Chapter 21
Harry stood outside the glass doors of Samantha’s studio, clutching a thick stack of documents in his
hands.
They were share transfer agreements, property deeds, and cashier’s checks… There was even an itemized
list of his treasured watch collection.
Everything he owned was here.
Harry was gripping so tightly that his knuckles were pale, and the cuffs of his suit pants were still damp,
evidence that he had rushed over in the rain.
When Samantha pushed open the door and stepped out, Harry looked at her like she was a saint. He
almost lunged forward to shove the pile of papers into her hands.
His voice was hoarse beyond recognition. “Sam, I’m going to give you everything. The company, the
properties, the savings, and even every asset in my name. All of them will be transferred to you. Please
come back…”
Samantha lowered her gaze to see that the amount written on the check was enough to buy an entire
office building.
Yet, she only let out a faint laugh. Then, right before his eyes, she slowly tore the check in half. “I never
wanted these things…”
The scraps of paper fluttered from her fingertips.
Harry widened his eyes and suddenly grabbed her wrist. “Then, what do you want? I’ll change. I’ll change
everything!”
His voice cracked as he teared up desperately. “I love you, Samantha. Come back to me…”
“What I wanted was respect and trust. In those five years, you didn’t even bother to truly look at me.”
Samantha pulled her hand back.
She said in a frighteningly calm tone, “Harry, you can’t give me that. And even if you could, it’s far too late.”
Harry watched her walk away, feeling like his insides were twisting together in agony.
That night, in the VIP room of a golf club, Harry flung a glass of whiskey into Lionel’s face.
“Leave her,” he demanded as he yanked Lionel by the collar.
His eyes were bloodshot as she said, “How much do you want? 50 million dollars? 100 million dollars? Do you want the Wright Corporation’s business resources? I can give you all of it.”
Lionel calmly removed his glasses to wipe them, then suddenly swung a punch, knocking Harry onto the leather couch.
“That’s for Samantha.” Lionel loosened his tie, revealing an edge to him that he rarely showed. “After hurting her for so long, what gives you the right to ask for her forgiveness?”
Harry wiped the blood from his mouth and sneered. “Do you think you’ve already won? Let me tell you this. The years of marriage we had aren’t something you can compare to! She’s just confused at the
moment…”
“Real love isn’t possessing someone-it’s respecting them,” Lionel cut him off with a sharp look in his eyes. “And that’s something you’ll never learn in your lifetime.”
Harry froze.
Only then did he realize that Lionel, who always appeared gentle and refined, could bear such a hostile
gaze when it came to protecting Samantha.
Every day, without meaning to, Harry found himself wandering to the front of Samantha’s studio. The
sunlight would pour in through the windows, and he would stand hidden in the corridor’s shadows like a
stalker.
Inside, Samantha and Lionel bent down together and discussed design drafts.
When her fingertip landed on a particular fabric, Lionel would immediately hand her the color cards. When
she frowned in thought, he replaced her coffee with her favorite jasmine tea. When she smiled and took
the cup, her hair brushed against his jaw, and they shared a glance of unspoken understanding.
It was a glance that hurt Harry’s eyes to look at.
He suddenly thought of the homemade lunches she would make him that he casually tossed into the
trash without a glance. Then, he remembered the document that she would stay up all night to organize,
only for him to use as a coffee coaster.
He thought of the design ideas she would timidly suggest, only for him to shut down by telling her, “What
would a housewife know?”
It wasn’t because Samantha was dull. It was just that he had never seen her true self.
“Mr. Wright?”
The voice of Samantha’s assistant snapped him back to reality. “Ms. Knott says that you shouldn’t linger outside the studio if you have no business here.”
The words landed like a heavy blow to his chest.
He had once been her entire world. Now, he was an outsider being politely asked to leave.
“Harry,” Samantha suddenly called out behind him.
Harry spun around in a panic and realized that she was already standing in the hallway.
Sunlight passed through her white blouse, tracing the curves of her slender frame. The diamond ring on her ring finger gleamed brightly.
“Things are over between us,” she said calmly, as if she was just discussing the weather. “Learn to let yourself go.”
Those words were like the final bullet that pierced through Harry’s heart.
He slowly crouched down, crying like a child for the first time in years. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m so sorry…”
Samantha watched him quietly for a moment, then turned around and walked toward the studio.
But as she pushed the door open, she heard the raw, broken shout from behind her, “But I really have fallen in love with you!”
Her hand paused on the doorknob for a second, but in the end, she did not look back.
Things between them were long over.
