Conrad stopped speaking, but I already had a hunch, "So, her condition is to be Mrs. Wagner?" As I finished, Conrad looked up at me, seemingly shocked by my insight.
"You seem to know her quite well," he mocked after a pause.
His words were not hurtful, but they were dripping with irony.
To think she was the other woman, the one who stole my man, and here he was suggesting that I'd somehow schemed against her.
"You're overthinking it. I know what she's up to, not because I understand her, but because her actions make it clear she's greedy for wealth and luxury," I said, as the gloomy sky suddenly brightened.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAll along, I thought the transition from night to day was a gradual process, but now I realized it happened in an instant.
No wonder poets describe dawn as a daybreak.
The use of 'break' couldn't be more accurate.
From darkness to light in an instant, if that's not a 'break', what is? "Conrad, an amusement park might be valuable, but what's that compared to the benefits of being Mrs. Wagner?" My words left Conrad stunned for a few seconds.
Conrad had giftedan amusement park, but his worth was tens, hundreds of those parks. Becoming his wife meant owning half of his assets.
Haley knew this all too well, otherwise, she wouldn't have used Aiden's life as a stepping stone for herself.
"She never wanted me, just my fortune," Conrad said with self-derision.
I couldn't help but mockingly laugh. Did he really think Haley loved him? In the world of the wealthy, how many truly married for love and not for alliances or financial gain? Suddenly, I thought of Shirley Travis, a young and fresh-faced woman, who ended up with Lord Clark, old enough to be her father.
Was that love? Maybe! Love for his money.
"But why don't you care?" Conrad murmured, "If you were after my money too, you wouldn't have... leftbecause of her, right?" Indeed, if were greedy for wealth and status, I could have turned a blind eye, at least until after the marriage. That way, I could have walked away with half of Conrad's fortune.
Fanny had said as much, callingfoolish for letting Conrad walk away unscathed after he wronged me.
"I guess I'm just foolish," I replied, self-mockingly.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Felicia," Conrad called my name, "did you ever truly like me?" "Ha," I laughed mockingly. After all the years I loved him, he dared to ask if I liked him? I looked at him, "Conrad, it's like you're not satisfied with just killing someone; you have to dismember them too."
He looked up at the now bright sky.
"Lately, I keep thinking, if you really liked me, how could you just walk away so easily, and how could you... 上 move on with someone else? le couldn't do it, and the longer we're apart, the worse I feel, realizing I can't live without you..." That was the aftermath, I suppose.
Seeing the pain and sheer helplessness on his face, something insidesuddenly snapped and found peace.
Peace in knowing that my love for him wasn't entirely unrequited; he had lovedtoo.
It's just that we had strayed off course, much like our currento m conversation, which had veered from Haley to us. But since we're on the topic, I might as well make things clear.
"Conrad, have you ever heard this saying?" picked up a fallen leaf from om the ground, twirlingyt between my fingers, "Leaves don't turn yellow in a single day, and hearts don't grow cold in an instant."