Chapter 385
He Never Noticed Me Until I Loved Someone Else novel Chapter 385
George’s tone in the video was thick with desperate pleading. “The Fuller Group is an empire. Jarrod had a spotless reputation, and Arthur Sr. was an honorable man. I knew you wouldn’t be mistreated if you married him…
I figured even if it ended in divorce after three years, at least you wouldn’t be trapped as a widow to a comatose man. I thought you’d walk away with enough capital and connections to secure your independence.”
“At the end of the day, the fault is entirely mine. I never respected your choices, and I only ever held you back. I am so sorry.”
George’s eyes were bloodshot. “I know that hearing this might make you think I’m just playing the victim again, trying to manipulate you into feeling sorry for me.
But my prognosis isn’t good. I’m terrified that if I don’t say this now, I might lose the ability to speak entirely, and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. So I recorded this, just in case.
Stella, Dad knows he was wrong. Ending up in this hospital bed is karma, plain and simple. It’s okay if you never forgive me, but I just want you to be safe and happy for the rest of your life.”
Watching the video, Stella felt a lump the size of a boulder form in her throat. She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking violently as months of repressed agony shattered the dam.
All the years of silent suffering and deep-seated bitterness seemed to evaporate in the wake of this confession.
No matter how cruelly George had disappointed her, he had given her life, and there was a time when she was the absolute center of his universe.
The relentless barrage of corporate warfare and personal tragedy had finally drained every ounce of strength from her body. Her limbs were freezing, her head spinning with exhaustion. Unable to hold herself up a second longer, she collapsed onto the couch and let the darkness pull her under.
In her dream, she saw her mother. Then, George appeared. They looked at her with boundless warmth, urging her to be brave, telling her not to cry anymore.
Then, their figures began to dissolve. Stella reached out, desperate to pull them back, but her hands grasped nothing but empty air.
Just as the suffocating chill of absolute despair threatened to consume her, a large, impossibly warm hand enveloped hers.
She forced her eyes open and gasped. It was Jarrod.
He looked noticeably thinner, his grip on her hand bruisingly tight. His dark, intense eyes were entirely focused on her, swimming with an overwhelming cocktail of anxiety and profound heartache, reflecting her own colorless face in his irises.
Stella couldn’t fathom why Jarrod had invaded her dream. She was supposed to despise him. He had given her every reason to believe they had a future, only to completely shatter her reality by demanding a divorce for another woman.
Suddenly, Julian’s frantic words echoed in her mind—the boat had vanished, and Jarrod was presumed dead. Was he visiting her dream to say goodbye, just like her parents?
No. That was impossible! Jarrod couldn’t be dead!
Trembling violently, Stella lunged forward and threw her arms around him.