“Are you really incapable of forgiving the mistakes I made in our past lives? What do I have to do for you to let go of your resentment?”
“Claire, please, I’m begging you—can’t you forgive me?”
Claire was nearly thirty now, carrying herself with a poise and maturity that came from years of hard lessons. Her eyes were cold, utterly indifferent.
She answered him without a trace of warmth. “Forgiveness wasn’t possible in our last life. It isn’t possible now. And in the next one, it’ll be even less so.”
With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, not sparing Ethan so much as a backward glance.
Unwilling to give up, Ethan hurried after her, reaching out to grab her arm, but Claire slipped easily out of his grasp.
“Claire, are you really this heartless toward me?” he choked out.
Claire didn’t respond, but inwardly, she laughed—a laugh so cold it could have frozen the sun. As ruthless as she appeared, she could never match the cruelty of the Linwoods. The pain she’d suffered in her past life was real and deep, and now they thought that a few words of regret would entitle them to forgiveness? It was absurd.
She pulled open the car door and slid inside.
That was the moment Ethan finally broke. All the walls he’d built to contain his guilt came crashing down.
“I spent half my last life drowning in regret—isn’t that punishment enough? Do you really need to see me die before you’ll forgive me?”
Claire’s eyes were ice. “If you’re going to die, do it somewhere else. Don’t die in front of me—I don’t want the bad luck. Let’s go,” she said to the driver.
The car sped off, leaving Ethan standing alone on the curb. Tears streamed down his face, unstoppable.
Some things, once broken, can never be mended.
No matter how desperately he tried to atone for his mistakes, he could never wipe them away. In this life, Claire’s forgiveness would always be out of reach. He was destined to carry that regret to the grave.
Claire, is this your punishment for us?
How merciless you are.
…
Claire:
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