Chapter 7
‘You… you hit me?”
Piper clutched her cheek, looking at Mason in disbelief, her eyes filled with shock and anger.
With eyes blazing with disgust and rage, Mason shouted, “GET OUT! Get the hell out!”
Piper looked at Mason’s furious eyes and felt fear wash over her.
n that moment, she realized she had lost Mason completely.
She ran out of the office in tears, leaving Mason alone with his pain and regret.
Shortly after Piper left, Mason departed the company and went alone to the cemetery outside the
:ity, to my mother’s grave.
He fell to his knees, his hands caressing the cold tombstone, tears falling like broken strings of pearls >nto the ground.
I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”
Mason painfully repented: “It’s my fault, all my fault. I’ve failed Rowan, I’ve betrayed her…”
He knocked his head against the ground repeatedly, as if this could somehow lessen his guilt, could
omehow make up for his mistakes.
What he didn’t know was that I saw everything.
hat day was my last visit to my mother. I stood at a distance, watching Mason’s suffering, filled vith sadness and resignation.
didn’t know how much of what Mason said was sincere and how much was pretense.
could only stand silently in the distance, watching him perform these futile acts.
Even after the sun had set, I chose not to appear before him.
Because none of it mattered anymore.
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Run from Your Killing Lies, Leave You to Suffer Forever
Chapter 7
People are like this–when something they’ve chased for so long is finally within reach, they often lose all desire for it.
I suppose I’m that kind of person too.
t
When I heard that Mason was using every connection to find my whereabouts, I was sitting in a café in a foreign country, having afternoon tea.
Seeing his face on the world news broadcast in the café, my coffee cup trembled slightly. A few drops of scalding liquid splashed onto the back of my hand, but I felt no pain.
Today was a day of heavy rain, destined to dampen my mood like the sudden downpour soaking everything.
It had been so long since I’d heard that name–Mason Knox.
This name was once my entire life. We weathered so many storms together, only to part ways in the most devastating manner.
I thought time had healed everything, that I would never hear this name again. Yet here he was, still searching for me.
I lowered my head, unable to keep watching,
And as if to distract myself, gently stirred the latte in my hand, the sweetness of milk intertwining with coffee’s bitterness–just like my complex emotions in this moment.
I forced my thoughts back to the present, telling myself I had started a new life and shouldn’t be roubled by the past.
These past few years, I’ve become a different person.
left everything familiar behind, left that land filled with pain, and came to a completely new
nvironment.
embarked on a long journey, visiting places my mother had dreamed of going, stepping onto lands he had only seen in photographs.
felt the pleasant sea breeze on the beaches of Bali, savored romantic coffees on Parisian streets, vitnessed the great animal migration on African plains, and truly experienced each landscape with ny heart.
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Run from Your Killing Lies Leave You to Suffer Forever
Chapter
During my travels, I met all kinds of people and heard all kinds of stories.
I slowly began to understand that the world is vast, and life has many possibilities.
So I stopped dwelling on past wounds and began trying to embrace a new life.
Shortly after, I settled in a picturesque small town in southern France. I opened a little shop selling treasures I’d collected during my travels and exotic handicrafts and named it “Timepiece.”
My life became simple yet fulfilling.
Every morning, I would be awakened by my alarm clock and begin my day’s work.
Just when I thought I had completely forgotten the past, the wheels of fate turned again.
I met Thomas, a traveler from a neighboring country.
He had bright eyes, a sunny smile, and a witty sense of humor.
Our meeting was quite ordinary.
At a travelers‘ salon, we shared our experiences.
Unlike others who were curious or even shocked about my past, Thomas respected my choices and accepted my history.
He told me that everyone has their own story, that the past doesn’t define everything–what matters
is the present and future. That was the first time I realized that some people could be as gentle as flowing water.
As time passed, our feelings for each other gradually deepened.
He took me to many places I had never been, showing me more of the world’s beauty.
We went diving in Australia and waited for the Northern Lights in the Arctic Circle together. He shared his plans for the future with me, plans that included me.
I was touched by his sincerity and understanding. I knew he was truly the right person for me.
However, the shadows of the past aren’t so easily dispersed.
When Thomas proposed, I hesitated.
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