Niamh was still unsettled as she rode the elevator down.
But it wasn’t a storm of emotion–just a subtle disturbance, like a gentle breeze rippling across the surface of a calm sea, barely noticeable but undeniably there.
She felt that Jonathan had changed.
Changed for the better, this time.
At first, she’d assumed Jonathan was trying to get back with her only because his illusions about Marina–his first love, his “white moonlight“-had finally shattered, leaving him devastated. She’d also wondered if Sprague had sent Jonathan to charm her, hoping to win back The Thomas Group through some elaborate scheme.
But now…
Now she realized those reasons didn’t hold up.
Jonathan genuinely wanted to make things right between them.
The glowing numbers above the elevator finally ticked down to one. The doors slid open, and Niamh stepped out.
She’d told Jonathan she had plans with Elmer earlier, but that was a lie.
It wasn’t meant to provoke Jonathan.
She just hoped he’d take the hint and give up.
Even if Jonathan truly wanted to mend things, there was no chance for the two of
them anymore.
Love, marriage–they were like glass bottles. Once shattered, you could try to glue the pieces back together, but the cracks would always show.
And those cracks never really went away.
The best thing was to find a new bottle–a whole one, for both the bottle and its
owner’s sake.
The rain had passed, and the sky above was a brilliant, cloudless blue.
Just as Niamh was about to leave Jade Peak Pavilion, a shout rang out behind her.
“Niamh!”
18:36
Chapter 527
She stopped and turned. Jonathan was there, hunched over, one hand braced on his knee, gasping for breath.
It wasn’t far from the house to the gated entrance, but he was drenched in sweat, barely recovered from his illness.
Most of it was cold sweat.
“I didn’t know you’d been kidnapped at Blackspire…” Jonathan said between ragged breaths, his voice earnest, almost desperate.
Niamh froze.
She couldn’t understand why Jonathan was bringing this up now.
But she remembered it all too well.
She remembered exactly what Daniel had said to her that day-
“I kidnapped both you and Marina, made Jonathan choose, and he didn’t hesitate–he ran to Marina’s rescue. Didn’t even spare you a thought. Cold–hearted,
isn’t he?”
Even now, Niamh could recall the pain that had torn through her at those words.
It was a pain deeper than death itself.
He was the man she loved, the man who’d once promised to love her most in this world. But when it mattered most, when her life was on the line, he’d chosen
another woman.
But what if-
What if Jonathan really hadn’t known?
She saw the doubt flicker in her eyes, and Jonathan rushed to explain.
“I swear, I didn’t know… At the time, Daniel told me he was planning to kidnap you and Marina, but you’d left with another man, and then Julian started answering your calls…”
His words tumbled out faster and faster.
Niamh could see how hard he was trying to justify what he’d done.
“But you never even tried to find me…”
“That was because, at the time-”
Jonathan’s sentence stopped short, cut off by his own guilt.
2/3
18:35
Chapter 527
“Because you were busy saving Marina.”
Niamh finished the thought softly for him, then continued in that same calm tone, offering a hypothetical:
“If Marina and I had switched places, would you have risked everything to save me, and left Marina behind without a second thought?”
Jonathan felt like his mind was splitting open, his head pounding.
His handsome features twisted in pain, anger burning in his chest with nowhere to
- go.
He wasn’t angry at Niamh.
He was angry at himself.
He didn’t want to admit to Niamh that he’d chosen wrong.
He never should have gone to save Marina.
Because Marina was never really his first love.
But it was too late now. And he couldn’t bear for Niamh to think he was a complete fool.
For once, Niamh waited patiently for Jonathan to answer, but in the silence, all she saw was his growing anguish.
That look was answer enough.
If their situations had been reversed, Jonathan wouldn’t have abandoned Marina.
He’d only been able to do that because it was Niamh.
The bright, clear sky suddenly darkened with gathering clouds.
3/3
