Chapter 11
A classmate blinked in surprise.
“You forgot? Back then, you ran from the east side of the city to the west, just for a chance to see him.”
That one sentence struck Andrea like a lightning bolt.
Yes… she had forgotten–forgot how she once risked everything, climbing over the neighborhood walls on tiptoe, just to catch a glimpse of me.
Forgotten how I had once lived in a damp basement, vowing to give me a home ten times bigger someday.
Forgotten how, when we got married with barely a penny to our name, she told me she didn’t care about wealth–she only wanted me to stand by her side, forever.
But now, all of that… she had left behind.
I only heard about what happened later, when one of our old college roommates called me.
He told me that after that reunion, no one ever saw Andrea again.
She had transferred every share of her company, closed up her accounts, and–most shocking of all–deposited every last cent into my bank account.
“Do you hate her?” he asked me softly.
I shook my head.
“No. I don’t hate her, but I don’t love her either. She’s no longer worth even the smallest piece of my heart.”
I thought life would continue in peace after that.
But fate had one more twist waiting for me.
One evening, on my way home from work, someone suddenly rushed out and blocked my path.
It was Harvey.
His face was pale and desperate.
“Peter, I was wrong! Please–please talk to Andrea. Tell her to let me out!”
“I never should’ve framed you. I shouldn’t have ruined your relationship with her…”
“That place… it’s hell! Last month, the baby didn’t even survive. I can’t go back to that place where people eat each other alive!”
I shook my head calmly. “It’s out of my hands.”
I turned to leave. But then, in the next heartbeat, he pulled a knife from his pocket.
“You pushed me to this, Peter!” he roared. “If I can’t live, neither can you!”
Time slowed.
Then a figure suddenly leapt in front of me.
The blade plunged deep into Andrea’s abdomen.
000
3:43 am
Blood burst forth. Harvey froze in place, the knife slipping from his trembling hand as he collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
I rushed to her side, frantically taking off my jacket to press against the wound, but the blood wouldn’t stop.
Still, Andrea smiled through the pain.
“Peter… I’m finally free.”
“I just never got to say… I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for losing you in the long stretch of time. Sorry for making you bleed and cry. Sorry that I failed to protect you.”
A week later, we held a small funeral for her.
Harvey was sentenced to twenty years in prison for attempted murder.
I was present at the sentencing.
Afterward, Helena didn’t say a word–she simply held my hand tightly.
“Let’s go home,” she said.
I nodded.
But after just a few steps, her body swayed. She stumbled, nearly fainting.
I caught her in my arms and rushed her to the hospital.
After a thorough exam, the doctor came out with a warm smile.
“Congratulations, Mr. Crawford–your wife is pregnant!”
I reached out and gently touched her belly, still in disbelief. After all the drinking… after the heavy
bleeding last time… I thought I’d lost the chance to ever have a child of my own.
Yet against all odds, a new life had quietly begun to grow.
Helena and I held each other, tears falling freely.
And at that moment, I knew my life was finally complete.
Chapter 11
