Chapter 21

The moment I heard the news, my entire body trembled. I crouched down, hugging my shoulders tightly. My eyelashes fluttered as something cold slipped from my eyes, like icy water pouring over me, drenching me to the bone and chilling my heart to the core.

Why…

Why did Pierce have to bear it all alone?

I finally understood why he kept pushing me away, only to return time and again—begging, helping, even pleading with me not to marry someone else. He loved me, but he believed he couldn’t afford to love me. He saw his love as a burden to me.

So, Pierce began weaving his lies. He deceived me into thinking he’d fallen out of love, that he was moving on, that he was getting married and even having a child. His indifference, his disdain, and the way he played with my emotions—all of it was an act.

He did it all to drive me away, to make sure I’d never look back.

Pierce didn’t want me trapped under the shadow of his death. He figured that if I hated him enough, then when his time finally came,