Chapter 13
After so many years apart, her mother was no longer the same woman who had sat on the sofa, eyes brimming with tears, waiting for Connor to return.
Isabelle bore the marks of time around her
eyes. However, there was still an undeniable glow about her, more radiant. than when young.
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“Mom, I’ve missed you so much.”
Asteria collapsed into her mother‘ s arms, allowing herself to release the stiff control she had carried for so long, revealing a softness that only a daughter could show.
Isabelle hugged her tightly, murmuring apologies over and over.
“I shouldn’t have left you. I thought, with Primo… someone would be there for you. I didn‘ t expect…”
She hadn’t expected men to fail so
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Chapter 13
miserably at keeping their promises.
“Mom, I don’t blame you. You taught me to never wait to be loved but to love myself first.”
Even in the darkest of years, Asteria had never held her mother accountable.
She understood how difficult it was to let go of the past.
And she knew that those who choose to move on can never afford to look back.
If it were her, Asteria wouldn’t want to wade back into that swamp either.
Twenty years ago, Isabelle had made the same choice that Asteria now faced, and in the end, they both walked away from the past.
Isabelle nodded in quiet approval.
After a brief pause, she spoke again, her voice soft but steady. “Asteria, Primo couldn’t find you, so he called me.”
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At the mention of that name, Asteria‘ s heart tightened with a sharp ache.
Isabelle gently squeezed her cold hand, her touch warm and comforting.
“Mom still says the same thing. Whatever path you choose, I’ll be here to support you.”
Asteria gathered her courage, reaching for her phone.
The screen was flooded with Primo’s messages and missed calls.
With a deep breath, she made a decisive. choice, just as she had when she threw away those high heels.
She snapped the SIM card in half and threw it away.
“The past is the past.
Isabelle smiled through her tears, her hand gently patting Asteria‘ s shoulder. “Well said. It’s all over now. Let’s leave those unhappy thoughts behind. Come, let me
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treat you to a nice meal.”
The two of them smiled, the bond of mother and daughter stronger than ever. They walked away, unaware that, on the other side of the world, everything was unraveling.
At Goldenridge Villa, Primo had been sitting alone on the balcony for five long hours. The cigarette between his fingers flickered dimly in the night’s quiet embrace.
A thin layer of ash had gathered on the ground, but the girl who would always smile and accept his cigarette, offering him candy in return, never appeared.
Even now, Primo couldn’t seem to accept the truth that Asteria had fled their
wedding.
The wedding dress, torn and discarded, lay crumpled by the door, as though their years together had been reduced to nothing more than trash.
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Isabelle called again.
Primo felt the frustration bubble up inside him. He wanted to end the call, but for reasons he couldn‘ t understand, his hand trembled uncontrollably.
By accident, Primo pressed the answer
button.
“Where has Asteria gone? Do you realize she’s tarnished the Chromos family’s
name?”
“I’ve always said we shouldn’t marry this woman. Her own mother couldn’t care less about her. What good can she be? She’s been twisted from the start–she‘ s
a monster!”
“She’s not!”
Primo couldn’t take it anymore. He interrupted his mother, his voice firm and sharp.
For the first time, as the eldest son of the Chromos family, he contradicted his.
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elders. It was a bold move, one that not only defied family tradition but also embarrassed them all.
“Did you hear? The heir to the Chromos
Group was having an affair with his sister- in–law before marriage.”
“And Mrs. Chromos had the nerve to run away from her own wedding.”
