Loved You Once But He's My Forever

Chapter 538 Luke, Goodbye

Was it really over?

I felt completely drained, as though every ounce of energy had been sapped from me. Although I was still alive, my body felt as if it had been utterly exhausted.

"Has Luke been cremated? I need to say goodbye," I asked softly.

Zoey shook her head. "I'm not sure. After you collapsed, I had to focus on taking care of the babies. I'm sorry, Chloe. I shouldn't have left you alone."

None of us had expected that Harlan hadn't been with Carter at the time, arriving earlier than anticipated.

I gently placed a hand on Zoey's shoulder. "No one is to blame. It's fate, Zoey. We can't fight fate."

Looking around, I noticed Harlan wasn't present. Lowering my voice, I asked, "Zoey, if that was my death curse, what does that mean for your future?"

"What else can we do? We just have to go with the flow," Zoey answered, offering a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm okay. Being able to live again, to see my parents and you, is already more than I deserve. Even one more day feels like a gift. Don't worry about me. Life and death are beyond our control, and fortune is something that belongs to the heavens."

I let out a soft sigh, knowing that despite her words, Zoey wasn't as carefree as she appeared. Like me, she too was powerless against the force of fate.

We had tried to resist, but in the end, we had no choice but to accept it.

After drinking some water and eating a little, I began to feel a bit stronger. I asked Kate to assist me as I prepared to say my final goodbyes to Luke.

He had died because of me, and no matter what the past had held-whether love or hatred it had all faded into nothing.

At the crematorium, Carter stood holding a small urn. His eyes were red from crying, and as soon as he saw me, I rushed to him, wrapping my arms around him. "Carter..."

He handed the urn to Damian and then pulled me into a tight embrace. "Are you alright? Feeling better? Is the fever gone?"

I looked at his exhausted face and shook my head.

Even though I always tried to shield him from the pain, Carter was always the one

who suffered the most. He was the one who felt the deepest sorrow.

He had just lost two family members. How could he endure this?

Yet, even in his grief, he was concerned about me and the children.

"I'm fine," I whispered, holding him tightly.

His forehead rested against my head. "You're still a bit warm, but it's not too bad."

"You've been so busy. You should eat something and rest," I urged.

"It's fine," he replied softly. "I'm not hungry. I'll stay with you. I know you want to say goodbye to Luke."

Once again, no one understood me like Carter did.

He took my hand and led me into the dim, cold morgue.

a place like this. The chill in the air seemed to come at me from all directions,

been prepared for cremation, but he

sheet, revealing

chose this suit for today," Carter said quietly. "I thought he

it, so I didn't

I nodded silently.

the 20 years we had known each other, from the age of 8 to 28. We had

at his best and at his worst, including the time when he hated

the final memory that lingered was that last moment, when Luke had

instant, he had redeemed himself. The

ago had, at last, atoned for his mistake with

looked at his face, tears filled my eyes. "Luke, go now. Don't worry about me anymore. I'll live my life well. Once you get to the afterlife, just let go of all the past pain. In

never

wedding dress, expecting

around, he wore a groom's suit, only to meet death

the same page, always just missing

his arms around me. "If you need to cry, let it all out now. After this, I don't want to see

clutched his shirt, letting out a soft, muffled sound as I fought to

was the last time, Luke. These tears are for

one

said, his

allowed to remain behind. By the time his ashes were ready, it was

grave, noticing that it had been well cared

had been dug. The staff informed me

someone had been visiting

Joy They had purchased the grave

just

placed on the gravestone today,

same man who had been

Adam of Luke's

the Boltons and gone to meditate at

Adam, Luke had been like a son-a person he had cared for and raised. I worried that if he learned

and I shared an umbrella as we walked through

that Luke wouldn't have cared about

placed a handful of white chrysanthemums on his grave, staring at the photo

he was truly gone from my life.

I left before

way home, neither Carter nor I spoke. He carried his mother's ashes, and despite the heavy rain, he wanted to scatter them in the sea on a day when

in the room where Jeffrey had

she would have

gently touched the urn and whispered, "I forgive

we returned, Zoey and Harlan

and the other trying to manage the legs Meanwhite, Everett,

eli

hands in