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Chapter 34/Six Years of Silence

Chapter 34: 34/Six Years of Silence

Chapter 34

Stephanie’s Point of View

I got into the car with Alexander, and he drove us away from Cedric’s villa. I sat beside him, my body as stiff as a wooden plank; I wanted nothing but to escape that place as quickly as possible. I couldn’t comprehend how I had allowed myself to trust him, how I let him lead me into those murky depths where my feelings flowed recklessly, and how I had foolishly begun to imagine that I was truly his girlfriend—that a beautiful life might one day bring us together.

But everything was shattered now; all those fragile dreams I had built on shifting sands collapsed over my head. Alex broke my train of thought when he asked quietly, "Steph... are you okay?"

I answered mechanically, with a stilted coldness without looking at him: "I’m fine."

I began watching the island’s streets through the window, and suddenly I spotted that restaurant where Cedric took me yesterday... Damn it, how could I be so stupid! I actually believed he wanted me. I felt a lump in my throat that almost choked me as I remembered his face.

After a while, we arrived at a place where a helicopter was waiting for us. We got out and boarded it. Throughout the entire flight, I was drowned in a heavy silence, my eyes fixed on the sky while my mind spun in a vortex of pain.

When we reached the city, another car belonging to Alexander was waiting for us. We got in, and he began driving through the familiar city streets, but suddenly he turned onto a desolate side road where trees and forests began to wrap around us.

I felt a tightening in my chest and asked warily, "Where are we going?"

"I can’t take you home in this state," he replied, keeping his eyes on the road.

My nerves snapped. I shouted at him, feeling the space close in: "Stop the car, Alex... now!"

He braked violently in a completely secluded spot, with no trace of human life. I turned to him, my body shaking with emotion. "What’s wrong with you? Are you insane?!"

He looked at me with sharp eyes and suddenly asked in a strange tone, "What’s wrong with you, Steph? Have you fallen in love with my brother?"

My breath hitched for a second, then I said, trying to deny the truth gnawing at me: "What love are you talking about? I’ve only known him for a short time!"

"You’re infatuated with him," he replied with a provocative coldness.

I put my hands to my head, which felt like it was about to explode, and said with a plea mixed with anger: "Alex, don’t talk to me about Cedric, please!"

He leaned closer and asked in a tone that felt like a blade sinking into my wound, "Are you jealous?"

"No!" I snapped, trying to stop my tears from falling.

But he didn’t back down; he pressed on the word like a dagger: "You’re jealous, Steph... jealous of Cedric’s fiancée!"

I finally exploded, my entire body trembling as I screamed in his face: "Enough, Alex! Yes, I felt jealous... are you happy now?!"

A heavy silence followed, broken only by the sound of my rapid breathing. He didn’t answer; instead, he got out of the car with angry strides, walked around, and threw my door open violently. He looked at me with eyes burning with a mysterious flame. "I’m not happy... I’m angry now!"

"Alex..." I said in a faint voice.

"Have you stopped loving me, Steph?" he suddenly asked, leaning toward me until his shadow trapped me.

I froze in my seat, a bitter lump in my throat. "Stop saying this, Alex... Didn’t you leave without saying a word to me in the past? You left me and went away!"

He slammed his hand against the roof of the car and exhaled sharply. "Steph... I had to go. My grandfather pressured me to return to that cursed family. I didn’t want to drag you with me into the mafia world!"

"You should have told me, and I should have been the one to decide!" I shot back with an old ache that finally burst.

He locked his gaze with mine and said bitterly, "You loved Alexander the professor... would you have loved me as I am now?"

I answered without thinking, my voice trembling with honesty: "I loved you, Alexander... I didn’t love you for being a professor. I just loved you!"

"And now..." he asked, his tone dropping to a soft threat, "do you love my brother?"

The shock silenced my tongue. I was in a state of total loss; I was infatuated with Cedric, yet at the same time, I had feelings that were still alive and throbbing for Alexander. I said in a desperate attempt to defend myself, "You have no right to ask me that, Alex... you have no right!"

"Why?" he asked coldly.

"Because you disappeared for six years!" I cried, tears burning my eyes. "You didn’t know anything about me... why do you want to know now?"

He backed away slightly, a cryptic and painful smile forming on his face. "You go to your mother’s grave every Sunday, and you find a bouquet of jasmine on her grave, don’t you?"

My heart stopped beating for a second. How did he know I went every Sunday? I had always wondered about the owner of those bouquets that were always waiting for me. I felt a shiver run through my fingertips. "How did you know?" I asked, my voice lost.

My fingers went cold as his voice flowed with a painful calmness: "Because I was the one who always placed them... I would come before you and hide, watching you from a distance. I saw you when you cried, and my heart was breaking... but I couldn’t come to you. I couldn’t."

My eyes widened in shock, my heart hammering against my chest. Had Alex been watching me all these years? Had he seen my brokenness and my weakness while I thought I was alone? "Were you watching me all these years?" I asked in a shaky voice.

He took another step toward me, his eyes carrying a mysterious glint of longing and pain. "The day you graduated from university, you wore a pink dress... you looked like a butterfly. When I saw it in the shop, I bought it immediately because I knew it would look wonderful on you."

I felt dizzy even though I was sitting down. I had to lean back further into the car seat to avoid falling. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing... Was he the one who bought my graduation dress? That dress I still keep because I thought it was a gift from the professor! "The professor gave me that dress!" I said, my voice full of denial.

"I gave it to her," he replied with a faint smile.

I recoiled, my breathing becoming irregular. "I... I don’t know what to say."

He didn’t stop there; he continued, diving into the details of my memories that I thought were forgotten: "Do you remember the day you left your house at night? You were crying, and it was late... and I followed you in the car without you noticing."

My God! A violent shiver swept through my entire body. He was talking about that ill-fated day when I fought with my father and went out wandering late at night... I remember vividly the group of drunks who blocked my path, my heart racing with terror.

Then, that black car with tinted windows suddenly appeared... the window rolled down slightly, and a single shot was fired into the air. it didn’t hit anyone, but it was enough to make everyone flee in panic, while I remained frozen in my place in shock before the car quietly drove away.

I looked at him, my body shaking violently under the weight of the truth. I raised a trembling hand and pointed at him, asking in utter shock: "Was that person... you?"