Chapter 6
Zane didn’t answer her, his eyes locked onto her with a cold intensity.
“The bracelet, Lila. Where is the bracelet I gave you?”
Lila Bennett had never seen Zane Cooper like this before.
Zane’s voice was low, filled with menace. “Fifteen years ago, you saved me. I gave you my bracelet.”
Lila Bennett’s eyes flickered nervously. “I… I lost it. It’s been years, Zane”
Their maid walked by, saying, “Miss, don’t you remember? You couldn’t swim, and the girl from the Parker family saved you when
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you fell into the water”
Lila Bennett’s face drained of color. “Shut up! You crazy old woman, what do you know?”
By now, he pieced it together.
The girl who had saved him all those years ago had been Zoe Parker.
Suddenly, he burst out laughing, a bitter, crazed laugh.
All these years, what had he done to Zoe? What had he allowed to happen to her?
“Zane, you’re hurting me.”
Lila tried to pull away from him, but the phone in her hand fell out, landing on a chat window with an unfamiliar name.
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The person on the other end mocked, “Where did you get Zoe Parker’s private photos? You even used Zane Cooper’s phone to send them to his brother group chat. Doesn’t that mean Zoe’s been exposed? How disgusting.”
“By the way, Zoe Parker is such a fool. You bullied her in high school, and she still remained friends with you. If she knew that night with Caleb Lane was all your doing, I wonder what her face would look like. I can’t wait to see it.”
Zane Cooper felt a rush of guilt, and his stomach churned as he imagined what Zoe must have felt when she saw those photos.
When she had confronted him, he had been so indifferent.
“Why did you send those photos using my phone?”
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Lila Bennett was the only one who couldd access his phone.
Zane Cooper gripped Lila Bennett’s armm tightly.
“You bitch, this is how you’ve been bullyingg Zoe.”
She had been bullied in high school, abused in marriage. How much pain had his Zoe endured?
Zane Cooper’s face was flushed with rage as he grabbed Lila Bennett by the throat.
His voice was hoarse and mad. “It’s all your fault! All of it! Zoe left me because of you. Her life is miserable because of you!”
Lila Bennett struggled for breath, nearly
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choking to death.
With all her strength, she broke free from his grip, knowing that the truth had been exposed, and she no longer cared to hide it.
“Zane Cooper, don’t act like you have feelings for her. Am I the one who made you mistake your true savior? Am I the one who made Zoe lose her sight? It’s all you, Zane! Zoe should leave you. You deserve everything that’s happened!”
Zane Cooper stood there, frozen, his hands clutching his forehead in agony.
His world had collapsed around him.
It was all his fault.
Zoe, such a wonderful person, had suffered because of him.
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He frantically grabbed his phone and dialed Caleb Lane’s number.
“Check all the airports and train stations. I’m going to find Zoe. I’ll love her properly, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to her.”
Zane Cooper returned to the home he shared with Zoe Parker.
In the past, he had treated Zoe Parker as nothing more than a decoration–something to show off when necessary.
But when he returned to the house this time, he was hit with the realization that all of Zoe Parker’s belongings had already been packed up and removed.
If he had paid more attention to her before, he would have noticed sooner.
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When she was still around, he had been disgusted, irritated.
Back when she was still around, he couldn’t stand her- found her messy, loud, and utterly unnecessary in his life.
But now, with Zoe Parker gone, it felt as though the entire world had been stripped away.
He desperately searched through the rooms, trying to find any trace of Zoe Parker’s presence.
Finally, he found only one thing–a discarded journal of hers.
October 2009
I saved a boy by the pond today.
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He’s the most handsome person I’ve ever seen, the best–looking person I’ve met in my life.
Before he left, he gave me a bracelet from his wrist.
He said he would definitely come back for
- me.
I was so happy.
September 2014
I saw that boy again in high school.
He was even more handsome than before, surrounded by a group of people.
I secretly watched him from behind.
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Lila caught me.
I told her everything about how I saved him.
And I told her I liked him.
Zane Cooper.
December 2014
After school, I saw Zane Cooper smile at Lila.
He was cold and distant toward me, like a stranger.
Of course, who would like a bookworm like me?
I guess it’s better not to bother.
It feels like my youth ended before it even began.
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