After the Last Tear: Rising from the Ashes of a Broken Marriage novel Chapter 116

Nolan's pupils contracted sharply, his fingers involuntarily clenching.

The classmate went on, "Then Evangeline showed up, and get this—Aurelia actually pushed you into her arms and told her to take the credit for saving you. I couldn't wrap my head around it. If Aurelia was really the monster everyone made her out to be, why the hell would she risk her life to save yours? And then why give someone else the glory?"

Nolan's mind flashed back to that night.

He remembered waking up with Evangeline by his bedside, her eyes filled with concern.

She had told him she had risked her life to save him from the fire. And he had never once questioned it.

"You're certain... it was Aurelia who saved me?" Nolan's voice was rough.

The classmate nodded firmly. "I saw it with my own eyes. There's no mistake."

Nolan's heart sank as unbidden images of Aurelia's pale face appeared in his mind.

The scars on her back, her cold responses, her unflinching admission of her "cruelty"... everything suddenly connected in this moment.

"Why would she do that?" Nolan asked quietly, seemingly asking himself as much as the person who had already vanished from his life.

The classmate shook his head. "I don't know. But I've always felt that Aurelia might not be as worse as everyone made her out to be."

Nolan fell silent, a storm brewing within him.

All the emotions he had deliberately suppressed, all the memories he had forcibly locked away, came rushing back at once.

He remembered Aurelia's smile, her tears, her tenderness, and her betrayal.

But if she was truly so malicious, why would she save him? And why give the credit to Evangeline?

"Nolan, what's wrong? What did he tell you?"

It wasn't until the classmate had left that Evangeline's voice broke through his thoughts.

Nolan regained his composure and said flatly, "Nothing. Let's go home."

If you're reading this letter, I hope you still remember Nolan Creed. That boy who always wore a serious expression, yet treated you with such tenderness. The person you once vowed to love for a lifetime.

Are you still together? If so, does he still quietly take care of everything for you as he used to? Remember how he promised to take you to Tibet for your wedding, to have all the spirits of Celestial Mountain witness your love?

Have you been there? Is the sky as pure as legends say? Have we already pledged our eternal vows beneath those sacred peaks?

Do you have children? I remember we agreed to have two—a boy and a girl. The boy would resemble him, the girl would resemble me.

Our children must be adorable, aren't they? Can they already call out "Mommy" and "Daddy"? Do you tell them stories every day and play with them? Does Nolan dote on them the way he dotes on me?

Is our home warm and welcoming? I remember you wanted to buy a house with a garden, where you'd plant all my favorite flowers. Do we drink coffee together in the garden every morning, watching our children run on the lawn? In the evenings, do we cook together, then sit on the sofa, watching television and chatting?

Nolan, if you're reading this letter, please remember that I am the person who loves you most in this world.

Even if ten years from now we're no longer young, even if our lives have become ordinary, I hope you remember how deeply we loved each other, how happy we once were.