I looked up at Camelia and nodded. I didn’t think much of her story up till that point.
Then, she carried on, “He wanted to build a career in M Country and I happened to have the resources he needed. Given the circumstances, we got engaged in M Country. When he met you, it was right after our engagement ceremony. I was not able to understand why he grew distant after that. My pregnancy was just an accident. I only knew afterwards that you and him were not on the same page.”
She touched her stomach and stared outside the window for a moment. It was still snowing heavily. “I checked. Even though I didn’t see anything, but Scarlett, I don’t think you’re being very fair to him. He’s truly good to you. Come to think of it, God isn’t very fair to him either. Both him and your husband were born with silver spoons, but in the area of relationships, your husband had way better luck. Marcus’ parents did not have a good marriage and passed away one after another. He also gave you his heart but was unable to get your affection. Scarlett, I think you owe him,” she continued.
I looked at the woman. I still found her as adorable as before. She was not the same as Rebecca in the sense that after knowing what happened between Marcus and me, she didn’t insult or humiliate me, but rather tried her best to understand the man.
It was because she loved him. As such, she was able to put herself in his shoes and felt for him.
“Camelia, I can’t control who I love. You’re right, I do owe Marcus and I’m trying to make it up to him using my own ways. There’s someone else I love. You should know better than me that I won’t be able to force myself to love Marcus just because I feel bad towards him. Of course, I’m sure that isn’t what you want either, right?”
Camelia appeared to be momentarily stunned before nodding her head and said, “Yup. That’s why I asked to meet you. I love him, but you’re the one who has his heart. I’m not here to blame you. After all, I couldn’t manage to win him over even after so many years. Perhaps, I’m just not good enough. The reason I’m here is also because I wanted to thank you.”
I paused for a moment and asked, “Thank me?”
She pursed her lips and answered, “Thank you for not loving him.”
I did not expect that reply and was at a loss for words.
“Can we still be friends?” she asked while focusing her gaze on me.
“Since when are we not friends?” I threw the question back at her.
Camelia laughed upon hearing that and replied, “Thank you, Scarlett.”
Initially, I had expected her to find trouble with me. Well, this was rather… unexpected.
After a while, I spoke, “I know that Benjamin and Sharon’s death was a huge blow to Marcus. My existence in his life was probably a surprise to him. I know I owe him too much but I’m really unable to return his feelings. As such, I chose to avoid the situation.”
When Camelia replied, she had an unfathomable gaze in her eyes. “His heart is like a bottomless abyss. I tried to pull him back up, but I failed. Four years ago, we went back to Chanaea together and stayed at J City for half a year. Initially, I didn’t know his reason for going to J City but I started seeing him getting drunk frequently at night. It seemed like he stopped taking care of himself or anyone else. After he heard Sally’s announcement of her intention to retrench some employees, someone approached Marcus, requesting his assistance. When he returned and chased Sally away, he also got to know about what happened to his parents. I thought that he would make Sally suffer for that but he didn’t. Instead, he chose to focus all his energy on fighting against Fuller Corporation. I couldn’t understand why he did that at that time, but I finally knew that you were the one he was fighting for.”
She paused and smiled at me before continuing, “Please don’t take what I said to heart. I know I probably shouldn’t have told you all these, but other than you, I don’t have any friends in M Country. Actually, there were times when I really wanted to tell you that Marcus really needs you. You’re like the savior of his soul. There were even times when it crossed my mind that if you were the one by his side, he wouldn’t be suffering that much, but I… “
I kept quiet as there was nothing I could say.
As if she was carrying on a monologue, Camelia continued, “Four years ago, that one month with you was enough for him to miss you for the rest of his life. It was difficult for me to understand at that time. That night, when you appeared at White Corporation, I saw a USB drive in his study. You might not be aware, but the USB drive contained everything that happened after you broke down from giving birth. He really loved you so much.”
Joseph appeared abruptly next to us, giving me a shock. He draped a coat over me and said, “Mrs. Fuller, Mr. Fuller said that you shouldn’t stay outside for too long. It’s not good for your body.”
Obviously, the bodyguards had informed Ashton who I was meeting.
I nodded and said to Camelia, “I guess we’ll have to meet again another day.”
She pursed her lips and fixed her gaze on Joseph. Perplexed, she asked, “Does Ashton love you by restricting your freedom?
I smiled faintly but did not reply.
I left the café with Joseph and kept silent in the car.
Joseph looked at me a few times. It seemed as if he had something to say but stopped himself. In the end, he still spoke, “Mrs. Fuller, Mr. Fuller is still in the hospital.”
What he meant was that I should pay that man a visit. I pursed my lips while holding onto the USB drive which Camelia had given me earlier on.
“Let’s go back. It’s cold outside.” I was not ready and had not thought of how to face the past head-on yet.
