Chapter 1774

"Maisie..."

"I should indeed forgive myself," Maisie uttered, her gaze averted as if looking at something beyond. "And to do so, I must confront the past."

She enunciated each word deliberately. "Daniel, I did love you. It was a love that gave everything, even risking my life.

"I initially stayed with you because of money... I constantly reminded myself that I didn't mean anything to you and that you would leave me sooner or later. But I couldn't control falling for you.

"After recalling those things from the past, I also hated you. But I seem to understand something these days—I hated you because I still loved you. Yet, the opposite of love isn't hate. It's forgetting. So... I genuinely intend to forgive myself."

Daniel stood in silence.

A breeze swept by, causing cherry blossom petals from the tree behind Maisie to drift, landing gently on her hair and shoulders.

Although she stood right in front of him, he felt as though they were worlds apart.

In the chilly spring, he reali