keep breathing through the pain that never ended.

On January 21st, after a long period of silence, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Nicholas was passed out on the couch, hungover, staring at nothing–just watching the shadows move across the wall.

The knocking kept going on and on.

He heard it. But he didn’t move.

It was afternoon before he finally mustered the strength to rise, his frame gaunt and unsteady. He shuffled to the door.

Valentina had been out there for three hours. Her patience was shot. She was slamming her fist against the wood now, over and over.

So when the door suddenly swung open, she lurched forward, almost fell inside.

Nicholas threw up an arm instinctively, blocking her, keeping distance between them. His eyes, filled with indifference, met her.

“What do you want?”

Valentina hadn’t expected his attitude towards her to take such a complete turn after such a long time. A flicker of resentment flashed across

her eyes.

But she recovered fast, rearranging her face into something soft and concerned.

“Nicholas, I’ve been trying to reach you for days. Are you okay?”

He looked away, his voice reverting to the formal, distant tone he’d used when they first met.

“I’m fine. You should go. Don’t contact me again.”

That set her off.

She grabbed his wrist. “I know you’re hurting right now. That’s why I’m here–I wanna be here for you. Don’t push me away, okay?”

The second her hand touched his skin, Nicholas jerked back like he’d been burned.

He took a few steps into the apartment, face hard, voice ice–cold.

“I don’t need you here.”

“Nicholas, what the hell? We had plans. Remember? We were gonna take that trip together. You said-”

Hearing her bring it up sent him spiraling.

All those memories–the ones that used to make him feel alive–they came flooding back, and now they just crushed him.

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Twenty–Six Receipts of Betrayal: My Silence Was the Countdown to His Eternal Regret

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Chapter 19

His chest heaved. His voice turned sharp, angry.

“That was BEFORE. It’s over. We’re done. Act like we never met.”

Valentina stared at him, stunned. Then her own anger flared up.

“Never met? Are you serious right now? What about all those sunsets we watched together? All those nights walking through the city? What about that song you sang to me? That shit HAPPENED, Nicholas. You can’t just pretend it didn’t!”

Those memories–the ones that used to feel like freedom–they were weapons now.

Because he lusted after these fleeting pleasures, he broke his vows, betrayed her sincerity, and forced her to death.

The weight of his sin felt unbearable.

His voice cracked, thick with grief.

“None of that should’ve happened. I fucked up. I destroyed my marriage. I killed her.”

Valentina had thought the path was clear now. Thought with Elara gone, they could finally be together for real.

But here he was, still drowning in guilt over his dead wife.

She had always looked down on the “cripple,” and now, his refusal to move on for a dead woman sent her over the edge.

She was furious, her words fuming without a second thought.

“She’s DEAD, Nicholas! She’s not coming back, no matter how much you beat yourself up! You have to move on! Just forget her. Stay with me. Don’t you remember how good we were together? How happy you were with me?”

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