Chapter 15
Callan froze instantly. He stared at Lila in disbelief, then stammered: “…How…how do you know about that?”
“Because I attended your wedding!” Lila’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “Sorry I didn’t bring a wedding gift.”
In that moment, Callan’s breathing stopped for several seconds. He opened his mouth, struggling to speak: “Lila, let me explain. It’s not what you think. I had my reasons…”
But Lila had no interest in hearing any more of Callan’s explanations.
So she cut him off immediately: “Reasons? Callan, you might fool yourself with that bullshit, but don’t try it on me!”
“Yes, during those two years of your paralysis, I wasn’t by your side caring for you. But why did I leave? To find a CURE for you!”
“For you, I went to the hottest part of the desert, braving sandstorms with the research team to find plants that could yield medicinal compounds. We faced quicksand and deadly storms, our lives constantly in danger, but I never gave up because I wanted to cure you. I wanted that research to succeed more than anyone on the team.”
“But what were you doing while I risked my life developing medicine for you? Sleeping with my niece!”
“You got together with Zara three years ago and kept your affair hidden from me for three entire years! You even used your ‘business trips‘ as cover to hold a wedding ceremony with her overseas!”
“Callan, which part of all this can be explained by ‘reasons‘? You have NO reasons! You just couldn’t keep it in your
pants!”
Lila’s words cut straight to the bone.
Callan felt a pain so intense he could barely breathe, but he still tried to explain: “No, Lila, I do love you. I never meant to hurt you.”
“What happened with Zara was a complete accident. You weren’t by my side, I was paralyzed in bed, and mentally I was in a terrible place.”
“I couldn’t accept my paralysis or your absence. With all that misery and no outlet, I turned to alcohol to numb myself.”
“After you left, I drank almost every day. When Zara and I… when it happened, I wasn’t in my right mind. I was drunk–I mistook her for you.”
“Lila, you have to believe me. I don’t love Zara at all. She was just a child in my eyes. When she first came to take care of me, I constantly cursed at her, told her to get the hell out!”
“But instead of leaving, she seduced me when I was drunk… Lila, I swear to God, I thought she was you, that’s the
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Chapter 15
only reason I slept with her.”
“I was just missing you so desperately that I started hallucinating. Zara resembles you somewhat, and I was wasted… Lila, you’re the only one I’ve ever loved, the only one in my heart. Zara doesn’t even compare to your little toe!”
Faced with Callan’s passionate declaration, Lila’s heart remained cold, unmoved by his words.
She looked at him coldly and cut straight to the point: “Callan, stop pretending to be the victim. You can lie to yourself about the first time–claim you were drunk and mistook Zara for me. But what about the second time? The third time? And all the countless times after that?”
“Three years! For three entire years! If you had stopped even once, ended your relationship with Zara, I might never have found out. You would have had a chance to save us.”
“But you didn’t! You kept making the same mistake over and over, even going so far as to marry her overseas! After doing all that, how dare you come here begging for my forgiveness?”
