Chapter 26
Hearing my words, Antonio cracked. His eyes were filled with remorse.
He started to slap himself non–stop, then he even pulled out a dagger out of nowhere and stabbed himself randomly with a frantic look on his face.
“Grace. I’m so sorry. Will this make you happy? I’ll do anything just for you to be happy. Give me a chance to atone for my sins, OK? Just one
chance…”
I interrupted him. “You’ve been sleeping with Claire.
“She had someone print out your photos and plaster them all over that small room. I had to be humiliated and tortured every day while staring at your photos. You know what, Antonio? I wished I could die there.
“Now, you wanna look into it and make amends?”
I sneered and left with Troy, ignoring the three.
On the way back, onlookers kept pointing at me and looking at me with disgust in their eyes, which still put me under invisible pressure.
Because Troy was with me, he couldn’t find a place for us to stay because everyone wanted to stay away from me.
Mom, who had been following us, finally couldn’t take it anymore. She told the truth and apologized to me loudly amidst the crowd. Someone live streamed, and the whole thing soon caused another uproar online.
“Grace is innocent. It’s my eldest daughter, Claire, who had someone frame Grace. Grace was forced. We’ve found the chief culprit, so please,
don’t do this to Grace anymore. She has never done anything wrong…”
Apart from the live stream, the clarification statement jointly issued by the Kaufman Group and the Parrish Group became another trending topic.
Everything that had happened in these more than two months was clearly recorded in the statement, and the ordeal I had been through was briefly mentioned. Overnight, public opinion shifted, and everyone started to apologize to me.
Netizen A: “I’m sorry, Grace. I shouldn’t have made fun of you.”
Netizen B: “Grace is the victim. We shouldn’t have laughed at her, mocked her, ridiculed her, or treated her with malice.”
Netizen C: “I’m terribly sorry, Grace. I hope you get better soon.
Netizen D: “I’m sorry, Grace. I really hope you can stay safe and happy for the rest of your life. Hope your path never crosses with that of your despicable family.”
By the time I saw those comments, I was abroad already. Finally, I had a detailed check–up in a hospital.
But unfortunately, their blessing didn’t work. The doctor told me my uterus was damaged. Also, since I had been starved and fed with all kinds. of alcohol and drugs, my stomach was ruined. Most of my scars would stay with me for the rest of my life.
Worst of all, I had stomach cancer.
When we learned the results, Troy cried so hard that he couldn’t even make a sound.
Holding me tightly, he begged me again and again, not wanting me to give up on myself. He said, “There must be something wrong with the
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results. Grace, have another check–up, OK? It must be wrong.”
But after rounds of check–ups, the results were still the same.
I didn’t cry. Instead, I smiled while wiping away Troy’s tears, and then I kissed his forehead just like the way he kissed my hair.
“It’s fine, Troy. At least I won’t die today, right? I can be with you for a while.”
Too bad that the cancer came so suddenly that it caught me and my body off guard. I started to lose appetite, and since I was so weak, I couldn’t even walk and often collapsed to the ground.
Knowing that I would soon die, Dad, Mom, and Antonio came here several times, wanting to see me, but I avoided them.
I didn’t want to see them; besides, I didn’t know how to face them anyway.
Later, news came from home. Everyone who had mistreated me died because of peculiar reasons, and it was Antonio who was caught.
When the police found him, he was stabbing Claire’s corpse madly.
Troy got thinner every day, yet one day, I suddenly seemed to be rallying.
I said to him, “Troy, after I die, will you bury my ashes under a tree?”
“OK,” he said.
I said, “Don’t let anyone else know, OK?”
He nodded. “OK.”
“Is that the only word you know?” I turned to look at him, and the displeasure on my face reminded him of the past.
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Chapter
Instead of getting angry, he smiled.
Amidst smiling, he started to cry.
Then he reached out and covered my smiling eyes, saying, “Because I’ll agree with anything you say, Grace.”
I no longer looked displeased. Smiling, I said, “Alright then. You’re not allowed to die with me. Live, OK? Promise me you’ll live a happy life.”
But this time, I didn’t get to hear his answer. The second before I closed my eyes. I vaguely heard him saying.
“Sorry, Grace. This is the only thing I can’t promise you.”
