Semua Bab Goodbye to the Love I Lost Eight Years Ago: Bab 1 - Bab 10

When chemotherapy became too much to bear, I would clutch the old photo of Liam and me until my fingers cramped. Some nights, that picture was the only thing that kept me from giving up.I went through more surgeries than I could count, some minor, some so dangerous Mom signed the consent forms with shaking hands. More than once, I was rushed into the ICU and almost did not wake up again.Every time, Mom stood beside my bed and shouted herself hoarse.“Claire, have you forgotten? You said you were going to survive. You said you’d get better, go overseas, and explain everything to Liam yourself.“You promised me. When you were well enough, you said you’d let me take you to find him. If you die now, you’ll never see him again.”It was my mother’s voice, calling Liam’s name again and again, that pulled me back from the edge more times than I could count.In the end, I still lost.And Liam had a new life now. He was about to get married.But in the last stretch of time I had left, I still

This trip had taken almost everything I had left.After this, I might never have the strength to leave the house again.Thankfully, at one in the afternoon, Liam finally called and said they were downstairs.My mother was furious. It took me a long time to calm her down before she managed to keep her expression neutral.The moment I got into the car, Vanessa turned to me with a coy little smile.“Sorry, Claire. Liam got a little carried away last night. I couldn’t get out of bed this morning.”My hand tightened slightly against my coat.Liam folded my wheelchair and put it away, then got into the driver’s seat. Through the rearview mirror, he glanced at me once.“Why are you explaining so much to her?” he said coldly.I turned my face toward the window and waved calmly at my mother.Liam drove fast.The car lurched so badly I thought I might throw up, but I swallowed it down in silence.It reminded me of the year he got his license.Back then, he would often borrow his father’s car and

“I lost control and slapped her,” Vanessa sobbed. “Then she got angry and shoved me.”“You know I’m pregnant. You know I’m not strong. I can’t handle even the smallest fall.”I sat there frozen, staring at her.My lips moved several times before I finally managed to speak.“Liam, listen to me. That’s not what happened.“I really didn’t do that.”But Liam exploded.“Claire, how can you be this vicious?”His eyes were red with fury.“Eight years ago, you cheated on me without a shred of shame. Now, eight years later, the second I’m about to get married, you decide you want me back and attack my fiancée?”He stepped toward me.“You laid a hand on my woman, didn’t you? Then today, you can find out what it feels like when someone lays a hand on mine.”With that, he kicked my wheelchair hard.Once.Twice.Again and again.Then he grabbed the handles and shoved it backward with brutal force.The wheelchair slammed into the dining table. Bowls crashed to the floor and shattered. The table tipp

The night before the wedding, Liam tried to contact Claire one last time.His fingers trembled over the screen.But Claire had not only blocked his number.She had blocked his messages too.So her fiancé mattered that much to her?So much that she was not even willing to be friends with him?Maybe that was for the best.At least now, he could finally give up.He could marry Vanessa properly and do his best to be a good father.On the day of the wedding, everything passed in a blur.The music.The vows.The smiling guests.Vanessa’s hand in his.Through it all, Liam kept searching the venue for Claire.Claire never came.Neither did her mother.When he saw that the seats meant for the Winters family had been filled by other relatives and friends, a constant ache settled behind his ribs.Then the ceremony ended, and it was time to make the rounds for toasts.When Liam reached the table of his old high school classmates, he had just lifted his glass when Claire’s former best friend looked

“It’s all Claire’s fault,” Margaret continued. “If she hadn’t seduced Liam back then, would he have been so completely fooled? Good thing she got cancer. All I had to do was lie and tell her to think about Liam’s future, and she broke up with him on her own.“You were smart too. You knew to contact me. That was how I managed to send Liam Claire’s wedding invitation in time. Otherwise, how could he have agreed to marry you?“Don’t worry. Liam is my son. I know him better than anyone. Once he comes home, just push everything onto me. Then cry to him a little over the baby in your belly. I promise he’ll settle down and live properly with you.“As for Claire, she’s dead now, so there’s no point holding a grudge. But I have to say, you did well. Back then, I only gave you a few hints and told you to drive a wedge between Claire and Liam. I never expected you to get Claire killed outright.”Margaret gave a soft, satisfied laugh.“But that’s fine too. Dead girls don’t come back to steal sons