Shattered Longings

Chapter 25 Deserving of Death

After walking down a narrow path for a while, Bella noticed a shadowy figure in the pavilion ahead. She composed herself and quickened her pace.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Simon stepped forward to greet her. “Belle…

Bella felt a strong aversion to his overly familiar way of addressing her and replied curtly, “It’s Bella Jones.

Simon still bore some resemblance to his younger self from the photos, making him recognizable.

Faced with Bella’s cold demeanor, Simon seemed a bit embarrassed. “Right… You took your mother’s last name. It’s a nice name.

“You know, we actually discussed your name before. We thought of calling you Cherry because your mother loved cherry blossoms. But then, everything changed so drastically.”

Whenever Simon brought up the past, Bella felt like she was swallowing a fly. How dare he think a few words of fegret could earn forgiveness? He was the one who had caused all of this.

a shred of remorse, he

Simon’s hands. These are the letters my mother wrote to you but never sent.

opened the letters one by one, reading them intently without skipping a

hour to finish.

not that I didn’t want to find you two. When I left, your mother was pregnant with you.

ashamed to face you. I wanted to make something of myself before returning with honor, but by the time I had

“And you’re innocent, right? So my mom deserved to be

After my mom passed, I was still here, but you never once sought me out or

time, I could barely make ends meet, constantly on the move. How could I have taken good care

an eye on you. A few days ago, I

online? Bella frowned. Was it those

ask Simon what he thought of the online gossip. Without a word,

man again. Just as he had never been part of her life before, he

25 Deserving