Chapter 9
Grandpa Oscar’s Epilogue:
+ 5 Points
When Oscar found Noelle, he vowed to make
up for the suffering she had endured all these
years.
He wanted to give her the best of everything.
Yet from the moment she stepped into the Clayton family, Oscar noticed the deep–seated insecurity she couldn’t hide, the envy she felt.
toward Yolanda.
His heart ached; Noelle was the true heiress, so why should she envy an orphan?
From the day Yolanda arrived at the Clayton family, Oscar took an instant dislike to her.
Her ambition was glaring, yet she pretended to
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be the picture of vulnerability.
+ 5 Points
Having lived half a lifetime, how could he not see through Yolanda’s little tricks?
But he couldn’t fight against Willa’s affection for
her.
Oscar didn’t understand what his son and
daughter–in–law were thinking.
Why spoil an adopted daughter while abandoning the search for their biological daughter?
But it didn’t matter; he would give everything
he had to Noelle.
He was willing to be Noelle’s final pillar of
support.
Yet he was still too arrogant in his assumptions.
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Noelle died.
+ 5 Points
Oscar couldn’t fathom why Noelle had to die.
Was it really as simple as a home invasion?
He didn’t think so. At her funeral, Oscar
instinctively suspected Stuart.
He couldn’t believe that someone who had
never felt guilt could weep for his sister’s death.
He needed to investigate; he wanted to know the twisted intricacies behind it all.
But as he followed the clues to Stuart, Kevin sought him out first.
That day, Oscar sat by the window for a long time, realizing he had made many mistakes.
If he had never mentioned the engagement to
معالمحلة
Chapter 9
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Noelle, would the outcome have been different?
Was his Noe truly happy after the marriage?
Oscar wasn’t sure; Noelle always seemed joyful in front of him, appearing carefree.
But was that the reality?
He was getting old, and the doctor had told him he wouldn’t live beyond this year.
Yet still, he was burying his granddaughter before he himself was laid to rest.
Oscar forced himself to muster the strength to deal with the chaotic state of the Clayton family.
He looked at his weary son and daughter–in–law and suddenly remembered Noelle as a child.
She always loved to follow him around, calling
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out “Grandpa, Grandpa.”
+ 5 Points
But now he could no longer hear that. Only now did Oscar realize he had given Noelle what he thought was best for her.
But was that truly what Noelle wanted?
On the ride back home when she was eighteen, Noelle had said something that only now
resurfaced in his mind.
“Grandpa, I want you to be happy. If you’re happy, I’ll be happy.”
Tears filled Oscar’s somewhat dazed eyes. Why did he suddenly feel that his Noe had spent her whole life cautiously seeking for love?
She shouldn’t have had to do that.
The loss of a loved one often doesn’t strike
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with immediate sadness; what brings pain is everything they leave behind.
It seemed even Oscar had become a relic of
Noelle.
But fate enjoyed toying with people.
Oscar was dying, tormented by illness every day.
Yet he did one thing: he killed Stuart.
Let everything end where it all began.
He died on New Year’s Eve, six months after Noelle had passed away.
He was no longer the venerable head of the Clayton family, the founder of the Clayton
Group.
He became a murderer, a man reviled by all
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+ 5 Points
But he was dying, and he no longer cared about
much.
That night, Oscar seemed to see Noelle.
She smiled brightly and said:
Grandpa, Happy New Year.”
But that was just his imagination; in the cold underpass, he was all alone.
Oscar wished he could reach out and touch
Noelle’s head; there were words he had always wanted to say.
“Noe, don’t be afraid. Grandpa’s coming to be with you, just like I promised. I’ve always been here, and I always will be.”
“Can you forgive me, Noe? Grandpa was
wrong…”
Η
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+ 5 Points.
He muttered these words as he slowly closed his
eyes.
And he never woke up again.
On the first day of the new year, people discovered the corpse of an old man beneath the bridge.
Upon investigation, he was found to be a
