Her tenderness was a wellspring of compassion, a gift she bestowed entirely upon Arnold.
All that remained for him was a sharp, protracted sting that pierced him through and through, leaving his soul raw and bleeding.
"Do I screw up that much?" he asked in a voice tinged with disbelief.
"Kinda, yeah." Kane nodded seriously.
Kane thought, "If dad had been better, mom wouldn't have left with Liam to start a life with Uncle Arnold, letting him take over as Liam's dad and cutting Liam out of his life.
If Dad ever found out that William was actually Liam, it'd knock him for a loop, sparking a fierce argument with Mom, the kind that could tear them apart for good.
Kane's blunt honesty hit Leopold like a punch to the gut.
"Where did I go wrong?" he pleaded for insight.
Kane blinked his large eyes and explained, "You keep making mistakes. Even though you want to fix them, it doesn't mean mom has to forgive you."
"If someone hurt me really bad and then said sorry, wanting to be friends again, I might not say yes because I can't be sure I'd be okay just being cool with them again."
"People say everyone makes mistakes, but not all mistakes get a do-over. Some you really should avoid making in the first place."
A nerve in Leopold's heart twitched violently, and he felt as if he had plunged into an icy pit, sinking deeper and colder, his heart turning to stone.
Had it not been for Arnold's careless mistake, Aurelia might have never left him. Just as he saw a glimmer of hope in restoring their strained relationship, Megan, along with the corporate sharks at AK Group, stormed in and toppled everything he built.
Deep down, he was always scared, always on edge, terrified of losing her again, petrified of an irretrievable loss.
That was why he laid down the law, kept her close even when she resented it, binding her to him with invisible chains, refusing to let her slip away.
He knew if he loosened his grip this time if he let her go, she would never return.
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