Chapter 8
Pain and regret consumed Clarence.
That blood–stained autopsy report became a constant reminder of everything he had done.
Every night, he woke up from nightmares, drenched in sweat, only to cry alone until dawn.
He took down the wedding photo with Serena… And replaced it with a picture of me and Mabel, hung by his bedside.
Day after day, he whispered to it in guilt and longing.
“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”
“I should’ve never believed Serena’s lies… I should’ve never sent you back to that hell.”
“And I never should’ve turned my back on you for six whole years…‘
“If I had only noticed something was off… if I hadn’t been blinded by her sweet words, maybe you wouldn’t have died so young…”
The weight of guilt and grief nearly crushed the proud man he once was.
He withered. Collapsed into himself.
Meanwhile, my parents, who were once so obsessed with their reputation, were dragged into the eye of public outrage for the years of abuse they inflicted on me.
Their perfect reputations shattered. They became the subject of nationwide condemnation. Even a walk down the street meant being cursed and spat on by strangers.
The stress sent my mother into a serious illness.
My father’s hair turned completely grey overnight. He spent his days sighing endlessly in the silence of their cold mansion.
“We wronged that girl…” he murmured one day. “We never should’ve taken Serena in. That cursed child destroyed our whole family.”
My mother said nothing. She only sobbed harder.
The two of them spent every day blaming each other, swallowed in guilt.
And the Bell family… never returned to its former glory.
But in my heart, I felt nothing.
Their suffering didn’t come close to what they’d put me through.
They had stolen my life, crushed my soul.
A few tears don’t make it even.
I had no interest in their remorse. No interest in their hypocrisy.
I only cared about one thing. Mabel.
In the months that followed, Mabel remained at the children’s home.
For the first time, she was surrounded by people who truly cared for her.
She’d always longed for warmth and love. Now, at last, she was beginning to thrive.
The hollowness in her cheeks slowly filled out. Her skin grew rosier. Her eyes brighter.
But every time Clarence came to visit, she would scowl.
“I don’t like him. He’s not my daddy. He’s the bad guy who tried to take me away and kill me!”
Chapter 8
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I knew you were trouble when you walked in
“You all say kids don’t remember anything, but I do. I remember Mommy crying in front of his photo when I was little.”
“Grandma and Grandpa said Clarence is a bastard who abandoned my mom!”
Mabel was far more mature than other children her age. Her life had forced her to grow up too soon.
She understood death. She understood betrayal.
And she understood hatred.
She hated her father.
She hated the man who had brought nothing but pain into our lives.
And Clarence had no defense.
He knew that no apology, no action, could ever bring me back.
The only thing left… was to protect her in silence.
To make up for the love she never received, Clarence did everything in his power.
He searched far and wide to find her the perfect adoptive family.
Hired the best lawyers to draft the paperwork. Created a private trust fund in her name.
He gave Mabel every cent he’d earned in his life.
On the day Mabel left for her new home, Clarence cried like never before.
“Mabel… I’m sorry. I failed you and your mother.”
“I don’t expect you to forgive me. I just want you to live a happy life.”
“That’s all your mother and I ever wanted.”
“This is the only thing I can still do for you. From now on… I won’t bother you again.”
Later, Clarence attended Serena’s sentencing on behalf of my parents.
He sat in the courtroom, emotionless, while Serena wept and begged for mercy. He didn’t flinch.
Serena was sentenced to life in prison.
But she never made it behind bars. She died in the holding center.
Rumor had it… Clarence made sure of that.
Once everything was over, Clarence visited my grave.
Or rather, the mound of earth on the hill where my body had been buried.
He pulled up the weeds. Planted a patch of lily. It was my favorite flower.
“Eulalie,” he murmured, “I know you don’t want to see me… So let these flowers keep you company instead.”
“Mabel’s doing well now. She won’t have to relive our tragedy. She’ll grow up safe, healthy… free.”
“That’s all I can give you.”
And then, Clarence knelt by my grave, and slit his wrist.
His blood soaked into the earth. Just like everything else, was soon washed away by the rain.
Finally at peace, my soul no longer bound by hate, I drifted away.
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
I took one last look at Clarence and whispered a final wish in my heart:
“In the next life… let’s never meet again.”
